Bats

FOUNTAIN VALLEY — You only need nine kids to field a Little League team, but playing with no substitutes at all can prove to be a difficult proposition. The members of the Costa Mesa National Little League 10- and 11-year-old All-Stars didn't mind it Saturday. All it meant was more at-bats for each of the players, and Costa Mesa National knew what to do with those opportunities. Everybody hit, helping Costa Mesa National earn a 10-3 victory over Robinwood at Mile Square Park in the opening round of the District 62 All-Star Tournament.

CORONA DEL MAR — The New York Yankees of Major League Baseball are in a funk, sitting well below .500 and fourth in their division. They probably could take some lessons from the Newport Beach Little League Double-A Division Yankees, who performed at a high level all year long and rode it to the division championship. The American League-champion Yankees defeated the National-League champion Giants, 10-2, on Saturday morning at Lincoln Elementary. "It's a solid group of kids, just great ballplayers," Yankees Manager Frank DiFerdinando said.

BY BARRY FAULKNER A 2009 baseball season the produced a considerable bang, was followed by a veritable whimper with the recently completed summer leagues for collegiate players. Just after helping UC Irvine with the program’s first Big West Conference championship and earn the No. 1 national ranking for six weeks before bowing out of the NCAA tournament in its own regional, several Anteaters produced modest individual success. In addition, members of the Orange Coast College unit that claimed the program’s first state title since 1980, were less than noteworthy in their respective summer assignments.

Uncle Don Just before the flick started, a multi-car accident outside the theater should have been a premonition of the accident about to happen within the theater, which was to be witnessed by a partial dozen of horrified onlookers. In its own kind of slackjawed, drooling, knuckle-dragging sort of way, "Bats" was a rather entertaining flick, showing how far a once-promising actor (Lou Diamond Philips) is willing to drop to perform his craft. Situated in Gallup, Texas, and Skull Valley, Ariz.

Bryan Petersen, the right fielder during the UC Irvine baseball team’s run to the 2007 College World Series, was called up by the Florida Marlins after the team’s game Thursday. Petersen, 24, who hit .284 in 67 at-bats with the Marlins during spring training, was hitting .290 with a home run and nine runs batted in with 100 at-bats at Triple-A New Orleans. Petersen takes the roster spot created when Florida designated Mike Lamb for assignment. Marlins Manager Fredi Gonzalez said Petersen could play all three outfield positions.

(High school football plays of 30 yards or more) 34 – Cameron Collins (Estancia) punt return 30 – Taylor Ross (Sage Hill) touchdown run 30 – Eric Cheng (Sage Hill) kickoff return GAMESTOPPERS (Top defensive plays) NEWPORT HARBOR — Junior lineman Steve Michaelsen records a 10-yard sack to force a punt … Senior linebacker Blair Luchs and senior tackle JB Salem pressure the quarterback into a bad throw that junior safety Titus Hasson almost intercepts … Senior end Mutuvai Asi bats down a pass … Luchs intercepts a tipped pass … Salem drops the quarterback for an eight-yard loss … Michaelsen pressures the quarterback into throwing the ball away … Senior safety Kellon Truxton recovers a fumble on the Sailors' three-yard line ….

Several UC Irvine baseball players have extended their summer league seasons as their teams have advanced to playoffs. Christian Bergman and catcher Francis Larson, both of whom will be juniors in 2009, earned all-league recognition in the Alaska Baseball League. Bergman, pitching with the Anchorage Bucs, was named to the first-team ABL All-Star team after posting a 4-2 record with a 1.34 earned-run average. The right-hander struck out 34 in 62 1/3 innings while allowing just nine earned runs.

A common notion about community college transfers is that they take a year to make the adjustment to Division I baseball. And despite generating vastly different expectations upon arriving from their respective two-year programs, UC Irvine juniors Drew Hillman and Jon Hurst have just about proved that thinking to be true. Hillman was an All-American at Orange Coast College who had UCI coaches buzzing about his offensive prowess in the fall. Hurst, a two-time All-Orange Empire Conference performer at Cypress College, was a borderline washout after an underwhelming fall.

IRVINE - Among the myriad fundamentals in which the UC Irvine baseball players are well-versed, home-run trot is not one. Senior second baseman Tommy Reyes, then, could surely be forgiven for pleading ignorance on the finer points of the four-base circuit required to complete a fence-clearing blast. Reyes had, in fact, compiled 431 collegiate at-bats without a dinger, before jettisoning a pitch over the left-field barrier at Nevada on Saturday. Only nine at-bats later, he produced his second career big fly by launching a 1-2 pitch over the fence in left field for a two-run shot that wound up being the difference in the Anteaters' 5-4 nonconference win over visiting Dartmouth on Friday.

UC Irvine baseball coach Mike Gillespie is not fond of surprises. One of his most complimentary phrases when discussing a player is, "You know what you're going to get. " When it comes to the lineup card during the Anteaters' 14-2 start — heading into Wednesday's nonconference road game at UNLV — Gillespie has been thoroughly comfortable with a set of position players that has included very little variance. Center field and second base have been about the only exceptions to a monotonous starting corps that has flourished thus far for the Anteaters, ranked No. 11 by Collegiate Baseball.

Shaun Vetrovec wasn't sure what to do at Newport Harbor High last week. Stay on first base or return to the batter's box? It was late, the bottom of the ninth inning against Los Alamitos. The game-winning run was on second with one out. After facing a couple of pitches, the home plate umpire told Vetrovec to take first base. Apparently, the Griffins put him on, not wanting to pitch to the clean-up hitter. He hurt them in the seventh, when he singled in the game-tying run to force extra innings.

IRVINE - Among the myriad fundamentals in which the UC Irvine baseball players are well-versed, home-run trot is not one. Senior second baseman Tommy Reyes, then, could surely be forgiven for pleading ignorance on the finer points of the four-base circuit required to complete a fence-clearing blast. Reyes had, in fact, compiled 431 collegiate at-bats without a dinger, before jettisoning a pitch over the left-field barrier at Nevada on Saturday. Only nine at-bats later, he produced his second career big fly by launching a 1-2 pitch over the fence in left field for a two-run shot that wound up being the difference in the Anteaters' 5-4 nonconference win over visiting Dartmouth on Friday.

HUNTINGTON BEACH - Scott McCall is no stranger to the water. The 30-year-old grew up in Huntington Beach. He learned to swim at Pacific Sands Cabana Club with his sisters, Jayme and Megan. But McCall always wanted to surf. He received special lessons at the Surf's Up for Down Syndrome event Friday. McCall was one of several potential surfers with Down syndrome learning from pros and experts near the Huntington Beach Pier. Former Angels announcer Rex Hudler's Team Up for Down Syndrome, in conjunction with the International Surfing Museum, put on the inaugural event, which also featured live and silent auctions, as well as a banquet at Sandy's Beach Grill.

COSTA MESA - It had been nearly two years since he'd won a game, and after redshirting at the University of Oregon last season, Friday marked the collegiate debut for Orange Coast College freshman pitcher Brandon Brennan. As if that weren't enough to accelerate his anxiety, there were about four-dozen professional scouts on hand to gauge his talent, his coach estimated. But if Brennan was at all knocked off his game in the Pirates' 6-3 nonconference home win over Cuesta, it certainly was difficult to tell.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL UC Irvine 86, Long Beach State 61 IRVINE - Senior Kassandra McCalister had 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to lead the host Anteaters in the Big West Conference game Thursday. Sophomore Jacquelyn Marshall had 18 points and nine rebounds, while three other Anteaters scored in double figures. The win for UCI (10-12, 6-3 in conference), sets up a first-place showdown with visiting Cal State Northridge (7-2 in conference) on Saturday at 4 p.m. Anete Klintsone had 11 points, four rebounds and four assists for UCI, which avenged a 63-51 loss at Long Beach State on Dec. 31. Kiara Belen had 10 points and six rebounds, while Kelly Meggs had 12 points off the bench for the winners.

The Newport Beach 12U Bat Rays recently went undefeated in the Triple A USSSA Tournament in San Clemente. The Bat Rays dominated, outscoring teams, 38-10. They recorded mercy-rule victories the last three games, including the championship. Three of the four games were complete games by Bat Rays' pitchers. The manager was Robert Della Grotta and assistant coach was Noel Thompson. Brian Rodrigues delivered outstanding pitching in the first game. Spencer Bazur also pitched well in the second game, as did third-game pitcher Joe Romero.

It's a lineup Robert Della Grotta never would've wanted to face as a pitcher. On the Newport Beach Bat Rays under-12 club baseball team Della Grotta manages, there is no lock of explosiveness. The Bat Rays sting the ball. Period. Especially for a team of 12-year-olds. "My starting lineup for Cooperstown that I'm going to bring out, one through 10 can all hit the ball over the fence," Della Grotta said. "That's a good option to have as a coach, that every guy in your lineup can hit the ball 250 feet-plus.

FOUNTAIN VALLEY — You only need nine kids to field a Little League team, but playing with no substitutes at all can prove to be a difficult proposition. The members of the Costa Mesa National Little League 10- and 11-year-old All-Stars didn't mind it Saturday. All it meant was more at-bats for each of the players, and Costa Mesa National knew what to do with those opportunities. Everybody hit, helping Costa Mesa National earn a 10-3 victory over Robinwood at Mile Square Park in the opening round of the District 62 All-Star Tournament.

One baseball expression for runners on base is ducks on the pond. For Orange Coast College sophomore infielder Jordan Beck this season, it has been more like fish in a barrel. The Orange Empire Conference Co-MVP, who has helped lead OCC (30-8) into a Southern California Super Regional beginning Friday at 3 p.m. against Santa Barbara at Santa Ana College, has been the ultimate offensive opportunist. Beck, without the aid of a home run and with only seven extra-base hits, has driven in a team-best 43 runs with his 52 hits in 2011.

CORONA DEL MAR — The game didn't start out the way Andrew McCormack wanted. The Corona del Mar High junior pitcher allowed three hits and two runs to visiting Irvine in the first inning of a game the Sea Kings needed to snap out of a three-game skid. But somehow it all came together Monday. McCormack settled down, while the CdM bats came alive. The right-hander and some quality hitting led the Sea Kings to a 7-2 Pacific Coast League win. CdM (10-5, 5-3 in league) had scored only five runs during its three-game losing streak.