Down by 7 in the first inning, the Los Al Pony All Stars came back defeating the Fountain Valley All Stars 10-8 to win the LAYB Invitational Tournament on Sunday.
Down by 7 in the first inning, the Los Al Pony All Stars came back defeating the Fountain Valley All Stars 10-8 to win the LAYB Invitational Tournament on Sunday.
Los Al stayed cool in their championship win carving out runs when up to bat, and playing solid defense against Fountain Valley’s power hitters.
Exemplifying cool was Grant Stuart of Los Alamitos who relished in the pressure when on the mound. Coming on to pitch in the fourth inning down by three, Stuart smiled as he struck out his first batter.
Stuart finished off the inning strong forcing a pop fly to right field for the second out, and striking out the next batter. He would come on to bat later, firing one deep into the outfield allowing two runners to score to even it up at 7-7.
Los Al ended the fourth inning up 9-7, and the daunting lead put up by Fountain Valley was now a thing of the past.
In the fifth inning, Los Al made it 10-7 after a huge hit by Ethan Newcomb to deep right field, which allowed the runner on third to score.
Fountain Valley now frustrated looked to get a couple runs back, but Los Al was already keen on wrapping up the game. They did, however, get one run back in the sixth inning to make it 10-8.
Cody Griffith came on to pitch for Los Al in the sixth, and he was welcomed by Fountain Valley with a line drive to the face. Griffith miraculously still managed to make the throw to first for the final out of the inning.
Griffith brushed off the hit and closed out the seventh inning with a strikeout and two forced outs. After the final play of the game the Los Al players raised their hands in triumph and congratulated each other.
Parents rushed the field after the game with cameras and smartphones to capture photos of the award ceremony.
Lined up, the Los Al players were all smiles as they awaited their medals. Coaches from both teams congratulated all the players on a well-played game and wished everyone a happy Father’s Day.
After the ceremony, players posed for photos with the trophy and listened to a quick inspiring team talk from their coach.
Los Alamitos finished the tournament undefeated, and went into Sunday’s championship game down three players. In total, Los Al notched home 50 runs in the tournament. They outscored their opponents by a total of 24 runs.
