Spirited rally falls short for Laguna

With two wins under its belt in the District 55 All-Star Tournament, the Laguna Beach Little League 11-year-old All-Star team was looking to add a third Saturday against Saddleback to stay in contention for a possible district championship.

But it was undefeated Saddleback that continued onward toward a possible title as it won, 13-6, at Chapparosa Park in Laguna Niguel. The loss eliminated Laguna from the tournament.

Laguna finished district play with a record of 2-2.

Laguna took a 1-0 lead by scoring in the first inning. Saddleback took control of the game by scoring six runs in the second to go up, 6-1, but Laguna fought back to pull to within 6-5 in the fifth inning.

Laguna was primed to take the lead, but Saddleback came up with a few key defensive stops, including a diving catch of a shot Larry Stewart sent into the outfield.

Saddleback scored five more runs in the sixth to put the game away.

“I was really excited about the comeback,” Laguna Beach Manager Steve Hester said. “We fell behind but didn’t give up. That was great to see.”

Stewart and Cole Kessler each doubled and Stewart, Grif Fair and Johnny Stanton each singled.

Laguna advanced to face Saddleback after coming up with a spirited effort to defeat South Irvine, 6-2, in another elimination matchup on July 6.

Hester said the “entire team” contributed to a victory he labeled as, “hard-fought.”

Stewart pitched five, strong innings against South Irvine. He allowed just five hits and recorded 10 strikeouts.

It was Stewart’s second win in the tournament. He notched his first when Laguna defeated Lake Forest American, 6-4, in its tournament opener on July 2.

Robbie McInerney came in for Stewart and closed out the win over South Irvine by striking out two batters in the sixth inning.

Laguna pounded out 10 hits. Blake Hester led the charge with a trio of singles. Johnny Stanton tripled and singled, McInerney singled twice and Grifan Fair tripled to deep right-field.

Stewart, Remington Zona, Brogan O’Bryan and Jack Pillsbury all had timely singles.

Laguna received solid defensive play from Weston Barnes, Kaito Lee, Kyle Jaffe, Cole Kessler, Drew Romero and Blair Hanson.

In 9/10 All-Star action:

Laguna Beach was eliminated from district play on July 5 by Northwood, which held on for a 4-3 victory at Woodfield Park in Aliso Viejo.

It was the second close tournament loss for Laguna, which dropped its opener, 4-2 to Saddleback on July 1.cpt.14-spallstars-4-CPhotoInfo3P1SU14M20060714j2bkpancCredit: MARK DUSTIN COASTLINE PILOT Caption: (LA) cpt.14-spallstars-5-CPhotoInfo3P1SU14P20060714j2bkppncCredit: PHOTOS BY MARK DUSTIN / COASTLINE PILOT Caption: (LA)Above left: Laguna’s Larry Stewart delivers to the plate; right: John Stanton fields a ball in the tournament for 11-year-olds.