Pony baseball: Quakes rattle CdM in first inning

Steve Virgen

CORONA DEL MAR - One inning was enough for the Quakes, a traveling

baseball team of 13- and 14-year-olds based out of Newport Beach, in the

Newport-Mesa Pony Conference Father’s Day Tournament Saturday.

The Quakes scored six runs in the first inning en route to a 9-7

victory over Corona del Mar’s All-Star team, earning a trip to today’s

title game against the Newport Harbor All-Stars at 4 p.m. at Eastbluff

Park, where the six-team tournament in its third year is held.

“We did a good job of getting the hits that we needed,” said Quakes

Coach John Elliott, who also coaches for the Corona del Mar High baseball

team. “We got some walks and then we came up with the timely hits.”

Mark Doble, Ryan Landry and Dennis Heenan walked to load the bases. Al

Meschi singled to earn an RBI and then Scott Denault pounded out a double

to center field for two more RBIs.

Yet another walk came and Steven Wirsch doubled, scoring two more

runs.

CdM had opened the game with a 2-0 lead and nearly rallied to send the

game into extra innings. In the top of the first, Blake Allred smacked a

home run on the game’s first pitch.

CdM Coach Kevin Quick said he felt regret because he experimented with

the pitching rotation, leading to his team’s maddening first inning.

Asked if his team garnered confidence from nearly rallying, Quick,

again, was regretful.

“If anything, I set them the wrong way,” Quick said. “(CdM) was

expecting to win. We felt that we could beat these guys and it showed

after that first inning.”

CdM, in fact, outscored the Quakes, 5-3 after the first inning.

In the second inning, CdM’s Wes Presson smashed a home run deep over

left center field, a two-run shot scoring Jaik Ballback who had singled.

Ballback’s base hit, scored Matt Busch, who led off with a single and

later stole second.

Presson also gave CdM some stability on the mound. He came on in the

first inning after two pitching changes, to halt the Quakes’ scoring.

Presson pitched through the sixth inning, recording nine strikeouts as he

allowed just three runs, two unearned.