Tournament of Champions: A’s drop marathon

Steve Virgen

COSTA MESA - After two and a half hours of high-pressure baseball,

savvy baserunning and intense effort, the Costa Mesa American League

Minor B Athletics appeared to be ready to go another six innings Tuesday.

When the District 62 Tournament of Champions first-round battle

against the Huntington Valley Cardinals was over, the A’s Justin Murata

asked his teammates, “Did we lose?”

His question was an indication of just how close the game between the

7- and 8-year-olds was, as the Cardinals won, 5-3, at Costa Mesa High.

The loss eliminated the A’s.

In what Cardinals Manager Greg Hill called, “the turning point of the

game,” Sam Mikulak pitched the Cards out of a bases-loaded jam in the

third inning.

With the score tied, 2-2, Mikulak recorded two straight outs with the

bases juiced, ending the inning with a strikeout. The defensive

performance seemed to give the Cardinals the momentum.

They scored three runs in the fourth and allowed just one run the rest

of the way.

“I think the kids were feeling the pressure of the tournament,” A’s

Manager Phil Bagby said. Conversely, the Cardinals entered the tournament

with nine wins in their last 10 games.

The A’s overcame the pressure on defense. After the Cardinals scored

three runs in the fourth, A’s pitcher Austin Bagby ended the inning with

two straight strikeouts to leave the bases loaded.

He also fanned two more in the fifth and when the Cardinals loaded the

bases again, he induced a groundout as P.J. Maloney fielded the ball and

threw to Joe Karrasch at first.

The A’s also turned in a solid performance on offense. They grabbed

their first lead of the game in the first inning when catcher Garrett

Koch and Karrasch scored runs. Tyler French’s sacrifice fly scored Koch

who led off with a double.

Austin Bagby scored the other run for the A’s after his double in the

fourth inning. He reached third base on an error and Karrasch earned an

RBI to bring Austin Bagby home.

Karrasch started on the mound and worked three innings. He received

some help in the first inning when Michelle Figueroa, who plays second

base, triggered a double play. She grabbed a ground ball tagged the

runner approaching second and threw the runner out at first.

In the second inning, Karrasch fanned the side. Austin Bagby also

pitched and struck out six before Maloney came on in the sixth and fanned

two straight batters with the bases loaded.

Throughout the season, the A’s compiled a 16-2 record and won the

CMALL Minor B Division title.

“The season was outstanding,” Phil Bagby said. “We had a lot of

options, as far as pitching goes. (The Tournament of Champions) is extra.

Once you win the title during the season, this is the extra fun part for

them.”