12-Year-Old Little League All Stars: La Verne Suffers Power Outage in Loss to San Dimas

Nick Lodolo helped restore order for La Verne, getting the final out of the second inning and striking out the side in the third.

The La Verne 12-year-old all stars were far too charitable on Friday night at Pelota Park, issuing seven walks to San Dimas in the first two innings. The cross-town rivals took full advantage of La Verne’s generosity, scoring five runs in the first and eight more in the second en route to a game-shortened 13-3 win.

By the time La Verne found the right working combination on the mound, it was too late.

“You got to put this one on the coach for not having them ready to go,” said La Verne Manager Larry Redman, downcast after seeing his group of all stars not playing at their normal superlative level.

San Dimas was certainly ready, however, getting a solo home run from Matt Corona and a three-run homer from Austin Isenhart, who also came in to relieve San Dimas starter Eric Ware, who pitched a fine game.

On offense for La Verne, Cole Sojka hit a solo shot in the second to put the team on the board. In the top of the third, Nick Lodolo doubled to drive in Kurtis Redman, who had doubled with one out. Eric Castruita then singled in Lodolo for La Verne’s third and final run.

In the second inning, Brogan White, one of La Verne’s team leaders, was hit by a nasty comebacker, but after taking a few moments, he was unable to leave the game under his own power.

It was simply San Dimas’ night. San Dimas’ pitching staff used a good mix off-speed pitches to keep La Verne’s solid line-up off balance. La Verne’s long layoff may have also contributed to the team’s not-quite-ready-for-prime-time performance.

“We’re looking for a spark to get us going,” Redman added. “We need something to jump back into it.”

La Verne will jumping back into the fray on Monday July 12 at Pelota Park, needing a win for the right to meet San Dimas in the finals on July 13, where they’ll now need to defeat the cross-towners twice to take home the District 20 crown. 

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