One Game Series for Ticket to San Bernardino

Between games of the double-header Sunday afternoon at Woodfield Park, some of the Aliso Viejo players said they overheard talk about “…going to San Bernardino…,” site of the Little League West Regional. The Orange Little League team had just stunned Aliso Viejo with a walk-off grand slam to win Game 1, 9-6.

“They were talking about San Bernardino,” said one Aliso Viejo player. “We were talking about tomorrow. You have to win tomorrow no matter what.”

Aliso Viejo certainly came out fired up after losing, 9-6. They got home runs by Tyler Jones and Connor Kokx and a great pitching performance from Max Binaei to mercy Orange, 12-0, after four innings, in Game 2 of the best-of-three Southern California Divisional Series.

That means the Southern California State Champion will be crowned Monday as the two teams settle the score with a Game 3. The winner moves on to play in the West Regional in San Bernardino. That winner will be invited to the Little League World Series in Williamsburg, Pa.

The defending champion is Ocean View Little League from Huntington Beach, which was eliminated in the district tournament this year.

Only the 2008 Aliso Viejo team has advanced as far as the West Region.

“You can’t ask for anything more,” said Aliso Viejo Manager Scott Poirot. “It’s go to the Western Regional or go home tomorrow. I like our odds. I would love to go to San Bernardino. The kids deserve it. But we’ve got to get through (Monday) first.”

Aliso Viejo wasted little time making sure there would be a Monday game by scoring in every inning of Game 2.

Run-scoring singles by Jones and Brett Helmkamp game Aliso Viejo a quick 2-0 lead. In the second inning, Ryan Poirot had an RBI triple, Kokx singled home Poirot and Jones homered in a five-run inning, to lead 7-0.

Kokx broke the game open in the third with a grand slam to centerfield off the first pitch thrown by reliever Chris Huerta after starting pitcher Riley Fink had thrown 86 pitches in two innings and had to come out. Suddenly Aliso Viejo was cruising, 11-0.

“I was sitting dead red fastball. It felt really good,” Kokx said of the home run. “They were giving us fastballs to drive, and Coach was telling us to take a little more.” Aliso had 12 hits and five walks in the game.

After another run by Aliso in the third, Binaei struck out two batters and got the last one to fly out to shutout Orange on 66 pitches. He finished with six strikeouts for the game.

“I thought out sticks would win the game but when we got ahead I kept my head up and started hitting my spots and kept going,” Binaei said.

Scott Poirot said after Binaei’s last outing against Highland, when he threw just six pitches and couldn't get an out before he was relieved, he looked more relaxed and in control against Orange.

“I pulled him right out cause you could see he was a little rattled,” Scott Poirot said. “I talked to him before the game today. I said ‘Max, you’re starting. You’re going to get this done. You have to be mentally tough you will get it done today with the defense behind you. I didn’t plan on going as deep as he did in the game, but he got the shutout.”

In Game 1, with Hunter Jump on the mound, Aliso Viejo was up 5-1 in the fifth. But Orange rallied for three runs, then scored another to tie it, and won the game on the grand slam.

“I thought we were pressing a little bit. They were a little nervous at times…the anxiety of the state title and all these people,” Scott Poirot said. “We obviously liked our chances in Game 1 with Hunt on the mound. He was getting some great strikeouts but missing some spots. We just got punched in the teeth.

"Our team responded (in Game 2). We were more aggressive on the pitches around the plate, and we let those curve balls go by.”

Monday’s starting pitcher for Aliso Viejo will be Ryan Poirot. He is the only one of the four starters who is eligible to pitch, with Jake Briones and Hunter burned up and Binaei having thrown 72 pitches recently.

But after tomorrow’s game it won’t really matter.

Kokx said it best. “It’s do or die tomorrow.”