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Sports

Aliso Viejo Flexes Muscles to Capture Little League Section Title

Hunter Jump hits two long home runs and Aliso Viejo collects 12 hits to pound Huntington Valley, 11-3, in the Section 10 Championship game. Up next: the Sub-Divisional tournament.

It didn’t take long for Aliso Viejo to show they are pumped for the next step on the long road to the Little League World Series.

The District 55 champions “Jumped” all over Huntington Valley, scoring five runs before making an out and led 7-0 after the first inning en route to a decisive 11-3 victory over the District 62 champions to capture the Little League Section 10 Championship, Tuesday night at Woodfield Park in Aliso Viejo.

Aliso Viejo collected 12 hits in the game, including two monster home runs by Hunter Jump and three hits by catcher Brett Helmkamp, off two Huntington Valley pitchers. Meanwhile, Aliso starter Ryan Poirot went four complete innings, allowing just five hits and striking out six, including the side in the second inning.

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So for only the fourth time in the 21-year history of Aliso Viejo Little League, a 12-year-old team will be playing in the Sub-Divisional Tournament, which begins Saturday with eight teams from Long Beach to the Mexican border competing in the double-elimination tournament at Woodfield Park. The winner of that tournament advances to the West Region in San Bernardino—the last step toward qualifying for the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

Aliso Viejo saved its best game of the post-season for Huntington Valley, which had scored 39 runs in four games to become the District 62 champion and defeated Ocean View twice, including the championship game. Ocean View was the defending Little League World Champion.

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“I’m super excited for the boys, they are the ones playing,” Aliso Viejo manager Scott Poirot said. “They are working hard. I'm proud of them.”

Aliso Viejo came out swinging in the first inning, and it didn’t take long for them to get on the scoreboard.

Poirot led off with a single and scored on Jump’s two-run bomb to right-center field. Connor Kokx and Tyler Jones followed with singles. Chris Pimentel then singled home Kokx, Helmkamp singled home Jones and an error on the hit allowed Pimentel to score. Suddenly, it was 5-0.

One out later, Jake Briones’ double scored another run, Jump walked and with the bases loaded Kokx walked to force in the seventh run. Huntington Valley starter Brian Rodriguez pitched just one inning and threw 55 pitches

“We’re swinging the bats every day and it does make my life much easier when you are putting up those kinds of runs,” Scott Poirot said. “These kids are hitting the ball well. One through 13 the kids on my lineup can get it done anytime, but there is a few that are hitting the ball a little harder, like Jump.”

Huntington Valley finally got to Ryan Poirot in the fourth inning as Derek Cleland and Leif Adams led off with back-to-back solo home runs, but they had a runner thrown out at third and Poirot got the last two batters to ground out.

Briones pitched the last two innings for Aliso Viejo and allowed just one run while striking out two.

In the bottom of the fifth, Carter Matthys doubled and Poirot walked. After pitcher Austin Heberden threw two intentional balls he was told to throw a strike to Jump, and he—of course—jumped all over the next pitch for a home run to deep center to score the final three runs.

“I told Hunter after that that he needed to thank the crowd for that one,” Scott Poirot said. “They were giving (the opposing pitcher) a hard time for intentionally walking him, so they decided to pitch to him. I couldn’t believe it.”

Neither could anybody else.

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