Aliso Viejo Shows True Grit in Capturing Sub-Division South Championship

During the District, Section and Sub-Division Little League playoffs, Aliso Viejo has shown that it can score runs in bunches and hold huge leads. But up until Thursday night, the team of All-Stars had not yet shown that it could win the close ones, too.

In the bottom of the sixth inning and holding onto a one-run lead with the bases loaded, one out and the opposing team having scored two runs in each of the last two innings, Aliso Viejo got a chance to show what kind of nerves of steal, and heart, it possessed.

Two pitches—and two balls hit back to the pitcher—later, they answered that question with an exclamation.

In a tense, 2½-hour battle against a highly-talented Highland team, Aliso Viejo got the timely hits, made the big defensive plays, and had two seldom-used pitchers turn in great performances for a thrilling 7-6 victory oto capture the Little League Sub-Division III Championship before several hundred vocal fans at Woodfield Park in Aliso Viejo.

Up next for Aliso Viejo is the Southern California State Division 3 title against the North Sub-Division 3 winner, either Orange or Upland. The best two-of-three games begins Sunday with a double-header at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., and a third game, if necessary, on Monday. All games will be played at Woodfield Park.

Afterwards, a jubilant Scott Poirot capsulated his team’s victory in one word: Believe.

“You just got to believe in your defense to get it done. Believe in your pitcher to hit his spots,” said Aliso Viejo’s manager. “Trust me, you've got to believe with nerves of steal going through you.”

The nerves of the players, coaches and the crowd certainly were tested throughout the ballgame. Three times Aliso Viejo opened up three-run leads only to see Highland come back and score twice to close the lead.

Aliso Viejo was the visiting team even though Poirot won the coin flip. His reasoning: “After losing (Wednesday) night, I wanted our boys to strike first.” And strike they did as Hunter Jump and Christopher Pimentel drilled RBI doubles in the first inning, and Luke Sigler singled and scored on a pass ball in the second to give Aliso Viejo a 3-0 lead.

Highland then cut the lead to 3-2 on a two-run home run by Robert Gonzalez.

Starting pitcher Jake Briones, the No. 3 pitcher on Aliso Viejo, helped his own cause in the fourth inning with a lead-off home run, and Connor Kokx followed with an RBI double to increase the lead to 5-2.

But in the bottom of the inning a bases loaded RBI single by Michael Carpentier and a run-scoring walk against reliever Max Binaei again narrowed the lead to 5-4.

In the top of the fifth Pimentel again doubled, Brett Helmkamp singled, Briones hit a run-scoring sacrifice fly and Carter Matthys hit a clutch two-out double to score Helmkamp for a 7-4 lead.

That lasted a half-inning as Gonzalez hit his second two-run homer to deep centerfield off Neil Schuler to keep Highland within a run.

“We knew they had trouble with off-speed pitches, trouble with curve balls, trouble with the low, outside stuff,” Poirot said. “So we went after them. They made us work a couple of times for it, and (Gonzalez) made us pay twice for missing our spots.”

After leaving two on base in the top of the sixth, and with starters Ryan Poirot and Jump unable to pitch, Scott Poirot left it up to Schuler to save the game—and the season—for Aliso Viejo.

Schuler got the first batter out but then surrendered a single, a double and walked the next batter to load the bases. After a brief meeting on the mound, Schuler enticed Keller Rayborn to pop up, and on the next pitch dove and caught a soft line drive to end the game.

“Jake Briones and Neil Schuler had to get it done tonight and they did,” Scott Poirot said. "Neil got a couple pop-ups and he got it done. Our boys kept coming back. I’m very proud of them.”

Briones, who threw 87 pitches in 3 1/3 innings and struck out four, said he played his best game when the team needed it the most.

“It was a close game, but I’m really excited because this is my best game in All-Stars so far and my best night ever,” he said. “They (Highland) were a great team. They battled back and never gave up. Throwing off speed (pitches) was important to keep them off balance. It was very exciting. It was nerve-wracking. It was very loud.”

Ryan Poirot, who singled twice, said he felt great just to have been part of this game.

“Sometimes we blow out teams, sometimes we played them tough,” he said. “No matter if we won or lost, I know we left it all out on the field.”