LA-MV's Bronco and Pony division teams go deep in playoffs
By Pete Borello, Town Crier Staff Writer
 Courtesy of Neal Stephens The LA-MV PONY Bronco all-stars reached the West Zone title game. Kneeling, from left: Kevin Zhang, Joe Chedid, James Watanabe and Blake Jarvis. Standing, from left: Derek Stephens, Cam McNair, Shuyo Chang, Michael Crumlin, Grant Vermeer, Kenny Hampel, Luke Wiechec and Grant Appelgren. |
Los Altos-Mountain View PONY Baseball is known for its postseason success, and the league continued that tradition this summer.
Two of its all-star teams reached the Northern California Regionals - with one of them nearly making the Bronco World Series - and another squad played in the sectional final last month.
The Bronco team (ages 11-12) won its sectional and regional tournaments to advance to the U.S. West Zone for the second year in a row. The squad was runner-up at the zone tourney; the winner moved on to the Bronco World Series.
The team comprised Grant Appelgren, Shuyo Chang, Joe Chedid, Mike Crumlin, Jimmy Frazier, Kenny Hampel, Blake Jarvis, Cam McNair, Derek Stephens, Grant Vermeer, James Watanabe, Luke Wiechec and Kevin Zhang. Neal Stephens managed the team, assisted by Scott Vermeer and John Appelgren.
In the sectional, the Bronco all-stars defeated San Jose Pacific in the title game. LA-MV outscored its opponents 57-11 in the six-game tournament, featuring league champs from Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
The team continued its winning ways in the NorCal Regional, comprising section champs from four Bay Area counties and the Sacramento area. LA-MV won all four of its games, capped by the final against Santa Clara, outscoring its opponents 32-8.
LA-MV met its match at the West Zone, however, where teams from seven other states and Southern California met in Los Angeles. LA-MV opened with close wins over Hawaii (5-3 score) and North Seattle (4-3) before rallying to beat Bakersfield 9-6. LA-MV trailed Bakersfield 6-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning, then scored six runs to win it. This put the team in the final against North Seattle, which avenged its earlier loss to LA-MV.
“We were the last team standing from California in the West Zone, so we proudly proclaim ourselves California state champs,” manager Stephens said. “By making it to the final of the West Zone, we finished among the top 14 teams in the world.”
The players on LA-MV’s Pony Division team didn’t make it quite as far - or as far as the previous year when they reached the West Zone as 12-year-olds. Although the team had higher expectations, manager Mat Snider said it should be proud of finishing third in Northern California.
“In the end it was impressive to see what these boys were able to accomplish in a very short amount of preparation time,” said Snider, who was assisted by Eric Edgecumbe and Doug Gibson.
The roster comprised Tyler Davis, Sean Edgecumbe, Robert Gibson, Kevin Goulette, Carl Gutekunst, Tyler Harney, Chris Harper. Cory Kusich, Chris Long, Connor Nunley, Bobby Pender, Parker Smith, Mat Snider III and Phil Taylor.
The team got off to a scorching start, winning all five of its sectional games and outscoring its opponents 38-16 in the process. LA-MV topped Santa Clara in the title game.
The regional tournament, hosted by Campbell, began in similar fashion for the locals. They opened by edging San Lorenzo 1-0 behind a complete-game shutout by Harper, who had 10 strikeouts and surrendered just four hits. Edgecumbe scored the lone run in the first inning on a bunt by Mat Snider.
After beating Diablo Valley the next day, LA-MV ran into a familiar foe in Santa Clara, which pulled out a 4-3 victory. LA-MV’s season came to an end a day later with a 7-0 loss to Campbell.
LA-MV’s Mustang Division team (10-year-olds) placed second at its sectional. For more on the team, see Page 27.
For more information on the league, visit www.lamvpb.org.
