After coming just a few outs short of tasting victory in the Little League Sectional tournament in previous years, Orcutt National’s All-Stars finally got it right.
In their first-round contest on July 18 in Arroyo Grande, the league’s top 11- and 12-year-olds topped perennial powerhouse Moorpark 3-1, avenging last year’s loss to the team.
“Our kids are excited to play [Moorpark] because they know they’re playing top quality, so for them to win that game was special,” said Orcutt National manager Jon Morris. “The only pressure they have is what they’re going to put on themselves. They just went out and played ball, and that was a great thing.”
The “Nats” came into the sixth down 1-0, but pulled out the dramatic win with three runs in the final frame, thanks to a pair of doubles and hit batsmen. The club had entered the tournament on top of its game, capping an undefeated run in the District 65 playoffs by beating rival Orcutt American 7-4 in the championship game on July 12.
Coaching the All-Stars for the second straight year, Morris credited his team’s postseason success to keeping errors to a minimum and sticking to fundamentals when the offense isn’t coming through.
“I’m an old-school guy, so pitching and defense are the key,” Morris said. “[Assistant Coach] Ernie [Perez] and I have been coaching together for a few years, and I think we have the same philosophy. Everything starts at that point.”
Morris has yet to reach the state tournament as a coach, but his current group has gotten close. Two years ago, as 9- and 10-year-olds, National lost to Thousand Oaks on back-to-back walk-off hits. Last year, Moorpark eliminated National with two wins, one of which came courtesy of a no-hitter.
This season, Morris and his coaching staff led the Orcutt National Little League’s Giants to the league title during the regular season. Three of his players made the All-Star team: first baseman Quinntin Perez, Marcus Malin, and his son Max.
Perez and third baseman Manuel Bucio play big roles in the lineup, but the team’s offensive star, Morris said, is 13-year-old centerfielder Andy Cooper. Cooper, also the team’s closer, hit four home runs during the district tournament and was the Nats’ most consistent hitter.
“I’m just trying to drive the ball,” Cooper said. “If it goes over, it goes over.”
The Orcutt Junior High eighth grader is also the team’s leader and most seasoned playoff veteran. In fact, he’s the only player left in the league to ever make it to the state tournament. As a 9-year-old, Cooper was on the Orcutt All-Star team that beat Moorpark and made it to Anaheim. This year marks his fourth appearance in the playoffs.
“It gets a lot tougher,” Cooper said of the Sectionals. “There’s not as many mistakes, and pitching gets harder, so you just need to focus more.
“I think we’re doing really well,” he added. “We’re just focusing on hitting the ball and playing defense. We just need to keep it up.”
Pitchers Matt Sauer and Blake Carlotti anchor the Nats’ staff. Sauer won the championship game against Orcutt American, throwing a solid 4 2/3 innings. Carlotti pitched 5 2/3 innings in the win over Moorpark and was double trouble for opponents in the district playoffs, hitting a home run and pitching a complete game. Carlotti, who’s been a pitcher for five of his nine years in baseball, said his team came into the postseason hungry.
“I think we want it more, since we lost the championship twice in a row,” he said. “We just need to play good defense and hit good pitches and throw strikes.”
Hand-selected by managers from the six teams in the league, the All-Stars began practicing together in mid-June, a little more than a week after the city championship. That’s not to say they’re strangers, however. With 11 returning players, the National roster is nearly identical to last year’s 10- and 11-year-old team. Most of the players have known each other since T-ball.
“This is a really close team,” Cooper said. “We’re like family out here.”
The Orcutt National Little League was well represented in the Sectionals. Their 10- to 11-year-old All-Stars also won the District title, but lost their first tournament game to Moorpark in Ventura.
As to why Orcutt is consistently producing winning Little League clubs, team manager Morris could only venture a guess.
“Things come in cycles,” he said. “The kids still enjoy baseball out here. We happen to be fortunate to have a good, talented group of kids. We’ve got great parents here, too. Without that parental support, you’re going to be hurting.”
The Nats could end up playing Moorpark again. As of press time, Morris and his club were preparing for their second playoff match-up on July 20 against the winner of Moorpark and Dos Pueblos. At this point, Morris said, his toughest challenge is keeping his players’ heads in the game as the playoffs wear on.
“It’s a long season,” he said. “They’ve been out here about six months, so trying to stay fresh is hard. It think every team has to go through that. It’s summertime, and all their friends are out at the lake and stuff like that. For them to still respond to what we say says something about their character.”
No matter the outcome, Morris said, he’ll be proud of his team.
“They care about each other, they pick each other up, push each other, and it’s a dream to have kids who are talented and who are good kids,” he said. “They have every chance to win it. If they do, they do, and if they don’t, well they’ve had a great year.”
Staff Writer Jeremy Thomas wishes he were out at the lake. Send comments or ideas to jthomas@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 22-29, 2010.
