Klimonology

Devils Win Triple Crown Fall Nationals!

With a 7-5 win over the #2 seed Team Rawlings, #10 seed O.C. Sun Devils take home the championship in the Triple Crown Sports Las Vegas Fall Nationals! The Devils led the entire game and took home the 'ship against a team dotted with players from other teams playing for Team Rawlings this weekend.

The victory provided the Sun Devils with a small bit of redemption from last year's Fall Nationals where they took the #1 seed in Division 1 after pool play, then lost their first bracket game to get pushed to the consolation bracket (which they eventually won). This time the Devils floundered in pool play and snuck into the Division 1 bracket as the bottom (10th) seed.

The Devils lost their first pool play game 4-3 to the Inland Empire Elite Orange squad. The offense was extremely quiet and the defense made two key errors that allowed the decisive runs to cross the plate. The boys second pool play was against the Vegas Venom. (On a side note: Andre Agassi's son, Jaden was the catcher and #5 hitter for the Venom. I was not in attendance so cannot attest to an Agassi or Graf sighting.) This game was extremely tight until the top of the fifth when the Devils scored 3 and shut out the Venom in the bottom frame to secure a 7-3 victory as time expired.

Going 1-1 in pool play with the narrow one-run loss to Inland Empire allowed the Devils to sneak into the Division 1 bracket as the 10th seed. And the Devils decided to make the most of the new life this opportunity provided.

The Devils kicked off pool play with a 3-0 over a local Vegas team, the Thunder. The Devil defense was flawless and despite giving up 5 hits they did not allow a run to score. Which was important as the offense continued to struggle a bit as they only generated 3 runs across 6 innings of play.

The victory over the Thunder sent the Devils into a game against the #1 seed FCBA Cobras Black. (The Devils beat the Cobras Black 8-2 in pool play last week in California during the Triple Crown 9th Annual Labor Day Classic, but in two prior match-ups had coughed up the game late through fielding errors and poor defensive play.) The Cobras Black had gone 2-0 in pool play outscoring their opponents by an impressive 51-1 margin. But none of that mattered as the Devils offense roared to life in the first inning, staking pitcher Hunter Cope to a 4-run lead. The Devils defense put the clamps on and the Cobras never recovered as the Devils cruised to a 7-3 win.

The win over the Cobras propelled the Devils to a match-up against the Nevada Wildcats. The Wildcats eliminated the Devils 14-9 in the USSSA 13th Annual Memorial Day Super NIT. The Devils got some measure of revenge in the USSSA 2012 Mercury tournament as they mercied the Wildcats 13-2 in the championship game, but apparently it wasn't enough as the Devils again mercied the Wildcats 12-2 to gain a berth in the championship for the Fall Nationals.

Team Rawlings had cruised through pool play (2nd seed) and bracket play with an 11-1 victory over Inland Empire Elite Orange and a 9-1 win against On Deck Baseball Academy and had all their pitchers available for the championship game. Team Rawlings had been extremely impressive in the tournament, going 4-0 and outscoring their opponents a mind-boggling 67-4. The Devils, meanwhile had to expend pitchers and their innings just to reach the championship. Team Rawlings led with Kyle Kerr, an excellent left-handed pitcher who has given the Devils fits every time they have faced him. (The Devils and Team Rawlings have now played four times, with the Devils holding a 3-1 advantage against Rawlings included two championship victories and a win in an elimination game. The Devils only loss to Rawlings was a 4-3 loss in a pool play game at the beginning of the 9U season.)

The Devils' Hunter Cope had four innings left on his pitching card and used them to maximum effectiveness. The first inning ended 0-0 as neither offense could get on the board. Cope led off the 2nd inning with a deep bomb to right-center to get the Devils on the board, and the boys followed up with some key hits and took advantage of a Rawlings error to score two more runs in the inning to stake Hunter to a 3-run lead. Rawlings got a run back in the bottom of the 2nd, and both teams fell silent in 3rd inning. The Devils opened it up with a 4-run 4th inning and despite giving back 2 in the bottom of the frame, led 7-3 after four innings. 

Rawlings relief pitcher Paul Sean Pasqualotto held the Devils in the top of the 5th and 6th to keep the game within reach. Hunter Cope gave way to Jake Lappin in the 5th for the Devils. Going into the final inning, the Devils led 7-3. Rawlings 2nd baseman Alex Seguine led off with a ground-rule double and Blake Pivaroff singled him home. Two batters and an out later, Pasqualotto singled home Pivaroff to close the gap to 7-5. But Lappin struck out Shane Robertson and induced a soft fly ball to 2nd baseman Will Rudy to end the game and seal the championship!

The O.C. Sun Devils are Jakob Ho, Connor O'Brien, Aidan Klimon, Hunter Cope, Jake Lappin, Trevor Klein, Jackson Ronningen, Jake Nadley, Will Rudy, Levi Murrietta and Matt McClure. 

The Sun Devils are now taking off the 2011 Fall season while they play other sports and enjoy some rest. Look for the Devils to re-emege from hibernation sometime in early 2012 with a brand-spanking new team facility in Costa Mesa, CA!

Devils Stay Hot, Win First Tournament As 10U Major

Devils Go to Oxnard, Come Back Champions

Devils Sizzle on the 4th!

The Sun Devils came out firing during the Triple Crown Sports 4th of July Weekend Spectacular, going 5-0 and taking home the hardware for the second straight tournament. On Saturday, the Devils opened up with an 8-7 victory over a scrappy Rampage team before going on a 4-0 run where they outscored their opponents 46 to 4. After the Rampage, the Devils dismantled the NHBA 9U All-Stars team 18-1. 

On Sunday, the Devils beat a tough Valley Bengals team 8-2 for which their reward was the #2 seed in the tournament, and you guess it, a rematch with the Valley Bengals. The result was much the same as the Devils rolled to an 11-1 victory for a berth in the championship game.

The Devils then had time to sit around and watch the other semi-final, but unfortuantely the team they had been hoping to play all weekend long, the Beach Cyclones were unable to get past the TABB 9U All-Stars. Despite the long day, the Devils unloaded on TABB and took home the hardware with a 9-0 victory. The Devils had a few offensive stars including Hunter Cope who did get out the entire tournament, going 10 for 13 with 3 doubles and a triple, 3 walks, 8 RBIs and 3 reached on error. Aidan Klimon went 8 for 14 with 3 doubles, 2 triples, a walk and 10 RBIs.

On the bump, four pitcher had scoreless outings (Jake Lappin, Jakob Ho, Jackson Ronningen and Will Rudy). Jake Lappin's was a complete game 6-inning shutout in the championship game. Also of note was Hunter Cope's dominating performance in the semi-final game where he struck out 7 over 4 innings of work while only allowing one earned one.

Devils Go 4-0, Win USSSA Legacy

The Sun Devils went 4-0 this past weekend as they took the USSSA Legacy tournament outscoring their opponents 56-1 in the process. The competition was a mix of travel and All-Star teams prepping for their All-Star tournaments. The Devils pitching staff scattered a total of 10 hits across the four games led by Hunter Cope's one-hit shutout in the semi-final game. Offensively, Will Rudy went 6-for-9 with a double, 4 RBIs and a walk and Connor O'Brien went 7-for-11 with 2 home runs, 6 RBIs and 2 walks. The Devils are preparing to enter the Triple Crown 4th of July Weekend Spectacular this coming weekend!

Neither Rain, Nor 10U Teams Could Stop the Devils

Despite playing their pool play games in high 40 degrees and heavy rain (at points), the O.C. Sun Devils won out and took first in their pool on Sunday during the Triple Crown Sunday One-Day Qualifier. Their first opponent, the 10UAA AABC Eagles, had just come off a pool play victory over the 10UAA Desert Baseball Academy and might have come in over-confident facing a 9U team, but the Devils quickly set them straight as they pounded out 13 runs on 7 hits and 6 walks to beat the Eagles 13-3 in a time-shortened game. Despite the very cold and wet conditions, pitcher Jake Nadley held the Eagles to 3 runs (only 2 earned) on 2 hits.

That brought up Desert Baseball Academy and after the first inning it looked like the Devils might have their hands full as they only led 2-1, but after knocking in 5 runs in the second inning, the Devils were firmly in control as time expired. Will Rudy allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and pitched valiantly in very cold, wet conditions. This win gave the Devils the top seed in their pool and earned them some time off before their next game. Fortunately, the sun decided to make an appearance and despite being a bit chilly, the Devils were drying off as they prepped for their game against the GSA Mayos, another 10UAA team.

Trevor Klein took the mound for the Devils and did a good job keeping the Mayos in check, but the Devils made five errors behind him and gave up the tying run in the top of the third inning. Aidan Klimon led off the bottom of the third and became the first base runner as he was hit by pitch on the first pitch thrown to him. The Mayos proceeded to walk Jake Lappin and Hunter Cope to load the bases with no outs, but Klein hit into a fielder's choice and Rudy struck out to bring up Nadley with the bases loaded and two outs. Nadley worked a 7 pitch walk-off walk to win the game and propel the Devils into the championship.

The Devils sent Hunter Cope against the Eaters BBC (10UMajor) in the championship game. The first inning ended with the Eaters up 2-1 on the strength of a ground-rule double, a sac fly and three walks. The Devils scored their lone run as Jakob Ho came home on Klimon's sac fly. The second inning was a different story as the Devils got three outs without giving up any runs and then pounded the ball as they batted around in the bottom half of the inning. Rudy kicked off the inning with a six pitch at-bat which led to a single up the middle and the gloves were off as Nadley laid down a bunt single, Matthew McClure followed with a single, then Ho hit into a fielder's choice with no out recorded which scored a run. The first out came on Connor O'Brien RBI groundout, but then Klimon worked a walk and Lappin followed that with an RBI single. Cope followed with another walk before Klein and Rudy struck out to end the inning, but the damage was done as the Devils had put up 5 runs and had a commanding 6-2 lead. The Eaters were held scoreless in the third as Lappin came on in relief of Cope and they added another run after Jakob Ho doubled, then stole 3rd and home. Things got a little dicey in the top of the fourth as the Eaters scored two runs on two doubles, but Lappin shut them down and the Devils took home the hardware with a 7-4 win over a 10UMajor team.

Mother's Day at the Angels Game

We had the good fortune of being invited to go see the Angels game on Mother's Day from the Klein's dugout suite. My personal trip included walking an extra couple of hundred yards through the stadium looking for an extra Mother's Day sun hat giveaway that Gabi didn't get and finding Zac cotton candy. Failed in the first mission, but was successful in the second. Fortunately, Bob Klein had gotten a hat and was kind enough to let Gabi have it.

Everyone had a great time and we got to see a great game with the Angels coming from behind to beat the red-hot Indians!

What an amazing view! We were able to "chat frequently" with members of the Indians as they were preparing to bat. Grady Sizemore even commented that he had indeed called his mother for Mother's Day. We wrapped up the day in front of the Angels scoreboard that read: "Happy Mother's Day!"

O.C. Sun Devils Take 5th Annual Bat Wars Championship!

Bottom of four, the Sun Devils hold a 7-4 lead over the Mid Valley Warriors in a back and forth game. One out, Warriors at first and second and Manager Mark Cresse lifts pitcher Jake Nadley for right-hander Will Rudy.

Rudy had pitched valiantly against the Warriors the day before in pool play, but it was for naught as the Warriors held on for a one-run victory. The Devils opened pool play with a 13-8 victory against the Chino Hills Storm. Trevor Klein took the mound for the Devils and came up the winner as the Devils’ offense took advantage of five Storm miscues and scored 13 runs on 8 hits. Connor O’Brien led the way with three hits and a walk in five plate appearances with Matthew McClure contributing another two hits and a run scored. Jake Nadley also delivered in the clutch with a 2-RBI single and an RBI groundout.

Next up for the Sun Devils were the Mid Valley Warriors. Will Rudy took the mound for the Devils and gave up only two earned runs across four innings of work. Unfortunately, two key errors allowed another three runs to score and the Devils trailed 5-2 entering the fifth. (Of note was Nadley entering to pitch int he fourth inning with runners on first and second and one out. On his second pitch he induced an inning ending 1-4-3 double play!)

Jake Nadley flew out to right to start the inning, but then Rudy, McClure, Jackson LoBianco were walked in succession to load the bases. A wild pitch to Jakob Ho scored Rudy and another walk issued to Ho loaded the bases again. O’Brien hit a line drive to right field that scored a second run but the Warriors right fielder was able to throw O’Brien out at first to notch the second out of the inning. Unfortunately for the Devils, catcher Aidan Klimon hit a chopper right to third base for the final out and the game was called on time.

Oddly enough, this loss may have been just what the Devils needed. The week before the Devils had a player leave the team in the middle of the tournament and the boys never got it together as they were soundly beaten by a tough Die Hards squad twice in the USSSA Easter Classic. The boys knew that this tournament featured a great field of Southern California 9U teams and they had something to prove. They had played with heart and intensity against a great Warriors squad and had come up just short, feeling cheated as much by the clock as anything that happened on the field.

Third basemen Jashial Jakel-Morrissey gets an infield single to load the bases and the pressure is on. Two of the best 9U players in California are up next and the bases are loaded. Kevin Olmos steps into the batter’s box…

Sunday began with a game against Team Rawlings. Hunter Cope took the mound for the Devils and was nearly unhittable as he turned in three innings of 1-hit shutout ball before giving way to Ho in the fourth. Rawlings pitcher Kyle Kerr got off to a great start but was let down by his defense as two unearned runs came in to score over the first two innings. The Devils finally got to Kerr in the third when O’Brien, Klimon and Jake Lappin strung together three hits. O’Brien came in on a balk, Klimon’s courtesy runner Connor Kentros scored on Lappin’s double and Lappin scored when Klein hit into fielder’s choice with no out recorded. Rawlings made some noise in the fifth and scored on a balk and an error and again in the sixth when third basemen Ryan Sveningson was walked and came around to score on an error. With two outs and a runner at second base, Jake Nadley was called on for a one out save that he got when he induced catcher Harrison Owen to fly out to centerfield.

Rudy toed the rubber with an eye on redemption. He had pitched excellently the day before against the Warriors but still came away with a loss. He wanted to ensure that the lead given to him by Nadley would hold. Rudy’s first pitch to Olmos resulted in a swinging strike, the second a foul ball, the third was another foul and the fourth was a ball high. Olmos fouled off the next two pitches before going down swinging. Two outs, but the bases were still loaded for the dangerous Erik Rivas…

The win over Team Rawlings put the Devils into the semi-finals against Damage Control. Jake Lappin took the mound and pitched the Devils to a complete game 8-5 victory, scattering five hits and four earned runs across five innings. Two weeks earlier at the SGV Hustle Tournament of Champions the Devils had beaten Damage Control 10-5 taking control of the game early and never looking back. This game was different as the Devils and Damage Control matched score inning by inning for the first three innings. Then Damage Control took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning to go up 5-4, but the Devils roared back with four runs in the top of the fifth to put the game away. Offensively the Devils were keyed by Lappin going 3-for-3 with 2 RBIs; Klimon going 2-for-3 with an RBI; Klein going 1-for-3 with 2 RBIs and McClure knocking in two runs off of a single and a sacrifice fly.

Rivas hit the first pitch that he saw weakly back to Rudy who flipped it to Klimon at the dish for the third and final out. The Devils now had the chance to close out the game’s final six outs without seeing Olmos or Rivas again.

Jake Nadley took the mound for the Devils and Emilio Morales took the mound for the Warriors in the championship game. Morales held the Devils scoreless in the top of the first and Nadley returned the favor in the bottom of the first. The Devils opened the scoring in the second on singles by Cope and Nadley and a sacrifice bunt by Rudy, but the Warriors were able to come back with three runs of their own in the bottom half. The Devils and Warriors traded runs in the third but the Devils trailed by one. The Warriors changed pitchers to Bruce Yamamoto in the top of the fourth and the Devils immediately took advantage scoring four runs after Cope led off with a double and O'Brien finished the scoring with a two-run single. Nadley started the inning, but a single, a fielder's choice and a bloop pop-up put two runners on with only one out...

Rudy kicked off the fifth inning with a ground ball out, Nadley (at 2nd) to Lappin (at 1st), this was followed by 6-3 and 5-3 outs. The Devils were held scoreless in the top of the sixth but still held the lead and were three outs away from the win. The first out was a grounder to Lappin at 1st. The second another grounder to Cope at 3rd and the third and final out came on another ground out to Cope at third. The Devils are the 5th Annual Bat Wars Champions with a 7-4 over the Mid Valley Warriors!

Aidan (OC Sun Devils) Summer 2010 Highlights

Devils Cap Comeback with Walk-Off Double

 The O.C. Sun Devils again proved their resilience in their sixth tournament victory in seven tries this summer. Coach Mark Cresse's crew came back from deficits of 5-2 and 6-5 to beat the SoCal Owls 7-6 and extend their championship streak to four in a row. This is the second USSSA tournament that the boys have won as a 9U team.

The Devils beat the Corona Cougars 5-4 and the Dirtbags Baseball Academy 14-0 in the preliminary round to take the top seed in the gold bracket. On Sunday, the Devils beat the Livermore Heat 15-4 and the Corona Cougars 16-3 to secure their spot in the championship game. The SoCal Owls also went 4-0 over preliminary and bracket play, but the Devils beat them on tiebreakers for the top seed and the Owls were forced to play the Northridge Sharks. In a tightly contested game, the Owls edged the Sharks 8-7 to earn a berth in the championship.

The Owls laid into a shell-shocked Devils defense in the top of the first inning. Three singles, an intentional walk, an error and seven stolen bases led to five runs against the normally stout Devils defense. Shockingly, three of the stolen bases were of home as the Devils looked out of sorts and routine run-downs and pickoffs became adventures. Pitcher Hunter Cope and the rest of the defense caught their breath, settled down and retired the next three batters, but the damage was done, and the Devils would be chasing the Owls the rest of the game. Despite having loaded the bases for three consecutive batters, the Devils were only able to push across two in the bottom of the first to narrow the gap to 5-2.

The second inning was dominated by defense as both the Owls and the Devils stepped up defensively to hold the other team scoreless and the third proved to be much the same with the Devils picking up a run after Cope doubled to lead off the inning and scored on Jake Lappin's ground out to cut the lead to 5-2.

Since the first inning, the Devils had only allowed three base runners and the fourth inning they tightened up even further as Cope struck out the first batter and the Devils retired the next two batters for their first one-two-three inning. The bottom of the fourth did not begin on a promising note for the Devils as their first two batters were retired, but then Jakob Ho hit a single and Connor O'Brien reached on an error that also allowed Ho to score. This brought up Cope again who hammered another double to drive in O'Brien and tie the ballgame. Unfortunately the Owls held and got the third out before the Devils could score the go ahead run.

Trevor Klein took the mound for the Devils in the fifth inning and was able to continue the scoreless innings streak, unfortunately, despite having three runners reach safely in the bottom of the fifth, the Devils were unable to push across the go-ahead run. After retiring the first two batters in the top of the sixth, Klein gave up successive singles and the Owls were able to go ahead 6-5 on a fielding error, but O'Brien made a great play on a hard hit ball to the left side of the infield to get the final out and bring the Devils top of the order up to bat. Unfortunately, Ho grounded out for the first out. O'Brien hit a line drive single and advanced to second on the centerfielder's error. Cope popped up to second to ring up the second out. Klein came up with two outs and the tournament on the line. After a first pitch ball, Klein missed badly on the next two pitches, but it only takes one pitch to turn a game around and Klein laced the next ball right up the middle to drive in the game tying run. Lappin followed this with a single to centerfield to push the winning run to second base. This brought up Aidan Klimon who took a 1-0 fastball deep to centerfield for a walk-off double.

This comeback victory ran the Devil's record to 32-4 and provides a big boost of confidence as the boys head off to Vegas this weekend for the Triple Crown Las Vegas Nationals.