Little League All Stars: Danville 11s Crush Chico Central at Divisonal

The Star: Connor Redmond was 3 for 3 with a walk and three RBIs and finished a home run shy of the cycle.

The Turning Point: Locked in a close game, Danville exploded for 10 fifth-inning runs which turned the contest into a lopsided victory.

The Quote: "It was very, very nice to see them stay focused," Danville manager Mark Dawson said. "It could be easy to let one slip bye."

What's next? Danville plays Scotts Valley, which has won a pair of games at the Divisional tournament by scores of 11-6 and 7-1, Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Osage Park in Danville. Get live updates from the game by following Patch Sports East Bay on Twitter.

Bottom Line: The game was shortened after the fifth inning, which is a big advantage for Danville. The team already drew a first-round bye and will go into Wednesday's winners' bracket with a much fresher pitching staff than Scotts Valley, which has played two six-inning games in as many days.

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Despite trailing for the first time since the season-opener, the Danville Little League 11-year-old All Stars didn't lose focus as they used a 10-run fifth inning to win the opening-game at the Northern California Divisional playoffs Sunday at Osage Park in Danville. 

A single, wild pitch and another single resulted in a 1-0 Chico Central lead in the bottom of the second, but Danville wasted no time erasing the deficit.

Ryan Bowman singled and scored on a wild pitch in the next half inning before Danville took the lead for good in the fourth.

"It was very, very nice to see them stay focused," Danville manager Mark Dawson said. "It could be easy to let one slip bye."

After Darroch Koel threw a scoreless third, Connor Redmond led of the fourth with a double. Pinch-hitter Billy Facteau (2 for 2) brought him in with a single to right and Danville tacked on another when Cole de Flores, who also hit a pinch-hit single, stole home on a first-and-third play. Nick Venezia drew a throw to second base when he broke like he was stealing, got in a pickle to allow de Flores to score, then made it back safely to first.

"Their pitcher (Trevor Owens) did a good job the first time through the lineup," Dawson said. "He's one of those guys where the second time through (the lineup) he is a little bit easier to figure out."

The third time through the order was even better for Danville.

Danville chased Owens out of the game with one out in the fifth and Redmond, the first hitter against the new pitcher, hit a two-run triple to blow the game open.

Chris Lonestar, Jared Dawson, Facteau, Venezia, Morgan also had hits in the 10-run fifth, in which Chico used four pitchers. Redmond also added a single in the inning and finished 3 for 3.

"It was production from the team all over the lineup," coach Dawson said. "We know that everyone on our team is capable of producing depending on the day."

Danville plays Scotts Valley, which has won a pair of games at the Divisional tournament by scores of 11-6 and 7-1, Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., at Osage Park.

When this group won the Divisional title a year ago, it had to come out of the losers' bracket after dropping its tournament opener. Danville was fortunate enough to draw a first-round bye and Sunday's game was shortened due to the 1o-run rule after the fifth inning. Meaning Danville's pitching will have only thrown five innings this tournament compared to Scotts Valley's 12.

"This sets up wonderfully for our pitching," Dawson said. "We feel confident in a number of our guys, even some that haven't gotten a chance to throw for us yet."

Danville has allowed just five runs in the last nine games combined.

Koel went three innings before Venezia and Redmond both threw frames to finish the game. 

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Danville 13, Chico Central 3

Danville 001 2(10) — 13 13 0
Chico Central 010 02— 3 5 1

Danville (ab-r-h) — Venezia 2-1-2, Bowman 3-2-1, Dawson 4-1-1, Koel 1-2-0, Morgan 4-1-2, Redmond 3-2-3, Lonestar 2-1-1, Bartnick 2-0-0, Batza 1-0-0, Facteau 2-1-2, Banks 1-1-0, 1-1-1. 

Chico National (ab-r-h) — Fiori 3-0-0, Merrill 2-0-0, Smith 1-0-1, Kinney 3-0-1, Kurung 2-1-1, Sears 1-0-0, Kucich 1-0-0, Del Carlo 1-0-1, Davis 1-0-0, Donnelly 2-0-1, Owens 2-1-0, Andersen 1-0-0, Cooley 1-0-0. 

Pitching

Danville: Koel 3 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 4, K; Venezia 1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 K; Redmond 1 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 1 K.

Chico Central: Owens 4.1 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 7 H, 5 BB, 8 K; Davis 0 IP, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 0 K; Kurung 0.1 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 0 K; Fiore 0.1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K.

Hitting
2B — Redmond, Facteau, Morgan. 3B — Redmond.

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