A Banner Day for Charter Oak PONY

WALNUT - With championships on the line, the Charter Oak Gold Mustangs and Bronco All-Stars knew what worked best.

Runs. Lots and lots of runs.

The Mustangs and Broncos won the PONY Regional Championships on Tuesday night,  using offensive explosions in victories over Whittier Navy (14-9) and West Covina Red (16-5) respectively at Creekside Park.

Each Charter Oak squad traveled a different road to its PONY banner. The Mustangs entered the game undefeated in the region and had plans of things staying that way. However, Whittier Navy had other plans in a 14-8 victory to force a deciding game.

"We didn't show up to play," Mustang coach Tim O'Leary said of the first game. "We may have thought that Whittier was just going to roll over, and they didn't."

So what changed in Game 2?

"We got our heads right," O'Leary said. "We got timely hitting and playing solid defense. The boys stepped up."

Andres Quinones had several big hits for the Mustangs, who enjoyed a comfortable lead throughout only for Whittier Navy to close within 11-9 after a huge fifth inning.

Charter Oak responded, scoring three runs in the top of the sixth on clutch hits from Andre Lopez and Quinones to take a five-run lead.

"That was huge," O'Leary said. "It was nice to get that cushion."

That cushion allowed O'Leary to keep his son Dylan O'Leary to pitch in the bottom of the sixth. The youngster responded with a strong close to the game, allowing just a single and getting consecutive fly balls to center-fielder Jaden Allen to finish the job.

"I always liked our chances," said coach O'Leary, whose team has been playing together since Memorial Day weekend. "We've been playing solid baseball."

Now the Mustangs are headed to the Super Regionals in San Marcos, where they will compete in a 16-team bracket for two spots in the PONY Zone playoffs. They will begin play Thursday against Torrance at the Mission Sports Park.

"It's going to be a tough bracket," said O'Leary, whose team will be staying out in San Marcos. "Our work is cut our for us."

For the Broncos All-Stars, the road will be less traveled. They will head to Whittier's York Field for the Super Regionals beginning on Thursday.

They will enter with some momentum, having basically batted West Covina Red into submission. They forced a deciding game with a 10-6 victory to open the day and used 15 hits to coast to victory in Game 2.

"I'm proud of them," coach Danny Rubalcava said. "We really put the bat on the ball. That's always been a great strength for us."

Zo Llorens had a standout day for the Broncos, hitting two doubles and knocking in five runs. His two-run double in the top of the seventh inning was the big hit of a seven-run inning that ultimately put West Covina away for good.

Jaron Surdo added three RBIs with two runs scored and pitched an effective final five innings, allowing just a single run after West Covina scored four runs in the first two innings.

The Broncos got another big game from Frankie Gallegos, who capped a marvelous tournament with a massive home run in the top of the sixth inning. After swinging and missing on a pitch to the delight of the West Covina fans, Gallegos sent the very next pitch over the center-field fence. 

"Unbelievable," remarked Rubalcava of Gallegos' third home run of the tournament. Gallegos finished the game 3-for-3 with three runs scored. He also pitched a complete game in the opener and shuffled between shortstop and catcher in the second game. His at-bats were often a show to watch.

Aside from his home run, he nearly knocked the head off a West Covina pitcher with a hard-hit single early in Game 2.

"I'm just trying to get on base and make sure I get a hit," said Gallegos, a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols. Aleck Manke, DJ Rubalcava, Nick Zielomski, Ryan White and Brian Tolar all scored two runs apiece in the victory.

The Broncos will face Mira Costa in their Super Regional opener on Friday at 7:45 p.m. They will be joined by the Charter Oak Chargers, who also earned a berth into the Super Regionals.

The Chargers will face Paramount on Thursday at 5:15 p.m. Only two teams from the 16-team Super Regional will advance to the Zone playoffs beginning July 29 in Whittier. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children 12 years and under in games in Whittier.