Little League All Stars: Pleasanton American 12s Have Easy Time With Pleasanton National

The Star: Pleasanton American's Jack Ehsa might have battled leadoff, but he looked like a clean-up hitter in Sunday's quarterfinal victory. Ehsa went 3 for 3 with a pair of home runs in the win. He also drove in four runs and scored twice.

The Turning Point: Ehsa struck his first homer on the second pitch of the game, and Pleasanton American never looked back. Pleasanton American added 12 more runs after the leadoff jack, but it was Ehsa's critical hit that got them on the right path.

The Quote: "We put this team together with hitting in mind," Pleasanton American coach Don Galli said. "The kids are very capable of doing what we did today on a regular basis, so this season should be fun."

What's next? Pleasanton American continues in the winner's bracket of the tournament, facing Livermore Americanl on Wednesday afternoon. Pleasanton National moves onto the loser's bracket to face Dublin Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. If Pleasanton National loses, they would be eliminated from the tournament.

—————————————

For some, the best offense is a good defense.

For the boys on the Pleasanton American 12-year-old all star team, the best defense is a good offense.

Pleasanton American pounded out 14 runs on 17 hits against crosstown rival Pleasanton National in a winner's bracket quarterfinal victory.

"The kids hit the ball very well today," Galli said. "They really showed what they're capable of doing today."

Pleasanton American jumped out of the gate fast, scoring two in the top of the first.

After three innings, it was tied at three and seemed like anyone could take the victory. Pleasanton American, however, added five in their half of the fourth to solidify the victory. Jacob Wilson, Ryan Myers, Justin Goodman and Ehsa each had RBI singles in the fourth to add onto their lead.

Pleasanton American added four in the fourth and two in the fifth to cap off the victory.

Rory Colls and Nick Martin each threw for Pleasanton American, with Colls taking the victory.

While the hitting stole the show, Galli was proud of the pitching he saw out of Colls and Martin.

"We were light on pitching for today, but our guys really stepped up," he said. "When our pitching catches up to our hitting, we'll be pretty tough to beat."

————————————————

Pleasanton American LL 14, Pleasanton National LL 3

Pleasanton American 215 42 — 14 17 1 

Pleasanton National 012 00 — 3 7 1

Pleasanton American — Ehsa 3-4-2, Mays 1-2-1, Goodman 2-3-2, Lockneen 1-3-1, Still 1-4-2, Kwon 1-2-1, Martin 2-4-2, Moles 2-3-1, Colls 1-3-0, Myers 2-2-2, Galli 0-2-0, Wilson 1-1-0

Pleasanton National — Marques 2-3-0, Ruso 1-2-0, Newman 1-2-0, Lau 1-3-1, Trucc0-3-0, Highfill 0-3-0, Dougherty 2-2-1, Roman 1-2-0, Rooney 0-1-0, Murphy 0-2-1, Wilson 0-1-0, Johnson 0-1-0

Pitching

Pleasanton American — Colls 3 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 6 H, 1 K, 1 BB; Martin 2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 2 K, 0 BB

Pleasanton National — Newman 2+ IP, 5 R, 5 ER, 5 H, 2 K, 0 BB; Murphy 2/3 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 H, 1 K, 0 BB; Dougherty 1 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 7 H, 0 K, O BB; Lau 1 1/3 IP 2 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 K, o BB

Hitting

2B —Marques (Pleasanton National), Newman (Pleasanton National)  HR — Ehsa (Pleasanton American), 1^st, none on; 3^rd, two on; Kwon (Pleasanton American), 5^th, one on