After 2-1/2 weeks of inactivity, the Dodgers, as the entrants from Lakewood Village Little League, took the field to square off against the Plaza LL Mariners at the little field on Carson Boulevard in Long Beach, CA.
Mondesi took the hill on this fine blustery day and showed no ill effects from the long layoff; his pitches were low and well-flung--the hardest ones to hit. He ended up pitching five innings, and struck out 13 Mariners. Nate followed with one inning of two strikeout relief in his best appearance in weeks after he made some pitching mechanical adjustments in the bullpen during the long break.
Meanwhile, on offense, the Dodgers spun their wheels for four innings, including a gaffe by Mondesi in the first inning on the bases where he was thrown out at third. Two or more runners reached base in the 1st, 2nd, and 4th innings, but the Dodgers were unable to come up with the big hit. However, in the fifth inning, perhaps sensing that his team needed a spark, Mondesi drew a leadoff walk, trotted down the first baseline, and without breaking stride rounded first at a sprint, catching the Mariners off guard and sliding into second base. Next, on a short flyball to leftfield, Mondesi tagged quickly and bounded to third base. One pitch in the dirt later, Monde came home without a slide, and the Dodgers were on the board.
Well, that crack in the dam was quickly exploited--Nate singled, Fisch singled, Ripper doubled, and Nick walked, then rounded first and allowed Ripper to score when the Mariners threw down to second to get Nick. In the sixth inning, Brick singled, Tiger singled, Mondesi singled, David hit a sacrifice fly to score a run, Nate hit a booming triple to the wall, Fisch doubled, Ripper singled, and Brick later got his second hit of the game to drive in the ninth run of the game.
After a slow start the long-hibernating Dodgers woke up with a bang and will take on the archrival Long Beach Little League Padres next Saturday at 5pm.
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