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Announcement
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Hot Rods 5, Iron Pigs 1
Celtics-Lakers, Red Sox-Yankees, Ali-Frazier, U.S.C-Notre Dame are and were just some of the great sports rivalries of all time.
To many fans of the Ocean View Little League (OVLL), the Iron Pigs-Hot Rods might join the list.
In their sixth face-off of the season, the Hot Rods defeated the Iron Pigs, 5-1, Saturday, June 14 in the final of the District 62 Minor A Tournament of Champions (TOC).
The game saw a rematch of the OVLL championship where the Iron Pigs knocked off the Hot Rods just one day after the Hot Rods, on the brink of elimination in the double-elimination playoffs, had beaten the Iron Pigs to force another game against their rival who had yet to lose in the playoffs.
The Iron Pigs, who had won three of the five games against the Hot Rods on the year, looked like they might be on the way to another win when it struck first in the top of the first inning. The Iron Pigs’ leadoff hitter Daniel Purtell battled Hot Rod ace AJ Hurtado and drew a walk. Although Hurtado struck out three of the next four Iron Pigs he faced in the inning, Purtell managed to score on a wild pitch after being advanced by a Jordan Cole hit.
The Hot Rods, though, struck back with thunder in the bottom of the first when Hurtado and Ramon Lopez both blasted tape-measure solo homeruns. Hurtado’s shot was his third of the TOC. One of his earlier homeruns left the park and landed in a neighboring home's backyard.
Hanging on to a 2-1 lead, the Hot Rods picked up some insurance runs in the fourth on scores by Hurtado, Quentin Custodio, and Myles Lopez. Myles Lopez’ run came on a heady steal of home.
Hurtado turned in another dominant pitching performance, striking out 14 in five innings and allowing just two hits. Ramon Lopez relieved Hurtado and closed out the sixth inning with three strike-outs and no runs.
Jadon Tripp and Cole collected the Iron Pigs only two hits of the game. The Hot Rods had six hits. Besides Hurtado’s and Ramon Lopez’ homers, Carson Jones singled twice and Custodio and Wyatt Smith both singled once.
The Hot Rods—whose team also included Aiden Hall, Van Harmon, Gavin Kells, Jack Pirooz, and Carson Webb—advanced to the TOC championship game by racing by Fountain Valley’s No. 1 team, 14-1 and Huntington Valley’s No. 1, 6-0, before nosing out Sea View’s No. 1, 6-5, on a walk-off walk by Myles Lopez in the seventh inning.
The Iron Pigs also won impressively in the TOC before meeting the Hot Rods, edging Sea View No. 2, 2-1; blasting Cost Mesa National No. 1, 11-3; and shutting out Cost Mesa American No. 2, 5-0. Besides Cole, Tripp and Purtell, the Iron Pigs’ roster included Jake Alvarez, Kaden Chase, Matt Fox, JM Harduvel, Luke Ponchak, Cameron Youngsma, Alex Yee and Chris Yee.
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