Alpine Little League All-Stars keep rolling in Nor Cal opener

Alpine opened the tourney at Petaluma’s Lucchesi Park with a three-run first, and added two big innings in the regulation six-inning victory. Their bullpen did the rest, as relievers Patrick Breslin, Derek Armstrong and Charles Saste combined to set down the last 10 batters of the day.

“It feels really good,” Armstrong said of opening the tournament with a win. “I had a good defense behind me so I felt real comfortable.”

Armstrong entered with two outs in the fourth and set down all six batters he faced, departing with two outs in the sixth to turn the ball over to Saste for the final out. 

Seeing Alpine make a pitching change with a 10-run lead and one out to go might have seemed unusual, but — as anyone familiar with Little League pitch count rules knows — it wasn’t. Alpine manager Dave Levinson wanted to keep Armstrong under the 20-pitch threshold so he’d be available to pitch Sunday’s second-round game against host Petaluma National.

What was unusual, however, was none of the Alpine coaches made a mound visit during the pitching change. Levinson simply communicated verbally with the home plate umpire from the dugout to make the pitching change official, Armstrong handed the ball to Saste himself, and the Alpine defenders took it upon themselves to switch to their new positions accordingly.

“[Saste] didn’t need anything,” Levinson said. “He did say — because he didn’t have a chance to warm up in the pen because we got all those runs (in a five-run top of the sixth inning) so quick. So, he went in, he said: ‘Coach, let me throw four warmup pitches!’ ... So, he was cold, but he got it done.”

By virtue of a three-run outburst in the first inning, Alpine led the entire way. But there was some drama in the bottom of the first when the first three Madera batters reached to load the bases. Alonzo Rosel greeted Alpine starting pitcher Bodhi Bedner with a leadoff single, and Matt Casteneda and Rigo Osuna followed with back-to-back walks.

Bedner followed by running the count to 3-0 against the cleanup hitter, but the left-handed hurler bounced back with three straight strikes to record the punch-out. Bedner then departed with Breslin entering in relief with one out and the bases loaded.

Levinson said the game plan was always to remove Bedner after 20 pitches to keep him available to pitch Sunday. He didn’t necessarily expect to turn to Breslin with just one out, but the right-hander quickly settled things down. No. 5 batter Roman Avila drove in Madera’s only run of the day with an RBI fielder’s choice. Then Breslin stranded two of the three inherited baserunners after notching a three-pitch strikeout, with a called strike three on a big, breaking curveball to retire the side.

It was Breslin’s first pitching appearance of the All-Stars summer season. He went on to work three scoreless innings to earn the win.

“He’s pitched great all year,” Levinson said. “We didn’t really have to use him much ... because the other guys were pitching so well. But he’s a great pitcher. Has a really good curveball. He throws in the low 60s. So, it’s really just a testament to the depth that we have that we hadn’t had to use him, but we’re confident in him, for sure.”

Breslin also enjoyed a big day at the plate, going 3 for 3 with a double and an RBI out of the No. 2 spot in the order. He got Alpine on the board in the first with an RBI double, then scored on a two-run double by Max Turner.

In the third, Breslin’s single helped set the table for another three-run rally. Nolan Levinson led off the frame with his second single of the day. After Breslin’s single, Saste delivered a one-out RBI single. Bedner followed with a sharp grounder that went through the wickets of a Madera infielder, bringing home two runs to put Alpine ahead 6-1.

In the sixth, Alpine sent 10 batters to the plate, sparked by Breslin’s leadoff single to left. Bedner later drew a bases-loaded walk, and Turner, Dylan Dossola, Garrett Weiss and Teddy Hourigan followed with RBI singles.

“We swung it well today,” Breslin said. “We hit a lot before the game today. So, we were ready.”

Alpine’s pitching arms did the rest, while Bedner remained in the battery until the fourth inning by moving from pitcher to catcher. There is a growing trend in youth sports to see the occasional left-handed catcher, but sporting goods stores evidently aren’t equipped for a slight demand. 

According to Dave Levinson, Bedner’s father got laughed out of three sporting goods stores before he finally caved and ordered a Missoula brand left-handed catcher’s mitt via Amazon.

And while throwing to a lefty didn’t seem to affect Breslin’s pitching performance, he still noticed the difference.

“It’s different,” Breslin said.

Breslin finished the day by recording a highlight in all three phases of the game. After moving to shortstop with two outs in the sixth, he made a dazzling play ranging over the middle on a slow, high hopper. Breslin made it look almost routine as he timed the ball perfectly, gloved it on his front foot, then got airborne off his back foot to throw a strike across the diamond to Kogan Flannery at first.

“We are used to seeing him make those plays,” Dave Levinson said. “He is a fantastic shortstop. He has been since he was about 7.”

With the win, Alpine advances through the winners’ bracket to face Petaluma National in the second round Sunday at 4 p.m.

The seven-team, double-elimination tournament includes West Redding, Maidu-Granite Bay, Aptos and Los Banos. The tourney spans through Friday, with the winner advancing to the West Region tournament in San Bernardino.

“The tournament in general is awesome,” Dave Levinson said. “It’s super cool to be here. They had a welcoming ceremony, all the kids were out there. All the kids were obviously excited. ... It’s all just gravy at this point based on the district and the section. That’s how we’ve been looking at it. Of course, you play to win, but we really are fired up to be here.

“Every team here has beaten 20, to 30, or 40, I don’t know how many teams — right? — to get through two rounds,” he said. “So, everybody’s here for a reason and the level of competition’s good. Teams aren’t going to beat themselves as much. And you’ve got to play good baseball to win. So, that’s our expectation.”