Conejo Valley’s Junior All-Stars stay alive with another first-place finish

By Wayne BokatSpecial to the Acorn

ADAM DAVIS/Acorn Newspapers LOAD AND FIRE—Baxtor Bailey of the Conejo Valley All Stars took the mound against El Rio last Thursday in the District 13 championship game. This Tuesday the squad defeated the Ojai Valley All-Stars to advance to the Southern California Division 3 tournament to be held in San Bernardino. Less than 11 months ago there was a parade in Thousand Oaks to honor the United States champion Conejo Valley Little League All Stars.

The 11-12-year-old All-Stars lost in the world championship game, but prior to that had won 22 straight games to earn the right to call itself the best Little League team in the entire United States.

Tuesday night at Huntsinger Park in Ventura, three members of that team helped a 13-14 yearold Conejo Valley All-Star team beat Ojai, 13-2, to win the Section 1 championship.

Conejo Valley advances to the Southern California Division 3 tournament to be held in San Bernardino. Conejo Valley plays at 7 p.m. Saturday night.

Jordan Brower, James Brady and Danny Leon were part of the historic run last year. Sean McIntyre began the season with this year’s team but a commitment to high school football precluded this year’s participation.

Against Ojai, the Conejo Valley All Stars scored nine runs in the first inning and led 13-2 after five innings and thus the game was ended via the 10-run mercy rule.

Dustin Kahle, a center fielder, led the game off with a single and eventually scored. Brady, a third baseman, walked and later scored. Catcher Mitchell Korey hit a runscoring double to left-center.

Cleanup hitter Baxter Bailey followed with another double that the Ojai fielder lost in the sun, plating two runs that made the score, 3-0.

Leon, the Conejo Valley shortstop, was intentionally walked and second baseman Tyler Smith hit a one-out single to right to score run No. 4.

Brower, who started in right field and later relieved pitcher Kody Kasper on the mound, blooped a single to center field to make the score 5-0.

Left fielder Kyle Briones was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Kahle, batting for the second time in the inning, singled up the middle, making it 6-0. Brady singled home two more runs in his second at-bat of the inning and with two outs, Bailey flew out to right-center to end the onslaught.

Smith drove home a run with a grounder in the second inning. Conejo Valley scored two more on an error in the third, and Smith’s leadoff walk in the fourth led to another run.

Ojai scored twice on an error in the bottom of the third inning but couldn’t get any closer than 10 runs behind (12-2 at the time).

Kasper and Brower combined for the win.

“We’ve got great pitching on this team, we’re about five deep and we’re starting to get the bats going, too,” said Conejo Valley manager Tim Schneider. “I think this is probably the furthest (a 1314 year old team from) Conejo Valley has gotten in the junior division in a while. The team is really starting to gel.”

The players said hard work and camaraderie have combined to make the season a success.

“Everybody on the team gets along real well and even the coaches know how to have a good time,” said Korey.

Bailey agreed.

“The older kids on this team have been together a while and so have the younger kids,” he said. “They’re all good ball players, so it’s fun.”

Schneider said the team has handled the pressure of being last year’s national champion.

“We know that when we come out to these games everyone wants to beat us because of Conejo Valley winning last year,” he said. “So there is pressure in that sense. We know teams are going to throw their best pitchers against us.

“But overall I think the kids are relaxed,” added Schneider. “They’re having fun. They have a lot of confidence and they’re working hard. That’s what makes a winning team.”