La Mesa Little League Dominates Dupont Memorial Tournament

The La Mesa National Little League Majors Reds won the fifth annual Dorothy Dupont Memorial Tournament this past weekend.  After two high scoring wins on Friday and Saturday they played the Allied Gardens Blue Jays in a championship game held at District 33’s Damato Field in Tierrasanta.

The rival teams pitchers and batters dueled relentlessly for three and a half scoreless innings.  Dylan King anchored the La Mesa pitching, relentlessly striking out the Allied Gardens batters.

La Mesa nearly scored in the top of the 4th inning when a runner on 3rd base dashed in to home after an infield hit.  Outstanding defense by Allied Gardens hurled the ball back to the catcher for a quick out at home to deny a score for the La Mesa runner. 

Finally, in the bottom of the 4th, a series of errors allowed Allied Gardens to bring in 3 runs.  Facing an unexpected defeat, La Mesa rallied in the 5th with base hits to put runners on first and second.  Batter Matthew Goddard stepped to the plate and soon faced a two strike count.  Connecting solidly with a zooming fastball, Goddard sent his hit to high left center.  With the Allied Gardens fans holding their breath and the La Mesa fans yelling “Go! Go!” the ball finally sailed over the fence for a three run homer.

The score now tied, La Mesa attempted to bring in another run, but the Allied Gardens pitcher kept his focus and held the score to the 3 – 3 tie.

In the bottom of the 5th, Nick Salisbury took over pitching duties and worked to prevent any further Allied Gardens runs.  Despite two outs, Allied Gardens managed to advance a runner to 3rd.  Deciding to gamble, the runner took off for home when a wild La Mesa pitch flew past the catcher.  A heart stopping rundown ensued with the Allied Gardens player dodging the attempted tags between 3rd and home.  Unfazed, the La Mesa players swiftly divided themselves to provide rotating coverage at the base and home plate.  Just as it looked like the runner would make it back to 3rd, pitcher turned 1st baseman Dylan King sprinted to make the tag and final out of the inning.

At the top of the 6th inning, Dylan King again stepped up and powered a hit to deep right field.  Taking advantage, King sprinted around the bases beating a huge throw from the outfield to third base to secure a triple.  Batter Cameron Williams fought hard against solid pitching from Allied Gardens.  At a full 3 balls, 2 strike count, and after numerous foul balls, Williams sent a hit to the 2nd baseman.  Quick defense put him out at first, but was unable to stop King from scoring.  La Mesa attempted to build its lead, but was unable to score additional runs.

Heading into the bottom of the 6th, stakes were high as one Allied Gardens run would send the game to extra innings and two would win the game.  Facing down the pressure, Salisbury maintained composure and despite walking one batter, pitched well.  With one out and one man on 1st, the Allied Gardens batter smacked a ground ball to shortstop Matthew Goddard.  Goddard quickly touched 2nd base for an out and fired the ball to 1st baseman Dylan King for a double play and final out, clinching victory for La Mesa.  The final score was 4 -3.

Despite disappointment from Allied Gardens both teams demonstrated good sportsmanship, shaking hands after the game.

After a victory lap with their newly won tournament banner, the La Mesa players gathered with their coaches for pictures.  Manager Lawrence Salisbury said “The game was more than just a win for La Mesa National.  It was a lesson in teamwork and sportsmanship by both Allied Gardens and La Mesa National.  It really showed the positive lessons that youth sports can teach.”