All of Spencerview's diamonds will be well used this weekend

Oct 23, 2023

The Deer Park Pinto all-star coaching staff rehashes the 13-2 victory Friday night with the players.

It was a good sendoff for the Deer Park Pinto all-stars Friday night, but with the meat of the Pinto Tournament in front of them, they can't be satisfied.

The 8-year-olds had an easy time with the South Belt 7U all-stars, winning 13-2 at Spencerview's Cecil Cummins Field, one of six contests held at the complex.

In other final scores from the complex Friday night, La Porte 7U defeated Pasadena 8U 9-8, La Porte defeated Friendswood 8U White 11-6, Friendswood 8U Blue blanked Crosby II 15-0, South Belt 8U topped Friendswood 7U Blue 18-3 and Friendswood 7U White turned back Crosby I 15-9.

Now comes Saturday when four games will be unfolding every two hours at the complex, starting at 10 a.m. and running through 8 p.m. All of those games will decide championship showdowns on Sunday in not just Pinto but also the Shetland division.

Deer Park returns to the diamond for a 10 a.m. contest on Saturday.

These are the opening fireworks to the annual two months of Coast Region Pony Baseball competition that could ultimately lead to South Zone and World Series berths for the older boys in places like California and Louisiana. The 10 through 14-year-olds kick off their all-star competition next weekend at various sites.

Gray Kellam was for the most part pleased with the first game, but the competition is only going to get better from here on out.

"I think I gave 99 percent, but I think I can give way more, but overall, I think it was just a very good game," said Kellam, who plays first base.

Kellam says if the team reaches the championship, he's casting the early MVP vote for third baseman Matthew Agundis.

"We came out a little slow, but our bats woke up. Our defense stopped them. They got two in the first inning and then we tied them up. We sat there for a little bit and then slowly, we turned the bats on. Hopefully tomorrow, we'll wake up a little earlier. Third base was solid, shortstop made some really good stops, our first base really caught everything," Manager Chris Martin said.

Martin would like to see his guys be more aggressive on the first pitch. This isn't kid pitch so it's a member of the coaching staff throwing pitches that this age group can routinely hit, though there will be some strikeouts.

"It's a killer when that first pitch goes right down the middle and they let it go. I tell them, that may be the best one you get. We always preach attitude and effort. We can control that. That will take you a long way," said Martin, who has Adam Kellam, Jason Carmona and Keith Vidock helping out in the coaching box.

SPENCERVIEW NOTES: Deer Park player Gavyn Dodson was sporting the remnants of a black eye he got when a thrown baseball hit him in the left eye during practice on Thursday. Fortunately, he was wearing sunglasses at the time and the glasses cushioned his eye a little bit. The swelling was gone, but there was still some bruising below his eye. But he played in the game. ...The rest of the roster features the names of Luke Carmona, Gavin, Carrasco, Grant Doster, Tiago Estrada, Cole Fields, Luke Hinson, Hudson Martin, Konner Vidock and Jacob Yantis. ...Clear Lake High School JV baseball coach Daniel Wheeler was one of the umpires for Deer Park's game. ...With or without the condiments, the hamburgers are really good at the Spencerview concession stand. Italian Ice was also for sale near the concession stand. $6 for a two-scoop cup of watermelon and other flavors.

[email protected]