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Sports

Yankees Cruise To Redondo Sunset Pony Title

Eight-run first inning is more than enough to fuel the championship victory. Of the 12 Yankees' to play, 10 had at least one hit and scored one run.

With an offensive explosion in the first two innings, the Yankees got out to a big lead and won the Redondo Sunset Pony Division Championship on Monday with a 16-5 victory over the Mets.

With five hits, two walks and two errors by the Mets, the Yankees scored eight runs in the first inning and never looked back. They followed that up with two walks, two singles and another error by the Mets that led to four more Yankees' runs in the second inning.

Of course, the Mets wished the game had started differently. But with one of their key players missing the game because of an illness and two of their other star players, pitcher Dillon Hollingsworth and catcher Dustin Herold, missing the first three innings because of a school field trip to Disneyland, it was an uphill battle the entire game.

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With only eight players in the field for the first two innings and with several players playing out of position, the Mets' defense struggled as the Yankees hit the ball hard all around the field.

With two errors that led to three unearned runs in the first inning, it was too much of a challenge for their offense to catch up.

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Chase Bennett came in to stop the Yankees offense by striking out the final two batters in the first inning with impressive curveballs.

"We struggled early but overall I had a good game,'' said Bennett, who reached base all three times he batted, with a single, a double and a walk.

The Mets could not get much going on the offensive end as Travis Heinemann pitched five strong innings for the Yanks, only giving up two runs on four singles and a double. He struck out seven and walked only three batters.

The Yankees' offense was led by Kevin Heinemann, who had two doubles and two RBI. Kurtis Guelff had a single, a walk and an inside the park home run, while scoring three times. Chase Donlou had a double, single, scored two runs and had two RBI, Travis Heinemann had three RBI. Haden Oliphant had two singles, including one with the bases loaded that cleared the bases, bringing home the final three runs in the first inning.

The top three batters in the lineup for the Yankees - Magollon, Donlou and Guelff - scored eight runs on five hits, two walks and an error. Ten of the 12 Yankees in the lineup had at least one hit and scored a run.

Coach Gene Moran's Yankees finished the season with a 17-3 record and swept through the playoffs undefeated.

''The boys came in with the right attitude,'' he said. ''We have been teaching them to play good solid defense all year. We got timely hits in a few at bats that led to a lot of runs. We had great pitching from Travis Heinemann as the starter and Mogollon to close, and solid play from behind the plate by Kevin Heinemann."

This was the last game as coaches for three veteran Redondo Sunset coaches. Mets' Manager Chris Bennett and coaches Rick Herold and Jeremy Hollingsworth have coached for more than 10 years at Redondo Sunset and it was bittersweet to see their sons end their careers with a loss in the championship game.

''It's my last game for a few years, but not my last game ever,'' Bennett said. ''I have a 16-month-old at home."

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