CONFIDENCE PAYS OFF FOR HART LEAGUE PARENTS : MUSTANGS OVERCOME INJURIES TO PLAY IN TEXAS WORLD SERIES.

Byline: Lee Barnathan Daily News Staff Writer

About three weeks ago, parents of various William S. Hart PONY Mustang baseball players purchased airplane tickets for the Mustang World Series that begins today in Irving, Texas.

Actually, they did it because it was cheaper than to wait until the last minute. Yet they were that confident their group of 9- and 10-year-olds would win the West Zone Tournament at the Hart Complex and advance.

They bought air fare before a series of illnesses and injuries struck a blow to their collective confidences. Maybe they had acted prematurely, as team manager Dave Scripture thought.

``I told them not to do it,'' he said. ``The parents were pressing for information and I said I do not have it. The parents said, `But we've got to plan.' I said, `If you do, I will have nothing to do with it.' ''

Yet everyone also thought the risk was worth it because the team was thought to be that good.

``There's something about these kids. They know they're going to win. They find a way,'' coach Jeff Valaika said.

Fears were laid to rest Monday night, as Hart beat Anaheim 3-1 in the West Zone championship. They left Tuesday morning for Texas and will open play today against an unknown opponent.

Along the way, the parents were made to be afraid as several players went down, all before the Zone tournament began Thursday. The first player, and arguably the most important, was top pitcher Mike Scripture, who cracked a growth plate in his right arm, ending his season. He did not appear in the Zone tournament.

That was followed by shortstop Danny Valaika severely hurting his wrist in a collision at second base. His father, Jeff, a team coach said the wrist was so swollen that X-rays could not reveal if there was a break. So they had to return to the doctor a few days later, where a second set of X-rays showed a sprain.

Then pitcher/first baseman Matt Aidem developed a 103-degree fever and passed it to several teammates, one being Jordan Alexander, who also sprained a thumb.

``We played two or three games with nine players,'' Jeff Valaika said. ``Imagine if another player went down.''

But somehow, everyone except Mike Scripture healed in time for the Zone.

Dave Scripture and Jeff Valaika are known as two of the most intense coaches between the lines. Yet as the championship game remained 1-1 into the fifth inning, they never lost their cool. Dave Scripture said any intense moments were kept in the team huddles between innings.

``Kids have to do it on their own. We don't need to pressure them,'' Jeff Valaika said. ``We can only go so far with the motivational speeches.''

And the players responded. They usually have one strong inning when they score many runs, but Anaheim pitcher Scotty Loveless kept the fastball-hitting Hart team off-balanced with curve balls.

Finally, in the fifth inning, Hart showed it had figured out what to do about the curve ball. Players afterward said they knew that pitch was coming between 75 percent and 95 percent of the time, but it wasn't until the latter part of the game that they were patient enough to let the curve fall out of the strike zone and wait for a fastball.

Actually, Dave Scripture took credit. He started giving the take sign for every pitch until Loveless threw a strike.

It finally showed when Ian Feldman came to bat leading off the bottom of the fifth. Feldman had already struck out in a previous at-bat on three curve balls, so he let the first pitch go by for a strike.

The next pitch was a fastball, and Feldman hit it over the left-field fence for a 2-1 lead.

``The second pitch was right in my zone (waist-high over the plate) and I hit it out,'' Feldman said.

With Mike Scripture out, the pitching Monday was taken care of, in part, by Aidem. He pitched three innings of relief and got the victory.

He also had a way of making the parents panic. In each of his innings, runners were on second and third before Aidem got the last out.

``I like to do that,'' he said. ``I'm pretty good in the pressure.''

``Matt thrives on attention, and this is his opportunity,'' Dave Scripture said. ``With Mike out, this is Matt's chance. He's gonna get the opportunity. He loves that hot spot, so I think he's gonna fare well.''

This is the second year the Mustang level has held a World Series, and it is Hart's first trip. Previously, when the West Zone was the end point, Hart won in 1988 and 1989.

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Photo

Photo: Hart PONY League shortstop Danny Valaika overfieldsa throw Saturday, allowing Daniel Skelton of West Covina to return safely to base.

John Lazar/Special to the Daily News