HART'S BRONCS BUCK UP : TEAM WINS UNDER PRESSURE.

Byline: Bryan Winchell Special to the Daily News

For a baseball team to come back from a first-round tournament loss to win six ``must'' games, it must have its share of standout performances.

The Hart Pony Broncos, all 11 and 12, turned in plenty of heroics in a romp through the losers' bracket to a championship in the sectional tournament in West Hills last week.

Perhaps there was something about Danny Protting's sacrifice that inspired his teammates. He persuaded his family, heading to the Olympics last Friday, to leave him behind a day with the team. He threw seven solid innings and collected a couple of key hits Saturday before taking a flight by himself to Georgia.

``This team works well together as a unit,'' said manager Jim Curtis. ``It's not like one particular kid carries this team.''

Other Hart players who turned in great clutch performances last week include:

Shortstop Josh Fogel, 12, the team's leadoff hitter. A consistent player who reaches base almost half the time, Fogel likes the role of being team leader of the infield.

``(At shortstop), you get a lot of action, and you can really take charge of the infield,'' Fogel said.

Fogel would like to be a pro ballplayer someday, and he spends at least an hour a day hitting and taking ground balls when his team doesn't practice.

The hard work paid off in the sectional tournament when he made a diving backhand catch of a line drive and doubled a runner off second base early in a tight game.

``I'm always trying to do my best even if it's just a hitting drill or something like that,'' said Fogel, whose older brother Brad was a pitcher for Saugus High this year.

Chris Giordano, catcher, 12. Giordano gave the team power last week, hitting three home runs to give him five on the year. In a game against Toluca Lake, he hit two.

``When I hit the first one, I felt like nobody could beat me, and I just drove the bat through the ball,'' said Giordano, whose sisters Nicole and Jeanine are interested in Saugus sports.

Jeanine, now a catcher at the University of Washington on a softball scholarship, taught Chris some of the finer points when he started catching two years ago.

``I love throwing people out at second and blocking the ball to save a run,'' Giordano said.

Kyle Love, pitcher and third baseman, 12. Love is a hard-throwing right hander who can overpower opposing hitters with his fastball.

In the championship game of the sectional tournament, Love threw a complete game, allowing six hits, giving up one earned run and striking out nine to lead his team to an 8-2 win over Camarillo.

``I like to throw to hitters to see if they can hit the ball,'' Love said.

Love is also a force at the plate, going 4 for 4 in the championship game and hitting a home run in a game against West Hills. Young leaders have been instrumental in the team's 15-1 start and appearance in the regional tournament in El Monte, which began Thursday night.

``I just want to win,'' Love said. ``One mom was saying the last Hart team that had to start at the bottom won the whole World Series in 1984. I want to be like them.''

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Photo: Leaders on the Hart Broncos baseball team include, f rom left, Kyle Love, Chris Giordano and Josh Fogel.

Evan Yee/Daily News