HORSEPOWER MUSTANG TEAM TWO WINS FROM SERIES.Byline: Gerry Gittelson Staff Writer CHINO HILLS - These kids might be little, but they sure carry some big bats. The free-swinging Hart Mustang mustang [Sp. mesteño=a stray], small feral horse of the W United States. Mustangs are descended from escaped Native American horses, which in turn were descended from horses of North African blood, brought to the New World by the Spanish c.1500. baseball team came through with yet another decisive victory Meaning A Decisive victory is an indisputable military victory of a battle that determines or significantly influences the ultimate result of a conflict. It does not always coincide with the end of combat. in the second round of the West Zone tournament, defeating Mountlake Terrace Mountlake Terrace, city (1990 pop. 19,320), Snohomish co., NW Wash., a residential suburb of Seattle; inc. 1954. Its manufactures include refrigeration systems and communications equipment. of Seattle 9-3 on Friday at Community Park. If the 9- and 10-year-olds can win two in a row - starting with a game late Saturday and continuing Monday - the team can win the eight-team, double-elimination tournament A double-elimination tournament is a competition in which a participant ceases to be eligible to win the tournament's championship upon having lost two games or matches. and qualify for the annual World Series in Irving, Texas Irving (pronounced 'er-ving') is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within Dallas County. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 191,615; the 2006 estimate was 201,927 according to the North Central Texas Council of Governments, and 196,084 according to , which begins Wednesday. Hart is 16-1, including 12 victories in a row, and the team has scored nine runs or more in 15 of its 17 games. Half of their victories have been shortened by the 10-run mercy rule A mercy rule, also well known by the slightly less polite term slaughter rule (or, less commonly, knockout rule and skunk rule), brings a sports event to an early end when one team has a very large and presumably insurmountable lead over the other team. , and the boys have hit more than 30 home runs, nearly all of them over the fence - rather remarkable for a group just two or three years past the T-ball stage. Against Mountlake Terrace, Hart asserted itself early. David Hausman rocked a long double to right field in the second inning in·ning n. 1. a. Baseball One of nine divisions or periods of a regulation game, in which each team has a turn at bat as limited by three outs. b. innings (used with a sing. , soon coming home on Bradley Buchignani's single for a 1-0 lead. An inning later, James Bonds singled off the fence to drive home Aaron Smirnoff, then Hausman hit a 200-foot, three-run home run to center field, and Hart was well on its way. Alex Bishop, Smirnoff and Bonds added doubles over the final three innings INNINGS, estates. Lands gained from the sea by draining. Cunn. L. Dict. h. t.; Law of Sewers, 31. of the six-inning game, as Hart totaled 13 hits, including five for extra bases. All this against a team that entered with a 13-1 playoff record, 25-3 overall. ``We're just a good team. All of us can hit,'' Bonds said. Hart has impressive pitching, too. Starting right-hander Mike Bratt pitched three hitless innings, striking out three. Left-hander Cody Howard pitched the final three innings, allowing one earned run earned run n. Baseball A run scored without the aid of an error, used in computing earned run averages. Noun 1. earned run - a run that was not scored as the result of an error by the other team on three hits and striking out one. Except for a home run to begin the seventh inning, Mountlake Terrace managed to hit just one other ball out of the infield. ``It's a lot easier for the pitchers when we score so many runs. They can just relax,'' first baseman Alex Bishop said. Hart's playoff run began July 1. Over a one-month period, the team has won the District II, Sectional and Regional tournaments. Meanwhile, of all the all-star teams at various levels from Hart, along with Canyon Country and Castaic little leagues, these Mustang kids are the only ones still standing. ``Right now, I think we've got a good chance,'' Hausman said. ``We have good hitting and we can score a lot of runs.'' And the players are having a blast, too. ``It's a lot of fun,'' Smirnoff said. ``We keep winning. Plus, we're all friends.'' CAPTION(S): 2 photos, box Photo: (1) Hart Mustang's David Hausman, center, is congratulated after hitting a three-run homer Friday. (2) Bradley Buchignani makes contact during the Hart Mustang team's 9-3 victory over Mountlake Terrace of Seattle. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News Box: AT A GLANCE (see text) |
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