KIDS TAKE A SWING AT INTERNATIONAL BASEBALL GLORY.Byline: Gerry Gittelson Staff Writer This group of local baseball youngsters is hoping for some Texas-sized success. The William S. Hart team of 9- and 10-year-olds has qualified for the international PONY 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. World Series beginning Wednesday 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 . This marks the third consecutive year Hart will participate in the World Series - and this year's group, undefeated at 7-0, is looking to bring home the gold. ``I just think we can do it because we're a good team,'' Cole Gasper gasp·er n. Chiefly British Slang A cigarette. said. ``We haven't lost many games, and every team that we thought was going to beat us, we ended up winning the game.'' Teammates Justin Sanford and Cole Mullen are equally optimistic - and eager to make history. ``I'm really excited. I don't think anyone expected us to go this far,'' Sanford said. ``We're really hoping to do well. It's going to be a lot of fun,'' Mullen said. The boys open against the Caribbean champion Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. (PST PST Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, see there ), the first of three round-robin contests to qualify the top four teams for the weekend playoffs. Leadoff hitter In baseball, a leadoff hitter is a batter who bats first in the lineup. Strategy Leadoff hitters must possess certain traits to be successful: they must reach base at a proficient rate and be able to steal bases. Austin Rodriguez knows it isn't going to be easy. But he believes Hart (7-0) is ready for the challenge. ``I hear there are a lot of good teams there but I'm really looking forward to it a lot because I think we're one of them,'' he said. ``I'm hoping we'll do pretty good because we can hit the ball a lot. Most everyone on the team is a good hitter.'' Hart certainly has proved its hitting prowess. After opening the postseason with a resounding re·sound v. re·sound·ed, re·sound·ing, re·sounds v.intr. 1. To be filled with sound; reverberate: The schoolyard resounded with the laughter of children. 2. 27-1 victory over Sylmar in the first round of the North Coast Sectionals, the team has never stopped scoring. In six of its seven victories, Hart has scored 13 runs or more. After winning the sectionals, Hart followed with three consecutive victories to win the West Regional championship in Long Beach last week. In three regional games, the team finished with a .489 batting average batting average n. Baseball A measure of a batter's performance obtained by dividing the total of base hits by the number of times at bat, not including walks. Noun 1. , six home runs and a .750 slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (abbreviated SLG) is the most popular measure of the power of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats: , and the boys also combined to steal 25 bases. There is a group of strong pitchers, too. Six pitchers combined for a 3.21 ERA in the regionals. ``When our pitchers are throwing strikes, it's really fun,'' Rodriguez said. Just how fun remains to be seen. But it seems these boys have as good a shot as anyone to win the world title. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) William S. Hart players Justin Sanford, Cole Gasper and Cole Mullen, from left, are on their way to Texas to play in the international PONY Mustang World Series beginning Wednesday. Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer |
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