10U- NorCal Super NIT- Lamorinda Diablos vs. Central Coast Whitecaps

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10U- NorCal Super NIT- Lamorinda Diablos vs. Central Coast Whitecaps

Mcllwain Leads Diablos to 10U NorCal Super NIT Title Game

By: Joey Akeley

Twin Creeks, CA. Once Lamorinda Diablos pitcher Brandon Mcllwain settled in, the Central Coast Whitecaps had no chance. After a shaky start, Mcllwain retired the last 10 Whitecap hitters he faced and the Diablos offense hammered out eight first inning runs in the 12-2, four-inning semifinal win.

“He hasn’t played any baseball in a week or more,” head coach Rick Rider said. “He was really pretty rusty, but then settled down and pitched a great game for us.”

The Whitecaps got off to a quick start when Trevor Ponos led-off the game with a triple and scored on a Hayden King grounder. Matt Nenus knocked in King two batters later with a base hit giving the Whitecaps a 2-0 lead. But Mcllwain stranded runners on second and third, and never looked back.

The Diablos jumped all over Whitecaps starting pitcher Matt Nunes in the bottom of the first, scoring seven runs before recording an out. Mcllwain started the scoring with a two-run single, and Matt Thompkins
followed with a two-run triple. At innings end, Lamorinda had an 8-2
lead.

The Diablos added three runs in the second inning and one in the third while Mcllwain cruised through the Whitecaps lineup. Mcllwain finshed the game with only two hits allowed and five strikeouts. Mcllwain also showed outstanding control by not walking a single hitter.

“He’s not the hardest thrower we have, but he has really good control and he’s got a couple other pitches to keep guys off balance,” Rider said. “So that’s really what we looking for him to do, just throw strikes.”

Rider said the key to beating Tabu in the Finals would be throwing strikes. “If our pitchers throw strikes, we’ll be fine,” Rider said. “Where we could get into trouble is if we start putting runners on base.”