A stellar season

The Scotts Valley 10-and-11-year-old All-Stars finished in second place in the Little League state tournament for Northern California last weekend.
The squad, then 12-0, lost its first game to defending state champion Danville on Wednesday, July 28. Starting pitcher Travis Lane shut down Danville through the first three innings for a 0-0 tie, retiring eight in a row and nine of the first 10 batters he faced. But in the fourth inning, controversial calls helped Danville break out with a seven-run inning. Scotts Valley battled back but eventually lost, 9-6.
The local team then faced powerhouse Tri-City for a second time, winning handily behind superb pitching from Gregory Neiger, 7-1.
Trevor Ponos got the start in a rematch with Danville and held them in check with relief work from Jake Utic and Robert Riemer, securing the 9-6 victory and snapping Danville’s 20-game-plus win streak.
The offense for those two games was led by Riemer and Neiger with five hits each, while Utic and Ponos had four each. Lane reached base five times, as well, on two hits and three walks. Owen Rockow went 2-for-3 and was hit by a pitch.
Scotts Valley finally ran out of steam in the final game against Danville on Saturday, July 31, and could not recover from a 10-run first inning, losing 12-1.
Scotts Valley scored 158 runs (an average of 10.53 per game) over its 15-game run. The team gave up a total of 59 runs (3.93 per game,) outscoring the competition by 99 runs.
“It was an incredible ride and wonderful accomplishment for a team of great kids and families,” coach Jeff Lane said. “I hope none of the kids ever forget what they accomplished.”