Sportsworld

VFW kept its bid for first place alive Friday by defeating Hobie, 4-3, in Laguna Beach Little League Majors Division action at Riddle Field. VFW took the early lead with two runs in the first inning when Cole Paxon singled and stole second and Jack Dickenson followed with a home run. Judge Washer pitched for Hobie and struck out six and held VFW in check until the fourth inning. Paxon doubled in Billy Howie and Jack Loechner singled and scored on a sacrifice fly to center field by Dickenson, bringing the score to 4-0. Blake Burzell came in to pitch for Hobie in the fifth and struck out two and kept VFW scoreless.

Laguna Surf and Sport capped a busy week of Laguna Beach Little League action by racking up three victories in Majors Division play. Surf and Sport 19, SportsWorld 5 Singles by Dalton Sype, Caine Fair, John Wes Robinson and RBI singles by Christian Bosworth and Jaime Melchor staked Laguna Surf and Sport a 3-0 first inning lead. SportsWorld, however, tied the game at 3-3 when James Borgese, who singled and stole home. Doubles by Sype and Michael Tachovsky and an RBI double by Bosworth and RBI single by Robinson in the third inning gave Laguna Surf and Sport the lead for good.

VFW and Sportsworld collected impressive victories in Laguna Beach Little League Majors Division action at Riddle Field. VFW 10, American Legion 3 It was a cold night, but VFW was hot at the plate in defeating American Legion. A single by Blake Hester and runs scored by Derek Reigel, Rex Strombotne and Santi Pierini gave VFW a 3-0 first inning lead. VFW blew the game open in the third inning behind RBIs by Pierini, Hester and Strombotne that expanded its advantage to 8-0. It became 10-0 after 3 1/2 innings when hits by Patrick Stevens and Strombotne drove in Pierce and Reigel.

Mike Sciacca Courtesy Auto scored six runs and ran roughshod on the base paths in the first inning Monday and never looked back in beating Quiksilver, 14-5, in Laguna Beach Little League baseball action. Michael Maxsenti's two-RBI triple began the onslaught, Travis Woloson had an RBI triple and also stole home. Doubles by Logan Schoembs and Spike Jackson and the base stealing of Chase VanPetegem aided the six-run outburst. Charlie Jackson singled and stole three bases in the second inning -- including home, and Clark and Woloson did the same as Courtesy Auto opened up a 9-1 advantage.

Mike Sciacca SportsWorld and Rotary put Laguna Beach Little League front and center at the District 55 Tournament of Champions Majors Division tournament Monday. SportsWorld, which won the regular season championship at Laguna, blanked Newport Beach, 3-0, in its tournament opener. Rotary, which won Laguna's Majors postseason title, opened the district playoffs with a 7-6 come-from-behind victory over Laguna Hills. SportsWorld 3, Newport Beach 0 Stevie Contursi threw a pitching gem that limited Newport Beach to a single hit. Contursi finished with four strikeouts and was backed by outstanding defensive play in notching the shutout victory.

Fourteen players have been selected to the Laguna Beach Little League's 9/10 Division All-Star team, the league announced this week. The roster is made up of representatives from nine different league teams. The squad will be coached by Cary Hyden. Here are the 14 players selected, with regular season team affiliation: American Legion -- Alek Burk, Tyler Macrae. FireFighters -- Spencer Friedenrich. Five Feet -- Alex Iannotti, Rex Strombotne.

Zero Trash might not have picked up a victory in its AAA Division game against Crescent Bay Advisors, but it did record the first home run of the 2013 season at Laguna Beach Little League. In a game that was delayed by rain, Crescent Bay Advisors completed a 9-3 victory on Saturday over Zero Trash. Connor Fink of Zero Trash hit the first home run of the season, a two-run homer in the third inning at Riddle Field. Teammate Jack Payne struck out four in two innings of pitching. Later in the game, the second home run was recorded when Jeremy Hayes of Crescent Bay Advisors smashed a three-run homer.

Rotary set up a winner-take-all showdown with the FireFighters for the Laguna Beach Little League Majors Division postseason championship by defeating the FireFighters, 8-0, in a must-win situation at Riddle Field. Rotary, which lost its postseason playoff opener to the FireFighters, has won four straight games to set up a third and final meeting between the teams. Rotary, which had an undefeated run (15-0) in Laguna Beach Little League action and was 18-1 overall before the postseason, is now 21-2.

Laguna Beach Little League celebrated a season of great baseball action by holding its annual, year-end Fiesta Day activities at Riddle Field. One highlight of the event was the announcement of the 11-year-old All-Star team, which will represent Laguna in the District 55 All-Star Tournament. The tournament, played at Youth Sports Park in Mission Viejo, will feature several top teams from the district. District 55 is composed of the following Little Leagues: Aliso Viejo, Ladera Ranch, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Lake Forest, Newport Beach, Northwood, North Mission Viejo, Rancho Mission Viejo, Rancho Niguel, Rancho Santa Margarita, Saddleback, San Clemente, San Juan, South Irvine, South Mission Viejo, Tijeras Creek, Trabuco Canyon and Viejo.

Rotary registered its 10th consecutive victory and clinched the Laguna Beach Little League Majors Division championship in the process by shutting out the San Juan Capistrano Yankees, 5-0. The victory ensures the team a spot in the upcoming Tournament of Champions. Rafael Vickers figured prominently in the win. He went three for three and pitched three scoreless innings. Vickers doubled in the fourth inning and scored on Brett Linkletter's ground out, which gave Rotary a 3-0 lead.