Pali Blue Is Pony Perfect

For a baseball team, at any level, to go undefeated over the course of a three-month season, it takes tremendous discipline, great coaching, clutch hitting and fielding, top-notch pitching and yes, even a little luck. Pali Blue, a local 13- and 14-year-old squad, had all of those things this spring on its way to winning the Pony Division championship and finishing with a perfect 20-0 record. Piloted by veteran coach Clark Porter, Pali Blue overcame every obstacle, including tough semifinal and final playoff games, to establish itself as one of the best youth baseball teams in Pacific Palisades history. The Blue roster, consisting of Kevin Carswell, Matt Demogenes, Nathan Dodson, Chris Groel, Daniel Gurvis, Jack Jordan, Ryan Kahn, Chad Kanoff, Jackson Nethercot, Ryan Page, Charlie Porter, Hagen Smith, Will St. John, and Harrison Wollman, was full of players who not only performed well individually but also meshed well together on the diamond. Having easily dispatched its first two playoff opponents, Pali Blue got its toughest test in the semifinals against a familiar opponent’Pali White, coached by Brian Sullivan. It was a classic Saturday night showdown at the Field of Dreams and it appeared Pali White might pull off a monumental upset when Tyler Steil tied the game, 6-6, with a home run in the sixth inning. Ultimately, though, Pali Blue prevailed when Jordan scored on St. John’s single in the bottom of the seventh inning. Carswell was on the mound for the first five innings for Pali Blue and Ryan Kahn pitched the last two in relief. The next day, Santa Monica Red beat Pali White 2-0 (Sam Wasserman notched Pali White’s only hit) to reach the finals. Needing one win in two games, Pali Blue was determined to go out in style and it did just that with a 7-5 victory last Thursday at the Field of Dreams. Pali Blue scored three times in the first inning and held a seemingly insurmountable 7-2 lead heading into the seventh inning. But Santa Monica did not go down quietly, instead rallying for three runs in its last at-bat. With a runner on third and the tying run at the plate, Kahn struck out Red’s last batter on a full count to end the game and punctuate Blue’s perfect season. Pali Blue players congratulate each other after defeating Santa Monica Red to win the Pony Division title and complete an undefeated season. Photo: Mary Ellen Kanoff