Winning still fashionable for A’s

LAKE FOREST ? At this point in the Little League baseball season, it is much more important to play well than to look good. But Newport Beach American Majors A’s Manager Mike Favreau insists on covering all the bases.

Favreau went online to order old-school green stirrup socks from a company in the Midwest. Pulled over mustard-colored socks and unhidden by pants pulled down to the shoe-tops that are most common these days, the old-school attire summons memories of the dynastic Swingin’ A’s of the early 1970s.

The A’s players, ages 10-12, also wear the official fitted version of the gold-billed major league caps. Rather than the league-issued adjustable solid green version.

“It just looks good,” said Favreau, who like most in his generation wore stirrups when he played youth baseball.

Style without substance, of course, will not propel teams through the single-elimination bracket of the District 55 Tournament of Champions.

For that, Favreau’s team has relied on bombastic bats, proficient pitching and dynamic defense.

All were on display in the A’s 5-4 second-round victory over the Laguna Hills Padres at Heroes Park on Saturday.

The win, which followed a 14-10 first-round triumph over a team from Laguna Niguel on Wednesday, put the A’s into the quarterfinals. They will meet a team from either Lake Forest or Aliso Viejo on Monday at 6:30 p.m., also at Heroes Park.

The A’s set the tone early, using three solid defensive plays to help starting pitcher Eric Fisher work through a scoreless first frame.

Center fielder Chase Favreau ran down a fly ball in right center for the first out and Fisher made a sliding catch of a pop-up about 10 feet down the third-base line. After a one-out single, third baseman Jake Favreau snared a hooking liner to end the threat.

The A’s offense wasted little time making an impression. Fisher doubled with one out and scored on J.C. Genova’s two-out triple to right field.

The A’s expanded the lead in the second. Jake Favreau blooped a single into center and advanced to third on a wild pitch and a passed ball. He remained there two outs later, when Rusty Padia walked and Chase Favreau bounded a single up the middle. Padia scored from second when Fisher’s single was bobbled by the left-fielder and the A’s were up, 3-0.

A double and a single, the latter compounded by a pair of errors ? the A’ lone defensive miscues of the game ? helped the Padres score twice in the fourth to cut the deficit to a single run.

But the A’s gave Fisher more breathing room with two runs in the fifth. J.D. Dawn whacked a one-out double and Genova followed with a rolling single through the right side. Dawn narrowly beat a strong throw to the plate from the right fielder and Genova, advancing to second on the throw, went to third when the catcher’s throw to second sailed into center field. Genova then scored what turned out to be the game-winning run on Jake Favreau’s single off a diving third baseman’s glove.

Laguna Hills cleanup hitter Chris Martindale belted a two-run home run in the sixth, but Fisher closed out his first complete game of the season.

Fisher, who did not walk a batter, struck out two. Confident in his defense, he said he was content to let Laguna Hills hitters put the ball in play.

With one aforementioned exception, his defense did not let him down.

Chase Favreau made back-to-back catches on the warning track, the latter a leaping grap, to rob would-be extra-base hits in the fourth.

Genova chased down a wild pitch and relayed to Fisher covering home to nail a runner trying to score from third in the second inning.

Yet another defensive highlight was turned in by Padia in the third. With two outs, Padia spawled to smother a one-hop liner, then threw to first in plenty of time to send the A’s into the dugout.

“I’ve told these guys that it’s defense, defense, defense that wins games,” Mike Favreau said. “We’ve been a good hitting team all season, so we know offense will come.”

Genova went three for three with two RBIs to lead the A’s nine-hit attack against Padres’ side-arming right-hander Andrew Winston. Winston fanned six and walked only one while going the distance.

“[Winston] threw hard and his curveball came in almost like a screwball,” Mike Favreau said. “My hat is off to their coaches, because they had a good ballclub.”

Jake Favreau, the team’s only 10-year-old, and Fisher were both two for three and scored one run apiece.

Fisher, Chase Favreau, Padia, and Dawn, a shortstop who played on a Padres team that won the District 55 Tournament of Champions Majors crown last season, are among the team’s All-Stars.

Jake Favreau will also represent the A’s on the 10-year-old All-Star team.

“I’ve got good kids and smart kids who know how to play baseball,” Mike Favreau said.