YOUTH SCENE:

Corona del Mar’s Green Tigers, a boys’ under-10 soccer team from AYSO Region 57, has qualified for the California State Championships April 4-5 in Bakersfield.

The Green Tigers, the Area Q champions, qualified after reaching the final in the AYSO Section 11 Regional Tournament that ended March 2 in San Marcos against teams from across Southern California.

After posting victories over teams from Lynwood, Huntington Beach and Paradise, the Green Tigers fell to an impressive Ladera Ranch team in the final.

Thinking the season was over, Green Tigers Coach Bruno Campos was pleasantly surprised when an official from AYSO Section 11 announced that his Tigers had received the lone wild-card bid for the state tourney. Previously, the Green Tigers had won two regional tournaments and the Mayor’s Cup.

SOCCER

AYSO Region 97

Games played March 8

Girls’ under 7-8

The Lucky Charms vs. The Pink Puppies: The Lucky Charms showed great teamwork in the season opener. Strong defense by Alex DeLong and Claire Bacon was complimented by aggressive offense by Eva Nadeau and Caroline Pipkin. Grace Fay and Claire Jeffs were dominating with quick footwork.

Girls’ under 6

Sea Queens vs. Purple Princesses: The Sea Queens played a hard fought game against the Purple Princesses. Tyesha Aguilar, Olivia Belida and Mia Ferrentino all contributed goals. Quinci Miller and Chloe Parsel made some excellent passes also contributing with their accurate throw-ins. Leah Beehler and Eden Funk helped secure a strong defensive backfield to stop the quick Purple Princess attack.

LITTLE LEAGUE

NHBA Pinto National

Division

Games played March 8

Ticon Construction vs. Outback Steak House: Ronan Ferrentino hit a home run for Ticon Construction and Luc Stuka and Justin Shollin also had hits at Ensign Field. Ticon Construction received solid pitching from Nick Finfrock, Joe Fuller, Luc Stuka, and Justin Shollin. Scotty Ryder, Scott Siecinski, and Jake Rooney all played well.

Costa Mesa

Majors Division

National Diamondbacks 10, American Yankees 1: The Yankees started a third-inning rally where they scored their one run. Mickey Beliakoff started the game pitching for the Yankees and after a bit of a rocky start in the first inning, he settled down and finished the second inning with no runs scored. Connor Howard showed some fine pitching in the final two innings for the Yankees.

Newport Beach

Majors Division

Ruby’s 7, Murray Home Theater 6: In the opener of Newport Beach Little League, Ruby’s rallied for two runs in the bottom of the sixth to defeat Murray Home Theater. Max Mulcahy hit a base loaded single to score Jake Hastings, who had led off the sixth with a single. Ruby’s had strong offense from Tommy Brooks who tripled and Mulcahy who had two hits. Brian Wagner struck out six in two innings for Ruby’s. For Murray Home Theater, Ben Humphreys had a hit and pitched well.

Ruby’s 13, Quicksilver 7: On Tuesday night, Ruby’s defeated Quicksilver behind timely hitting and strong fielding. Ruby’s had hits from Logan MiIler, Matthew Deverian, Hastings, Max Kline, Mulcahy and Brian Wagner. For Quicksilver, Gannon Bond had a bases loaded double. Ruby’s was able to throw an important runner out at the plate on a beautiful relay from Logan Miller to Max Kline. Three Ruby’s pitchers, Brian Wagner, Max Mulcahy and Max Kline struck out nine Quicksilver batters.

BASKETBALL

National Junior Basketball

Boys Division II

(fifth and sixth grade)

Championship Series

Newport-Mesa Zips 52, Capo Dana Heat 25: The Zips (11-2) went 3-0 in the tournament and cruised to the championship game, where they beat the host Heat by 27.

Every Zip scored in the game including Matt McKinnon, who had two blocked shots, Daniel Henry with eight points and Clint Henderson with some key steals. The Zips were led by the stellar play of All-Stars Nolan McCarthy, Connor Sage, Joey Faris and Joey Cooper. Along the way to the final game, the Zips beat the Trabuco Celtics and the Anaheim Hills Running Rebels.

Newport-Mesa Bruins 39, El Toro Pistons 25: The Bruins (7-6) went 3-0 in the tournament, winning the championship game by 14.

The Bruins had a balanced attack led by Robby Bracho with 10 points, Parker Reposa with eight and Sam Bush with eight. Ryan Cargile, Hagen Truninger and Patrick Halle led a stingy defensive attack, which yielded a mere 23 points on average in the victories over Tustin Wilcox, Newport-Mesa Wildcats and the Pistons.

Newport-Mesa Wildcats 41, Tustin Wilcox 36: The Wildcats finished the championship series with a tough win over the Wilcox. Anthony Tsai led all scorers with 10 points and eight rebounds. The rest of the team contributed with strong defense and balanced scoring by Henry Dodge, Chad Redfearn, Robbie Farber and Cameron Hook. The Cats also beat the El Toro Pistons and lost to the Newport-Mesa Bruins along the way.

Newport-Mesa Tigers 29, Capistrano Valley-Dana Hills Ballers 25: The Tigers won their bracket in the championship series by defeating the Ballers by four. The Tigers were led by All-Stars Kevin and Mark Manchester and also got great efforts from Sam Younesi, Sam Silverman, Conor Hayes, Ricky Leuhrs, Benjamin Gillman, Armaan Patel and Matt Valeriano in wins over the Villa Park Lancers and the Placentia Hawks to go 3-0 in the tournament.

Newport-Mesa Red Storm 43, El Toro Celtics 26: The Red Storm finished 1-2 in the tournament with a home win over the Celtics. The Storm were led by Max Kline, Alex Moore, Steven Barela and Grant Morris who all had big games throughout the three-week tournament. The Storm lost to the Capo-Dana All Stars and the La Mirada Hoyas along the way to finish the season. Mason Mclaughlin, Logan Crider, Taylor Cortens, Chris Cordes and Ryan Braun played well for the Storm throughout the season.