Carroll’s heroics delayed

CORONA DEL MAR — Instead of playing on the baseball field at the time he was scheduled to Saturday, Spencer Carroll stood behind the backstop.

Under a canopy, he was next to a kid operating the scoreboard. Carroll rooted for him to add another run, for any team, because he wanted to play.

Around that time, noon, Carroll and his Lifestyle Caddy team planned to be midway through their Newport Beach Little League Majors Division Tournament quarterfinal playoff game.

Another game that began at 8:30 a.m. continued on, pushing back top-seeded Lifestyle Caddy’s game because of extra innings.

“Wow! Thirteen innings,� Carroll said. “When are we going to play?�

Teammates asked the same question.

After seeing their game against No. 4-seeded Irell & Manella start 90 minutes behind schedule, little did they know they would also be involved in an extra-inning affair at Lincoln Elementary.

Carroll was responsible for it going past six innings. He also made sure this one didn’t last as long as the game before.

No 3-hour, 40-minute game. An hour shorter this time.

Carroll delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth, easily driving in the run from third base after pulling a pitch down the left-field line to lift Lifestyle Caddy to a 10-9 victory and a berth in the semifinals.

Carroll’s nickname is “Tiger� for a reason. He went three for three.

Lifestyle Caddy (13-5) celebrated, scoring twice in the eighth to end a long day on top. The wait was worth it to Carroll.

“Yeah!� Carroll yelled. “It’s been great [this season] because last year we didn’t have that good of a team.�

One more win and Lifestyle Caddy has a chance to be the league’s postseason champion after sharing the regular-season title.

Coach Dan Hess is just relieved his team got past this round. Irell & Manella (11-7) proved to be a formidable opponent.

Irell & Manella plays Monday against Corona del Mar Yogurt, which survived the 13-inning game with a 6-5 victory against West Coast Charters.

Lifestyle Caddy plays Tuesday against the winner of Irell & Manella and CdM Yogurt.

“Any time we needed a play to be made, [we] just couldn’t get it done,� Irell & Manella Coach Duane Hastings said.

“A very frustrating day for us.�

The umpire’s day looked just as bad. He called the previous marathon.

The second game headed in that direction after the sixth inning.

After Irell & Manella scored twice in the top of the sixth to take an 8-7 lead, Carroll bailed his team out with his legs.

Cameron Hook led off with a double toward the gap in left-center field. The next batter was Carroll and he hit a grounder. The infielder tried to hold Hook at second, looking over there before firing to first base.

Too much time. Carroll beat the throw to first. Hook took off for third and an errant throw allowed him to tie the game and send it into extra innings.

Things started out well in the eighth for Irell & Manella.

Mason McLaughlin led off and reached first. Three batters later, he scored the go-ahead run, giving Irell & Manella a 9-8 advantage.

The lead didn’t last long.

The first batter, Cole Collins, got onboard via walk. A wild pitch moved him into scoring position for Justin Hess.

The No. 3 hitter tied the game, driving in Collins with a single.

An intentional walk to Hook, the cleanup hitter, put runners on the corners for Carroll. He wasted no time.

On the first offering, Carroll turned on a pitch. Once it stayed in fair territory, Carroll and his teammates rejoiced at the plate, in front of the backstop.

The game looked so much better to Carroll from the front than behind.

“[I] just tried to be relaxed, trying to keep a smile on my face,� said Carroll while having to wait for his chance to play Saturday.