He has been labeled a man among boys, a Goliath among Davids.
His size and stature have him towering over teammates and
opponents, yet what sometimes comes with a 6-foot, 156-pound frame in
a 12-year-old, A.J. Roth is not uncoordinated in the slightest.
The Costa Mesa National Little League All-Stars Majors ace on the
mound and slugger at the plate, Roth highlights a group of 14
Newport-Mesa area youth baseball players comprising the Daily Pilot's
Dream Team.
All players from the four local Little League squads are strictly
from the Majors division while the three from the Newport Harbor
Baseball Association are from the Bronco division -- the same age
classification.
Other selections include Victor Trujillo and Michael Markovski of
the Costa Mesa National All-Stars; Austin Rios, Hayden Cornwell and
Angelo Angelides of the Newport Harbor Baseball Association Bronco
All-Stars; Blake Thomsen and Grant Davis of the Newport Beach Little
League National All-Stars; Brian Ford, Chris Freeman and Mitch
Gardner of the Newport Beach Little League American All-Stars; and
P.J. Maloney, Garrett Hirsch and Derek Amendola of the Costa Mesa
American Little League All-Stars.
It was Roth, however, that stared down opponents from the mound,
with his single-game strikeout count in double digits on numerous
occasions. And his batting often struck fear, so that he was
intentionally walked many times toward the end of the season.
"There's so many kids that are bigger than everyone and that grow
faster," Costa Mesa National Manager Kirk Stone said. "But it always
seemed those kids were uncoordinated. Not [Roth], though. He's not
only big, strong and fast, he's mentally strong."
Roth and his Dream Team teammates possess a deep arsenal that is
loaded with talent.
The trifecta of players from the NHBA Bronco All-Stars led the
team to the quarterfinals of the West zone-South section tournament
for the 11- and 12-year-old age group.
In a 13-9 loss to Dana Point that relegated the team to the
second-chance bracket, Rios went 4 for 4 with two RBIs and three runs
scored. Cornwell was 3 for 4 with a triple, double, two RBIs and two
runs scored and Angelides was 2 for 4 with three RBIs.
"Probably our most dominant player was Hayden Cornwell," NHBA
Bronco All-Stars Manager Aaron Rios said. "He could pitch well and he
was our best catcher behind the plate. He had a good arm -- he threw
out many players [trying to steal second]."
All three players' performances mirror what they accomplished
