PPBA Mustang All-Stars Host Tournament

The Pacific Palisades Baseball Association’s Mustang All-Star team, comprised of the league’s top 10-year-old players, will host the PONY Baseball of America Southern California District Playoff Tournament today through Sunday at the Palisades Recreation Center.
The tournament features 10-year-old All-Star teams from around the region, specifically Santa Monica, Cheviot Hills, Mira Costa, East Long Beach, Pico Rivera and Lynwood.
PONY tournament rules have a double-elimination format over the three-day bracket. The Palisades team’s first game will be today against Mira Costa at 5 p.m., and fans are encouraged to come cheer on the locals. The PPBA Bat and Grill snack bar will be open during all games.
Win or lose, Palisades will play its second game tomorrow morning. If it wins, it will play the winner of Pico Rivera and Lynwood at 10 a.m., or with a loss play the loser of East Long Beach B and Cheviot Hills at 3 p.m.
The top four teams advance to the next round, which is the PONY Sectional tournament in Torrance starting on July 11. If a team goes undefeated throughout the Palisades tournament, it will receive a bye and advance directly to Super Regionals. The summer-long PONY tournament season culminates in August with the Mustang World Series in Burleson, Texas.
The Mustangs will be led by manager Jim Hassett, a PPBA coaching veteran whose son, Jack, plays for the team. Hassett’s assistants are Russ Moore and Joe Kennedy. The team competed in the East Long Beach “Battle of the Beach” tournament and won the Metro All-Star Tournament June 22-23. During that tournament, the Pali 10s outscored their opponents 60-13.
The PPBA Mustang All-Stars are Preston Barnes, Billy Bzura, Gil Cohen, Charlie Collins, Hassett, Lane Johnson, Ryan Kennedy, Brody Listen, Griffin Milner, Max Mirkin, Jake Moore, Alec Morrison, Cooper Morrow, Cooper Robinson and Christopher Stimming.
Coach Hassett is excited about the team’s nucleus, which played All-Star baseball together for two years as Pintos and advanced to the regional tournament both years.
“We are very excited to be hosting what is sure to be a great weekend of youth PONY baseball here in the Palisades,” Hassett said. “We think our team is coming together at just the right time.”