Steve Prudholme peered into the dugout and addressed his team at the end of a last Saturday’s practice at Malibu Bluffs Park. The coach of the Braves, champions of the Malibu Little League’s majors division, implored the group to focus on grabbing a victory at an upcoming baseball tournament.
“You are representing Malibu, guys, not just the Braves,” he said. “You have to be proud and wear that. If we do what we are supposed to do, we will be fine.”
The little leaguers nodded their heads in semi-unison; then the next day, did what they were supposed to do.
The 12 youths defeated Santa Monica West, 7-1, in the opening round of the District 25 Tournament of Champions at La Cienega Park in Beverly Hills. Elijah Clayton led the Braves with two hits, two runs and four RBIs. Graydon Phelps and Brody Graham also had two hits and a RBI apiece for the squad. Kade Kelly had four strikeouts and Stevie Prudholme, the coach’s son, and Travis Lapinski each had three.
The win set up a Tuesday matchup between the 14-4 Braves and Culver Marina.
The Braves, named the Dodgers a few seasons ago, never tire of stacking Ws, particularly championship ones. The team of 10 to 12 year-olds’ championship achievement two weeks ago was their sixth MLL title win in seven years. The squad has finished top in their MLL division for four consecutive seasons.
The younger Prudholme, 12, said winning titles is exciting. Stevie said he looks forward to forming a dogpile with his teammates during winning celebrations.
“All of the championships take hard work,” Stevie said. “We practice a lot. You can’t just take it for granted and think you are going to win if you have a good team.”
Stevie’s teammate of several seasons, Elijah, 11, the son of former MLB player Royce Clayton, said working to win championships never gets old.
“I love playing baseball, so it’s not that hard to go out and practice,” he said.
The championship run began in 2011 when the team was the named Dodgers and competed in the MLL’s AA division. The squad repeated as division champs in 2012, then, named the Braves, won the AAA title. The Braves have won the majors for three consecutive seasons.
Prudholme said he and his coaching staff — which has included Mario Miranda, Pete Cannon, Royce Clayton, Brian Kelly and Mike Matousek — established a culture centered on wanting what is best for kids and being a team. That includes working hard, showing up on time and having a good look on the field.
“We created a professional environment, but simplified it for the kids,” Prudholme said. “We wanted to show the kids no matter if you are the best player or the worst player — no matter if you come from a lot of money, or if you do not — when you are with us, you are the same as everybody.”
Prudholme said the first championship was special, and the past two have been memorable. This season’s title was unique for the team because the roster featured seven first-year majors players.
“We were a very young team this year,” he said. “It was a testament to the kids because they all bought in early, the parents bought in early. They worked hard and improved mentally to understand the hard work it was going to take.”
Elijah said first-time Braves Sailor Graham and Zion Katz improved the most during the season. Another first-time Brave, Travis Lapinski, had competed against the Braves in previous championship games. The 11-year-old said it felt good to finish on top with his one-time opponents.
The elder Prudholme said the Braves were glad to have Lapinski as their leadoff hitter.
“We call him the ‘Gamer’ because he just steps up when you need him the most,” the coach said.
Prudholme said Kade, 11, was a solid pitcher for the Braves all season and Graham was a star catcher.
“She is one of our toughest players,” he said. “She was outstanding.”
Graham, 10, said her proudest moment of the season was hitting a triple in the Braves’ championship win.
“It was a deep bomb,” she described.
Prudholme said his son and Elijah — the longest tenured Braves — were the two players he leaned on the most this season.
“Both had a good feeling of the team’s pulse,” the coach said. “Both are very smart, very competitive. They know the bar is set high, so they say, ‘We are going to beat that bar.’”
Prudholme said the Braves’ winning ways let teams outside Malibu know the city has good little league players.
“We wanted to teach Malibu baseball how to compete,” he said. “It’s definitely moving in the right direction. When we go play in other tournaments people take notice of us and our other teams.”
