After a long absence in San Diego County, American Legion baseball has made a return. The fledgling league, sponsored by District 22, has released a regular season schedule spanning from June 12 to July 12 with 13 teams placed in two divisions.
The seven-team Navy Division includes the Chula Vista Mater Dei Crusaders Post 434, National City Seahawks Post 255, Ramona Patriots Post 332, West Hills Tomcats Post 364, Madison Hawkeyes Post 731, Patrick Henry Trojans Post 416 and Santana Sea Knights Post 258.
The six-team Marine Division includes the Coronado Seals Squadron 460, Helix Hornets Post 416, Monte Vista Vigilantes Post 201, District 22 Panthers, La Jolla Country Day Skyhawks Post 275 and Santa Fe Christian Buckeyes Post 416.
All players are high school age.
The season starts following the high school season and will end with a World Series national championship tournament in August in Shelby, N.C.
American Legion, which was established in 1925, helps fill a void during the high school offseason with summer at-bats aiding player development. An impressive 74 American Legion graduates have gone on to reach the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Each team will play between nine and 14 regular season games, followed by a post-season tournament July 17-19. Contests are scheduled at 5 p.m.
The National City team will play its home games at Sweetwater High School while the Chula Vista/Mater Dei team will play its home games at Mater Dei Catholic High School.
The Coronado Seals’ home field is located at Coronado High School. Other venues are located at La Jolla Country Day High School, Ramona High School, West Hills High School, Monte Vista High School, Santana High School, Hoover High School, Santa Fe Christian High School and Helix High School.
The Patrick Henry and National City teams combined for a memorable debut on Tuesday by combining for 23 runs, though 20 of them were scored by the victorious Trojans.
Players from Bonita Vista, Sweetwater, Mater Dei Catholic and Steele Canyon comprise the National City team’s roster, which reflects a relatively young age spread between 14-16 years.
“We’re basically continuing the development into next year,” National City team manager Faheem Mahdi explained. “The kids have an opportunity to play and work on their skills heading into next season.”
Jesus “Bubba” Villegas and Daniel Zepeda both went three-for-three at the plate in Tuesday’s contest.
Villegas’s name should be familiar: he won a Pony-13 World Series championship with Chula Vista South in 2015 and ventured to the Colt World Series the next year also with CVS.
“This is nothing different — it’s the same game I love,” Villegas offered after Tuesday’s game.
National City used seven pitchers in Tuesday’s debut contest while the Trojans employed three hurlers: Andrew McAlpin, Ben Manis and Jack Powell. McAlpin pitched the opening two innings, striking out four batters.
Mateo Medina went two-for-two with three RBI while Ryan Preciado went two-for-three with a double to provide the hitting highlights for the winning team.
Trojan coach Sheldon Watkins said the skill range on his team spans what might be expected from high school freshmen to seniors, in other words, encompassing players 14-18 years old.
“I love it,” Watkins said of the return of American Legion baseball. “It gives us an opportunity to have some fun in the summertime in an environment where high school kids have an opportunity to play outside of travel ball.”
Watkins said his team will be playing 11 regular season games this summer.
American Legion
Summer Schedules
National City SEAHAWKS Post 255
June
14: Panthers at Seahawks. 19: Seahawks at Panthers, 5 p.m. at Hoover High School. 21: TBD. 26: Buckeyes at Seahawks, 5 p.m. at Sweetwater High School. 28: Seahawks at Seals, 5 p.m. at Coronado High School
July
3: Seahawks at Panthers, 5 p.m. at Hoover High School. 10: Seahawks at Vigilantes, 5 p.m. at Monte Vista High School. 12: Seahawks at Tomcats, 5 p.m. at West Hills High School.
Chula Vista Mater Dei
Crusaders Post 434
June
13: Hornets at Crusaders, 5 p.m. at Mater Dei Catholic High School. 14: Crusaders at Skyhawks. 19: Trojans at Crusaders, 5 p.m. at Mater Dei Catholic High School. 21: Panthers at Crusaders, 5 p.m. at Mater Dei Catholic High School. 26: Crusaders at Seals, 5 p.m. at Coronado High School. 28: Trojans at Crusaders, 5 p.m. at Mater Dei Catholic High School.
July
3: Vigilantes at Crusaders, 5 p.m. at Mater Dei Catholic High School. 10: Tomcats at Crusaders, 5 p.m. at Mater Dei Catholic High School. 11: Skyhawks at Crusaders, 5 p.m. at Mater Dei Catholic High School
American Legion Baseball
District 22 Standings
(Through June 22)
Navy Division
Trojans 5-0-0
Sea Knights 4-0-0
Patriots 4-0-0
Seahawks 1-2-0
Tomcats 0-3-1
Hawkeyes 0-3-0
Crusaders 0-5-1
Marine Division
Seals 2-1-0
Panthers 2-1-0
Hornets 4-3-0
Vigilantes 2-2-1
Skyhawks 2-3
Buckeyes 0-3-1
Games of June 12:
Trojans 20, Seahawks 3
Patriots 5, Hawkeyes 1
Sea Knights 12, Buckeyes 4
Tomcats 0, Vigilantes 0
Hornets 5, Skyhawks 2
Games of June 13:
Hornets 8, Crusaders 4
Trojans 15, Skyhawks 4
Games of June 14:
Seahawks 7, Panthers 0
Skyhwaks 4, Crusaders 3
Trojans 14, Buckeyes 4
Patriots 15, Tomcats 5
Sea Knights 10, Vigilantes 5
Seals 6, Hornets 0
Games of June 19:
Panthers 5, Seahawks 0
Trojans 8, Crusaders 4
Patriots 6, Hornets 5
Sea Knights 7, Hawkeyes 1
Vigilantes 3, Seals 2
Skyhwaks 4, Buckeyes 1
Games of June 20:
Vigilantes 7, Crusaders 1
Hornets 4, Hawkeyes 1
Hornets 9, Tomcats 0
Games of June 21:
Sea Knights 14, Hornets 2
Patriots 9, Skyhawks 0
Trojans 14, Vigilantes 3
Seals 12, Tomcats 5
Panthers 7, Crusaders 2
Hawkeyes at Seahawks, no report
Games of June 22:
Crusaders 7, Buckeyes 7
Pony baseball: section, regional tournaments on tap
A pair of section events will usher in this summer’s Pony-14 all-star tournaments.
Chula Vista North, Emerald Green, Emerald Black and Ramona will gather June 23-30 at the Emerald Pony League fields in El Cajon to get one event under way.
Chula Vista South, Paradise Hills, the Fallbrook Apaches and host Tecolote will participate in another event scheduled June 25 to July 1.
The top two teams from each section tournament advance to the regional tournament July 12-15 in Lakeside.
The top two finishers at the regional tournament advance to the super regional tournament July 26-31 in Lakeside and Covina.
The West Zone tournament is scheduled Aug. 2-5 in West Hills, followed by the International World Series Aug. 10-15 in Washington, Pa.
The combined Pony-13 section tournament is scheduled June 16-22 at the Emerald Pony League fields in El Cajon. Participating teams include Carlsbad, Ramona, Emerald Devil Dogs and La Jolla.
The region tournament is scheduled July 5-7 in Lakeside, followed by the super region tournament July 12-17 in Whittier and West Covina.
The West Zone tournament is scheduled July 19-22 in Whittier, followed by the International World Series July 27-30, also in Whittier.
In younger age divisions:
Eastlake and Chula Vista South will compete in the eight-team Bronco 12U section tournament June 23-28 in El Cajon.
Paradise Hills will compete in the Bronco 11U section tournament June 16-24 at Tecolote.
Eastlake and Paradise Hills will compete in the Mustang 10U East/South sectional June 16-19 in El Cajon.
Eastlake and Paradise Hills will compete in the Mustang 9U East/South sectional June 16-24 at Tecolote.
Chula Vista South Navy, Chula Vista South Royal, Eastlake and Paradise Hills will compete in the Pinto 8U East/South sectional June 16-25 at Tecolote.
Paradise Hills will compete in the Pinto 7U East/South sectional June 26 to July 1 at Tecolote.
Visiting the following website for tournament information:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RpayxtfT9zFfYqcZ9wLsRlGJJhANqbr8xljqeb7a3tA/edit#gid=1408163405
