Sweetwater Valley Little League president Joe Griffin said expectations for the league’s 12U and 11U all-star teams were high since both teams won California District 42 and California Section 7 championships last year.
“We expected them to repeat again this year,” Griffin said. “I am beyond excited about their accomplishments so far, and I hope they continue to play at a high level as they prepare for the SoCal State tournament.”
Sweetwater Valley advanced its district champion 10U, 11U and 12U teams to this year’s Section 7 championship tournament.
SVLL’s 12U all-stars pounded California District 66 champion Las Palmas, 27-2, Tuesday at Lakeside National Little League to claim this year’s section banner while the SVLL 11s topped District 41 champion Alpine American, 13-3, to make it another clean sweep.
The SVLL 10U team defeated District 41 champion Fletcher Hills, 10-3, in a double-elimination replay on Wednesday to also come home with a section banner.
“Offensively, it has been a total team effort from top to bottom, timely hits, situational hitting and a whole lot of contact,” Griffin said of the 12U squad. “The 12s pitching staff is deep and led by Davyd Mendoza and Adam Bailey. Other standout pitchers have been Zeus Ferro, Alfonso Motta and Emiliano Carrillo. The pitching staff ERA is 0.389, 36 total innings pitched.”
Mendoza got the win in the 1-0 semifinal win over Lakeside National while Bailey was the winning pitcher in Tuesday’s championship game blowout.
Standout pitchers on the SVLL 11U team include Liam Alto, Adrien Rios and Steven Carlos.
In seven innings pitched, Alto had racked up 10 strikeouts against zero earned runs while Rios had 10 strikeouts in 8.2 innings with zero earned runs. Carlos, the team’s closer, logged seven strikeouts in 2.2 innings.
It’s been a team effort with a section best 0.394 batting average, 37 hits 11 doubles and 36 runs scored over three games. Brandon Arellano was the standout hitter with the most clutch hits, five RBI and one home run.
The SVLL 12s opened section play with a 12-0 win over District 22 champion Brawley last Saturday and followed that up with the tight one-run victory against District 41 champion Lakeside National to advance to Tuesday’s championship game.
The SVLL 11s edged District 66 champion Lemon Grove, 7-6, in nine innings last Saturday and blasted Alpine American, 16-2, in Sunday’s semifinal.
SVLL’s 10s opened section play with a 9-7 win over Fletcher Hills and nipped District 22 champion Calexico, 2-1, on Sunday before suffering a 10-3 loss on Tuesday.
The Sweetwater Valley 12U team improved to 7-0 with a commanding 77-6 scoring differential through two post-season tournaments (37-4 in district and 40-2 in section) while the 11U team improved to 7-0 with a 79-26 run differential (43-15 in district and 36-11 in section).
The Southern California state tournament is up next and opens this weekend in Eastvale (District 72) for the 12s, Claremont (District 20) for the 11s and Banning (District 58) for the 10s.
Sweetwater Valley’s 12s play on Sunday against the winner of Saturday’s Claremont and La Mirada opener.
California Section 7 Little League Championship Tournament
10U Division
Saturday, July 13
Sweetwater Valley 9, Fletcher Hills 7
Calexico 5, Valley de Oro 2
Sunday, July 14
Sweetwater Valley 2, Calexico 1
Fletcher Hills 11, Valley do Oro 1
Monday, July 15
Fletcher Hills 10, Calexico 4
Tuesday, July 16
Fletcher Hills 10, Sweetwater Valley 3
Wednesday, July 17
Championship game
Sweetwater Valley 10, Fletcher Hills 3
Teams: Sweetwater Valley (District 42), Fletcher Hills (District 41), Valley de Oro (District 66), Calexico (District 22)
11U Division
Saturday, July 13
Alpine American 2, Yuma (Ariz.) 1
Sweetwater Valley 7, Lemon Grove 6
Sunday, July 14
Sweetwater Valley 16, Alpine American 2
Lemon Grove 4, Yuma (Ariz.) 4
Monday, July 15
Alpine American 10, Lemon Grove 9
Tuesday, July 16
Championship game
Sweetwater Valley 13, Alpine American 3
Teams: Sweetwater Valley (District 42), Alpine American (District 41), Lemon Grove (District 66), Yuma (District 22)
12U Division
Saturday, July 13
Lakeside National 12, Las Palmas 6
Sweetwater Valley 12, Brawley 0
Sunday, July 14
Sweetwater Valley 1, Lakeside National 0
Las Palmas 7, Brawley 6
Monday, July 15
Las Palmas 6, Lakeside National 5
Tuesday, July 16
Championship game
Sweetwater Valley 27, Las Palmas 2
Teams: Sweetwater Valley (District 42), Las Palmas (District 66), Lakeside National (District 41), Brawley (District 22)
