Two teams from Eastlake Little League and two teams from Luckie Waller Little League carried the torch for year’s Junior League Division in California’s District 42 Little League. The season began March 5 and ended with championship playoffs May 24-28.
The Eastlake Yankees came out of the fray with an undefeated 19-0 record as 2016 interleague champions.
The Yankees finished regular season play 17-0 and received the No. 1 seed for the playoffs. The Yankees won both of their postseason games (both by run-rule decisions) to complete their perfect 19-0 season.
The Yankees defeated the Luckie Waller Tigers, 14-4, in the semifinals and then defeated the Luckie Waller Royals by a score of 13-3 in the championship game afgter the Royals had defeated the Eastlake Rangers in the other semifinal.
Over the 19-game span, the Yankees scored 246 runs (12.9 per game) and allowed 68 runs (3.5 per game).
The Yankees championship roster included Nick Calzada,Tommy Zanatel, Jaedon Daniel, Christian Ramirez, Michael Fragoso, Tyler Tomlinson, Hunter Andrews, Josh Elwood, Johnathan Scott, Dylan Baca, Xavier (Xavi) Ibañez and Q. Johnson.
“This was a great season and a wonderful way for the boys to finish off their Little League career,” Yankees manager Tim Johnson explained. “Hopefully these kids will continue to grow as not only good baseball players but as young men as well. They remained focused, motivated and disciplined, yet were able to have so much fun at practice and the games.
“I have coached baseball teams from tee-ball through Juniors at Eastlake Little League and I can say without a doubt, the chemistry, character and fun personalities on our team was the best I have ever experienced. We, as coaches and mentors, were truly blessed to spend so much time with this group of young men.”
Johnson called the parental support “fantastic” as well.
“Many people don’t realize how important and what a great experience the Juniors program is at Eastlake Little League,” he explained. “With all the 13-14-year- old boys and girls in our community, I would love to see more kids play baseball and grow the Eastlake Juniors program into six to eight teams. Hopefully, after people in the community see our team’s success, it will provide excitement and interest in the program for next season.”
Seven players from the Yankees will be in the line-up for the Eastlake team that will take on Luckie Waller in the upcoming District 42 Junior League Division All-Star championship tournament. The teams will play a best-of-three format starting Wednesday, June 29.
The winner will be declared the District 42 champion and advance to play in the Section 7 All-Star championship tournament hosted by California District 66.
Johnson will serve as the Eastlake All-Star team manager, while Chris Elwood and Rod Miller will serve as coaches.
Yankees on the Eastlake entry in the upcoming District 42 tournament include Andrews, Baca, Elwood, Ibañez, Johnson, Scott and Tomlinson.
Eastlake Little League
Tournament of Champions Teams
Major League Division
Eastlake Blue Jays
Players: Brandon Mora, Ryan Espinoza, Greyson Naugle, Michael Rocha, Matty Duran, Emilio Darcy, Aidan Andre, Adrain Merino, Nick Bethel, Luis Soto, Freddy Swingle and Tristan Gonzalez
Manager: Eddy Espinoza
MINOR-A
10U DIVISION
Players: Sebastian Casillas, James Cummings, Aidan Flores, Josh Garcia, Anthony Hinojosa, Johnny Huerta, Kyler Lagdamen, Pedro Maria-Romek, Michael Mason, Dante Millan, Blaize Mooney, Landon Reid, Tyler Toon, Diego Uribe and David Zayachkowski
Manager: Jorge Millan
MINOR-B
8U DIVISION
Players: Joshua Alo, Carson Bernstein, Aaron Corona, Matthew Delgado, Noah Flores, Robert Ford, Hamza Hatahet, Landon Holtzapple, Liam Lee, Guillermo McFarland, Armando Mendevil-Becceril, Patrick Parker, Ezekiel Quintana, Angel Velarde and Alexander Waisbord
Manager: Tom Alo
SINGLE-A
6-Year-old DIVISION
Players: Augustine Anderson, Austin Bogle, Cassius Cruz, Diego Esparza, Zack Gurule, Frankie Lagler, Trevor Marcial, Isaak Martinez, Ethan Orosco, Omar Perez, Zachary Phillips, Tino Rankin, Ryan Tandy and Emilio Uribe
Manager: Mitch Gurule
Eastlake Little League
All-Star Teams
JUNIOR DIVISION
Players: Hunter Andrews, Dylan Baca, Evan Davis, Joshua Elwood, Xavier Ibañez, Q Johnson, Daniel Joiner, Luke Killeen, Anthony Manriquez, Jordanpaul Martinez, Austin Mulhern, Johnathan Scott, Jr., Tyler Tomlinson and Yuma Yamaguchi
Team manager: Tim Johnson
12U Division
Players: Eric Balint, Garret Beckhelm, Adam Bland, Andrew Brandon, Devin Chavez, Manuel Galvan, Ethan Hillman, Tano Letuli, Jonathan Marquez, Brandon Mora, Greyson Naugle, Mason Richard, and Noe Trujillo
Team manager: Eric Balint
11U Division
Players: Steven Arciniega, Jake Baca, Sebastian De La Toba, Tre Edwards, Ryan Espinoza, Sebastian Espinoza, Esteban Garcia, Justin Graham, Isaiah Lane, Aidan Millan, Max Reyes, Michael Rocha, and Xavier Zamora
Team manager: Adam Villarreal
10U Division
Players: Trevor Adame, Matt Bjornstad, Dereck Borruel, Logan Caldwell, Kain Cruz, Jake Davis, Matt Duran, Adrian Flores, Carlos Mack, Ivan Murillo, Max Radovan, Charlie Singleton, and Brody Wells
Team manager: Mark Wells
