While it may have turned into the ugliest win in the Sweetwater Valley Little League 12U all-star team’s 16 tournament games to date, Saturday’s 12-10 victory against Waipio Little League from Waipahu, Hawaii, was easily the Southern California champions’ most important as it landed them a berth in the coveted Little League World Series.
The nerve-racking win before a sold-out crowd of 10,392 at Al Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino preserved the Sweetwater Sluggers’ perfect 16-0 record. But SVLL manager Ward Lannom was the first to congratulate Hawaii for pushing his team to the limit.
“A win is a win and I’ll take it,” explained a relieved Lannom, whose team claimed the LLWS West Regional championship title despite allowing six runs on seven consecutive hits in the bottom of the sixth inning. “We did everything we set out to do. Next stop: Williamsport.”
The teams – the two best in the six-team regional tournament – combined for 29 hits, including 12 extra base hits.
Sweetwater Valley (16-0) becomes the third team from District 42 to advance to the Little League World Series in the past six years. Park View Little League won the 2009 LLWS championship while Eastlake Little League claimed the United States Little League title in 2013.
“It’s pretty cool,” the SVLL manager said. “We didn’t mess up. We proved we belong there.”
Sweetwater Valley never trailed in Saturday’s regional championship game but the Hawaii champions remained within striking distance on the scoreboard. The California Section 7 champions rapped out 15 hits and led by scores of 5-0, 8-4 and 12-4 at various points of the near three-hour marathon contest.
But Waipio put men in scoring position as well throughout the game, finishing with 14 hits. Hawaii scored four times in the bottom of the first inning to trim the Sweetwater Valley lead to one run and pushed across six runs in the final frame to nearly erase the Sweetwater Sluggers’ eight-run cushion.
The game ended in dramatic fashion as Sage-Manuel Koahou was caught in a rundown between third base and home plate, with madness ensuing on the part of Sweetwater Valley upon the game-winning tag.
“There was a lot of hoop-la going on,” Lannom offered in an understatement.
The game opened with a bang for the SoCal champs as Sweetwater Valley plated five runs with only one out to take a quick lead.
Antonio Andrade opened the game with a smash to third base that went for an error. He moved to second base on a passed ball and took third base on another passed ball. Levi Mendez followed with a base hit to score Andrade.
Nate Nankill followed with a ground-rule double to place runners and second and third base with none out.
After just eight pitches, the Hawaii manager made a trip to the mound to settle down starter Vincent Ogasawara.
Walker Lannom stroked an RBI double to double the Sweetwater Valley lead to 2-0 and Jake Baptista brought in another run on a groundout.
The inning continued as Dante Schmid was hit by a pitch and an ensuing passed ball moved the runners up a base. A walk to Isaac Artalejo then loaded the bases and two runners came home when the Hawaii third baseman made a throwing error on Nick Maldonado’s grounder.
Sweetwater Valley sent 10 batters to the plate and scored five runs on three hits and two Hawaii errors. The Sweetwater Sluggers’ play was as hot as the temperature at the start of the game: an even 100 degrees.
Then turnabout proved fair play.
Andrade started the game for Sweetwater Valley. Vance Oshiro led off the bottom of the first inning with a double for Hawaii but Andrade managed to get the next two batters to ground out. But an infield hit, double and throwing error prolonged the frame and resulted in four runs for Waipio to put it back in the game.
It was something the Sweetwater Valley team did not want to do, but give credit to the Hawaiians, who came out gunning in the winner-take-all contest.
Luckily, the Sweetwater Sluggers were on top of their hitting game as they scored runs in each of the opening five innings — and ended up needing every one of them.
Sweetwater Valley scored once in the top of the second inning, added another in the top of the third inning, plated two more runs in the top of the fourth inning and poured across three runs in the top of the fifth inning while managing to hold Hawaii scoreless in building up what proved to be an insurmountable lead.
“We had a couple of errors in the first inning that allowed them to get something going,” the SVLL manager said. “At this level, defense wins championships. Fortunately, we came back and put more runs on the board.”
Sweetwater Valley scored its run in the second inning courtesy of a two-out rally. Walker Lannom and Jake Baptista stroked back-to-back hits and Dante Schmid drove in one run with an ensuing double to extend the lead to 6-4.
In the top of the third inning, Ari Armas and Andrade each singled and Mendez followed with a groundout to score one run.
7-4 Sweetwater Valley.
In the top of the fourth inning, Walker Lannom led off the top of the fourth inning with a home run. It was his sixth of the regional tournament, the team’s 14th home run of the regional tournament and 71st home run in all-star tournament play. The younger Lannom finished the regional tournament with 13 RBI.
Hawaii changed pitchers at this point. Baptista greeted reliever Brayden Hiraki with an infield hit. A hit batsman and double by Armas made the score 9-4 in Sweetwater Valley’s favor.
The SoCal champions battled back hard to regain their five-run lead. Yet, with Hawaii putting runners on base in five of the six innings, the game remained nerve-racking for Sweetwater Valley fans at the stadium and watching on television.
Hawaii inserted Kaohou on the mound to start the fifth inning. Mendez greeted him with a base hit and a Nankil double brought him home as Sweetwater Valley inched ahead 10-4 on the scoreboard.
Baptista followed with a two-run home run to extend the Sweetwater Sluggers’ lead to 12-4. “Key insurance runs,” the elder Lannom noted.
Mendez took over on the hill for Sweetwater Valley in the bottom of the fifth inning and struck out two of the three batters he faced and looked to be in control of the game.
Sweetwater Valley threatened to score in the top of the sixth inning as Preston Fleming singled and Andrade followed with a walk to place two runners on. Mendez sent a ball deep to the right field warning track but it was caught to prevent further damage.
While Sweetwater Valley may have racked up seven unanswered runs in the contest, Waipio remained in wait.
Mendez looked untouchable to start the bottom of the sixth inning. He struck out Reyce Kajiwara for the first out. Cayden Okada followed with a single but Mendez struck out the next batter, Joshua Aribal, for the second out of the inning.
Then the roof caved in.
Hawaii was down to its final out but wound up sending seven more batters to the plate before the game finally ended on a defensive play.
Oshiro doubled to score one run as Sweetwater Valley’s lead shrunk to seven runs at 12-5.
An infield hit and triple by Hunter Sasaki made the score 12-7. A double by Ogasawara drove in another run to make the score 12-8 and a base hit by Charles Winchester made it 12-9.
Mendez remained on the mound in search of that elusive final out. He quickly worked a 0-2 count on Koahou but Koahou slapped a bad-hop single into short right field as the Hawaii rally ominously continued.
Alexander Armenti turned out to be Waipio’s final batter but even he recorded a hit. His slow nubber up the third base line proved dangerous as the throw to first by Mendez was wide to plate another Hawaii run. However, the throw back to the catcher caught Koahou between third base and home plate. The ball went back and forth between Sweetwater Valley players at opposite ends of the two baseline before the Koahou finally went to the ground and the final tag was applied by Mendez.
Sweetwater Valley players promptly began dogpiling on top of Armas, who was still in his catcher’s gear.
“I’ve told the kids that if you hit the ball, the other team has to do three things: field the ball, throw the ball and catch the ball,” Ward Lannom noted. “We had a hard time doing that in that final inning. Fortunately for us, their guy over-ran third base and we caught him in a run-down. It’s amazing how this game works.”
Hawaii, which finished 3-2 in the tournament, piled up 60 runs in its five games. Waipio took a three-game winning streak into Saturday’s championship tilt. Hawaii eliminated Snow Canyon Little League, 15-0, on Friday to get a second crack at the SoCal champions.
Sweetwater Valley finished the regional tournament 4-0 and outscored opponents 50-22.
Andrade wound up getting the win for Sweetwater Valley. He pitched four innings, struck out four batters, walked two and allowed six hits. He threw 14 first-pitch strikes.
Baptista had three hits and drove in three runs for Sweetwater Valley. Mendez and Lannom also drove in a pair of runs for the West Regional champions.
Mendez struck out four batters and had nine first-pitch strikes.
Ogasawara pitched three innings and recorded 11 first-pitch strikes while Koahou notched three strikeouts. Koahou and Winchester each had three hits while Koahou had two RBI.
Both teams committed three errors in the game.
The Sweetwater Sluggers have hit 72 home runs in 16 games, scored 229 runs and lashed out 243 hits.
Sweetwater Valley, as the Little League World Series West Region representative, opens play in the LLWS on Friday, Aug. 21, against Great Lakes region champion Bowling Green Eastern Little League from Kentucky. The game is set for an 2 p.m. local telecast on ESPN 2 (11 a.m. Pacific time).
The winner of Friday’s game will meet the winner of Friday’s match-up between Southwest Region champion Pearland West Little League (Texas East) and Northwest regional champion Wilshire-Riverside Little League from Portland, Ore., on Sunday, Aug. 23, at 3 p.m. local time (noon PDT). That game will be carried on the ABC-TV broadcast network.
The loser of Friday’s Sweetwater Valley-Bowling Green contest drops to an elimination bracket game against the Southwest-Northwest loser on Saturday, Aug. 22. That game also will be telecast by ABC-TV.
The U.S. bracket semifinals are scheduled Aug. 26 (winners bracket) and Aug. 27 (elimination bracket). The U.S. championship game is scheduled Aug. 29. The LLWS championship game follows the next day against an international opponent.
Sweetwater Valley’s stated goal was to reach the iconic Little League World Series. Now that the Sweetwater Sluggers have accomplished that goal, the elder Lannom said the team has set a new goal.
“We want to win it,” the SVLL manager said.
Sweetwater Valley 12U All-Stars
Team Roster
Players: Antonio Andrade, Isaac Artalejo, Ariel Armas, Jacob Baptista, Cameron Barbabosa, Mark Cervantes, Preston Fleming, Walker Lannom, Nicholas Maldonado, Levi Mendez, Nate Nankil, Braiz Ramirez, Dante Schmid
Manager: Ward Lannom
Coaches: Arturo Maldonado, Jaime Ramirez
Player Bioigraphies
Isaac Artalejo
Bonita Vista Middle School
Age 13
Nickname: “Cachorro”
Antonio Andrade
Bonita Vista Middle School
Age 13
Nickname: “Double-A”
Nate Nankil
Bonita Vista Middle School
Age 12
Nickname: “Nankil the ball”
Cameron Barbabosa
Bonita Vista Middle School
Age 12
Nickname: “Shrimp”
Walker Lannom
Eastlake Middle School
Age 12
Nickname: “The Talker”
Dante Schmid
Eastlake Middle School
Age 13
Nickname: “Big D”
Levi Mendez
Eastlake Middle School
Age 12
Nickname: “Chip”
Nick Maldonado
Eastlake Middle School
Age 12
Nickname: “Penguin”
Preston Fleming
Eastlake Middle School
Age 12
Nickname: “P-Diddy”
Mark Cervantes
Calvary Christian Academy
Age 13
Nickname: “Mark, Mark, Mark”
Ari Armas
Sacred Heart Academy
Age 12
Nickname: “Bugatti”
Braiz Ramirez
Coronado Middle School
Age 12
Nickname:”Tree”
Jake Baptista
Home school
Age 12
Nickname “Eyebrows”
Sweetwater Valley Little League
Tournament Game Log
California District 42 champions
Sweetwater Valley 28, Chula Vista American 0
Sweetwater Valley 19, Park View 1
Sweetwater Valley 18, Imperial Beach 0
Sweetwater Valley 14, Park View 0
California Section 7 champions
Sweetwater Valley 10, Lemon Grove 0
Sweetwater Valley 20, Rancho San Diego 5
Sweetwater Valley 18, Rancho San Diego 7
Southern California-South Division III champions
Sweetwater Valley 12, Orangecrest 5
Sweetwater Valley 6, Encinitas 2
Sweetwater Valley 7, Oceanview 4 (7 innings)
Southern California Division III champions
Sweetwater Valley 9, Manhattan 6
Sweetwater Valley 18, Manhattan 5
Sweetwater Valley wins best-of-three series 2-0
Little League World Series West Regional champions
Sweetwater Valley 16, Hawaii 9
Sweetwater Valley 11, Nevada 2
Sweetwater Valley 11, Utah 1
Sweetwater Valley 12, Hawaii 10 (championship game)
Note: Sweetwater Valley advances to Little League World Series as West Region representative
Little League International Western Regional Tournament
West Regional teams:
Chandler National North Little League (Arizona)
Waipahu Waipio Little League (Hawaii)
Paseo Verde Little League (Nevada)
San Jose Cambrian Park Little League (Northern California)
Sweetwater Valley Little League (Southern California)
Snow Canyon Little League (Utah)
Northwest Regional teams:
Juneau Gastineau Channel Little League (Alaska)
West Valley Little League (Idaho)
Billings Boulder Arrowhead Little League (Montana)
Portland Wilshire-Riverside Little League (Oregon)
Vancouver Cascade Little League (Washington)
Gillette Little League (Wyoming)
Game Schedule
Sunday, Aug. 9
Arizona 3, Northern California 0 (West Region)
Oregon 12, Wyoming 3 (Northwest Region)
Washington 5, Idaho 0 (Northwest Region)
Southern California 16,Hawaii 9 (West Region)
Monday, Aug. 10
Oregon 11, Alaska 6 (Northwest Region), 8:30 a.m. ESPN3
Utah 11, Arizona 1 (West Region) (5 innings)
Southern California 11, Nevada 2 (West Region)
Washington 11, Montana 2 (Northwest Region)
Tuesday, Aug. 11
Northwest Region elimination game, Montana 11, Wyoming 1
West Region elimination game, Nevada 9, Northern California 3
West Region elimination game, Hawaii 12, Arizona 9 (7 innings)
Northwest Region elimination game, Idaho 10, Alaska 0 (4 innings)
Wednesday, Aug. 12
Northwest Region elimination game, Idaho 16, Montana 11
West Region elimination game, Hawaii, 14, Nevada 3
Thursday, Aug. 13
Northwest Region winners bracket final (semifinal #1), Oregon 10, Washington 6
West region winners bracket final (semifinal #1), Southern California11, Utah 1
Friday, Aug. 14
Northwest Region elimination game (semifinal #2), Idaho 8, Washington 7
West Region elimination game (semifinal #2), Hawaii 15, Utah 0
Saturday, Aug. 15
Northwest Region championship game, Oregon 15, Idaho 3
Note: Oregon advances to Little League World Series
West Region championship game, Southern California 12, Hawaii 10
Note: Southern California advances to Little League World Series
Field is set for 2015 Little League World Series
United States Championship Tournament
Great Lakes Region: Bowling Green Eastern Little League (Kentucky)
Mid-Atlantic Region: Red Land Little League (Pennsylvania)
Midwest Region: Webb City Little League (Missouri)
New England Region: Cranston Western Little League (Rhode Island)
Northwest Region: Wilshire-Riverside Little League (Oregon)
Southwest Region: Northwood Little League (South Carolina)
Southwest Region: Pearland West Little League (Texas East)
West Region: Sweetwater Valley Little League (Southern California)
International Championship Tournament
Asia-Pacific Region: Tung Yuan Little League (Chinese Taipei)
Australia Region: Cronulla Little League (Australia)
Canada Region: White Rock South Surrey (British Colombia)
Caribbean Region: Los Bravos de Pontezuela Little League (Dominican Republic)
Europe-Africa Region: AVRS Secondary School Little League (Uganda)
Japan Region: Tokyo Kitasuna Little League (Japan)
Latin America Region: Cardenales Little League (Venezuela)
Mexico Region: Seguro Social Little League (Mexicali)
Little League World Series Schedule
All times Eastern (3 hours earlier for Pacific time)
Friday, Aug. 21
Opening Round Games
International Bracket
Europe-Africa vs. Caribbean, 10 a.m. (ESPN)
Latin America-Australia, 1 p.m. (ESPN)
Canada vs. Mexico, 4 p.m. (ESPN)
Asia-Pacific vs. Japan, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
United States Bracket
Southwest vs. Northwest, 11 a.m. (ESPN)
Great Lakes vs. West. 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Southeast vs. New England, 5 p.m. (ESPN)
Mid-Atlantic vs. Midwest, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Saturday, Aug. 22
Elimination Games
International Bracket
Europe-Africa vs. Caribbean loser vs. Latin America-Australia loser, 1 p.m. (ESPN)
Canada vs. Mexico loser vs. Asia-Pacific vs. Japan loser, 6 p.m. (ESPN)
United States Bracket
Southwest vs. Northwest loser vs. Great Lakes vs. West loser, 3 p.m. (ABC-TV)
Southeast-New England loser vs. Mid-Atlantic vs. Midwest loser, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Sunday, Aug. 23
Double Elimination Games
International Bracket
Europe-Africa vs. Caribbean winner vs. Latin America-Australia winner, 11 a.m. (ESPN)
Canada vs. Mexico winner vs. Asia-Pacific vs. Japan winner, 5 p.m. (ESPN)
United States Bracket
Southwest vs. Northwest winner vs. Great Lakes vs. West winner, 3 p.m. (ABC-TV)
Southeast-New England winner vs. Mid-Atlantic vs. Midwest winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Monday, Aug. 24
Elimination Games
Consolation game, noon (ESPN)
International division elimination game, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
U.S. division elimination game, 4 p.m. (ESPN)
International division elimination game, 6 p.m. (ESPN2)
U.S. division elimination game, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
Tuesday, Aug. 25
Elimination Games
Consolation game, 1 p.m. (ESPN)
International division elimination game, 4 p.m. (ESPN)
U.S. division elimination game, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
Wednesday, Aug. 26
Double Elimination Games
International division game, 4 p.m. (ESPN)
U.S. division game, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Thursday, Aug. 27
Elimination Games
International division elimination game, 4 p.m. (ESPN)
U.S. division elimination game, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Saturday, Aug. 29
Division Championship Games
International division championship game, 12:30 p.m. (ABC-TV)
U.S. division championship game, 3:30 p.m. (ABC-TV)
Sunday, Aug. 30
LLWS Placement Games
Third place game, 10 a.m. (ESPN)
Championship game, 3 p.m. (ABC-TV)
Source: http://www.llbws.org/gameinfo/schedule.htm
