California District 42 Little League was formed in 1960. In its present configuration, it encompasses all leagues south of Highway 54 to the U.S.-Mexico border and from the Pacific Ocean to the city of Chula Vista’s eastern boundary.
The league’s impact went beyond that small sphere of influence in the southwestern-most corner of the United States last year when Park View’s celebrated Blue Bombers won it all – the Little League World Series.
Will history repeat itself this year for the newly nicknamed “District of champions?” It’s tournament time and one just never knows what the outcome with be.
The annual District 42 Tournament of Champions ushered in post-season play this summer and there are more champions than ever after a format change to pool play. Rather than one Minor Division and one Major Division champion, there were two each in separate pools. The 7-8 Division continued the traditional format with one champion.
Tournament finals took place June 27 (7-8 Division), June 28 (Minor B and Major B) and June 29 (Minor A and Major A) at Eastlake Little League.
Championship titles were spread around, with Sweetwater Valley Little League earning TOC banners in the 7-8 and Major A divisions, Chula Vista American LL in the Minor B and Major B divisions and Eastlake LL in Minor A.
CVA made a statement by advancing teams to three of the five pool championship games while Park View and CVN each grabbed a pair of runner-up finishes.
7-8 Division
Top-seeded Sweetwater Valley started off the TOC title run by defeating third-seeded CVA 11-8.
SVLL finished 4-0 in the tournament while out-scoring its opponents 49-14 with three run-rule decisions. Round-robin wins came against Southwest (10-0) and South Bay (13-3), with a 15-3 victory coming against fourth-seeded Chula Vista National in the semifinals.
CVA finished 3-1 with round-robin wins against Eastlake (6-3) and Chula Vista National (5-4) and a wild 15-12 semifinal victory against second-seeded Park View.
The top four teams qualified for the playoffs. Park View finished 2-1 after opening with round-robin wins over Imperial Beach (13-1) and Southwest (5-3). CVN grabbed its tournament opener against IB 12-0.
Eastlake and Luckie Waller each picked up one win in round-robin play. Eastlake topped Luckie Waller, 17-12, while Luckie Waller blasted South Bay 14-4. IB, South Bay and Southwest all finished 0-2 in the nine-team division.
Minor Division A Pool
Eastlake and Park View both finished 3-1 atop the four-team pool standings, with second-seeded Eastlake taking the TOC title with a 3-1 win in the championship game. Eastlake’s title game victory served to avenge a 4-3 round-robin loss to top-seeded Park View.
Eastlake qualified for the championship game by bouncing back with victories against Luckie Waller (21-7) and Sweetwater Valley (6-5). Park View finished 3-0 in preliminary play by tacking on wins against SVLL (16-9) and Luckie Waller (16-8).
Luckie Waller finished 1-2 with a 14-11 victory over SVLL (which finished 0-3).
Minor Division B Pool
A pair of west side teams matched up in the pool final, with top-seeded CVA topping second-seeded CVN 13-1. The title contest was a rematch of round-robin opener when CVA again won convincingly 11-0. CVA finished 4-0 in pool play while CVN was 2-2.
CVA also defeated Imperial Beach, 14-1, and hung a 15-1 loss on South Bay. CVN topped South Bay, 16-7, and also defeated IB 15-10.
IB finished 1-2 with a 14-3 victory against South Bay (0-3 in pool play).
Major Division A Pool
Second-seeded Sweetwater Valley upended top-seeded Park View, 13-2, in the pool finale to make amends for a 12-10 round-robin setback. SVLL finished TOC play 3-1 while CVA was 2-2 in a highly competitive four-team field.
SVLL opened round-robin play with a 7-6 win against Luckie Waller, then racked up an 8-2 victory against Eastlake. Park View out-scored Eastlake, 16-11, before topping SVLL but lost 9-4 in its final round-robin game against Luckie Waller.
Eastlake and Luckie Waller both finished 1-2, with Eastlake edging Luckie Waller 7-6.
Major Division B POOL
Top-seeded Chula Vista American wrapped up a 4-0 pool showing with a 21-7 victory against No. 2 Chula Vista National (2-2 in the tournament). CVA’s win was the second over CVN after CVA opened round-robin play with a 7-5 victory over their west side rival.
CVA also beat Imperial Beach, 27-4, and shut out South Bay 10-0. CVN topped South Bay, 13-1, and walloped IB 15-5.
South Bay finished 1-2 with a 10-6 win over IB (0-3 in the tournament).
For all-star tournament updates, visit the Web site at www.eteamz.com/cad42.
