It’s been 48 years since a Chula Vista South all-star team last won a PONY Baseball World Series championship, and Monday night at York Field in Whittier history repeated itself when Chula Vista South defeated the Dominican Republic, 4-1, to claim the 2015 PONY-13 International World Series championship.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Chula Vista South league president Omar Castro underscored. “It’s been 48 years since we’ve made it to the World Series and these kids have put their all to make it there. I’m so proud of this team and to be a part of this league.”
Chula Vista South took a 19-0 record into Monday night’s game against the Caribbean Zone champions. Both teams were undefeated in World Series competition.
Chula Vista South, the U.S. West Zone champions, defeated Chesterfield (Virginia), the U.S. East Zone champions, 5-2, to open the eight-team international tournament last Friday. Chula Vista South then followed with a 7-1 victory against tournament host Whittier on Saturday.
Chula Vista South advanced to the championship game after dealing Chesterfield a 7-6 setback in Sunday evening’s lower bracket final after the Virginia team eliminated Whittier, 9-1, earlier that morning in double-elimination play.
“Tough team,” CV South manager Valentin Luna said succinctly.
The same could obviously be said about the Chula Vista South team – and also the Dominican Republic.
The Caribbean Zone champions racked up some impressive numbers in their three opening World Series games . The Dominican Republic defeated Mazatlan (Mexico), 8-0, in its opening game last Friday and followed with an 11-1 win over Laredo (Texas), the U.S. South Zone champion, on Saturday.
The Caribbean team then edged Laredo, 4-3, in Sunday afternoon’s upper bracket final after Laredo eliminated Mazatlan, 11-3, in double-elimination play earlier in the day.
Win or lose against the Dominican Republic, the Chula Vista team was making history as the league’s first representative in the PONY-13 World Series.
Chula Vista South’s 1967 World Series championship team came at what is now the PONY-14 level.
Luna said the long wait between PONY World Series championships was rewarding.
“It feels great,” he said. “This is basically the team we took from South Bay Little League into PONY, and the kids kick-started it from there. Three of the guys have been together since they were 7, five since they were 9 and other guys joined after that. It was a puzzle that finally fitted together.”
Antonio Garcia was the winning pitcher in Monday’s championship game. He was masterful on the mound with seven strikeouts against one walk and one run allowed.
“He did a fabulous job keeping their big hitters off balance,” Luna explained. “They looked a little frustrated, which is just what we wanted to happen.”
Chula Vista South built a 4-0 edge in the game on single runs in the first and third innings and two more in the fifth inning.
“Our hitting was timed well with runners on base,” Luna said. “We scored only four runs. It was a little here and a little there.”
Keoni Cavaco led the World Serise champs with two hits in the contest while Emilio Luna, Christian Vazquez, Garcia and Eric Nakano each had one hit. Fisher Pyatt scored three runs while Luna scored once. Nakano, Cavaco and Vazquez each picked up credit for one RBI.
Besides expert pitching and timely hitting, superlative defense also played a factor in Chula Vista South’s World Series championship.
“They had runners on every inning until the last inning,” Luna said. “We played well defensively. We made some great plays, bang-bang plays.
The Dominican Republic left seven runners on base while CVS stranded five runners. The Caribbean Zone champions rapped out eight hits, led by Alex De Jesus with three and two each by Marco Luciano and Famin Rodriguez.
Cartiel Araujo took the loss. He pitched four innings and allowed two runs, one of them earned.
In the 20-game surge, Pyatt led Chula Vista South with a .581 hitting average, followed by Cavaco (.538), Luna (.456) and Vazquez (.443). Pyatt led the team with four home runs while Cavaco topped the team with 29 RBI.
Garcia finished 7-0 on the hill with a 1.58 earned-run average while Jake Rose was 4-0 and Cavaco was 3-0.
Road warriors
Chula Vista South played all its all-star tournament games at ballparks outside of the South Bay. The section tournament took place in Ramona while the region tournament took place in Lakeside, the super region tournament took place in Long Beach and Whittier and both the west zone and World Series tournaments took place in Whittier.
“We went 20-0 on the road to win the championship,” the CVS manager said. “Great group of kids. I will miss coaching this team.
“They worked hard, I wish them all the best. There was a lot of sacrifice from the families, driving back and forth, taking time off from work. Wow! I praise them.”
Batter up
There were five lead changes in Sunday’s semifinal victory by Chula Vista South over Chesterfield.
In last Friday’s opening game between the same teams, Chula Vista South took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning. Chesterfield scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to tie the score. Chula Vista South then secured the win by scoring three times in the bottom of the sixth inning to jump ahead 5-2.
Chula Vista South used two pitchers in last Friday’s game. Christian Vazquez pitched three innings. He faced 13 batters, allowed four hits, no earned runs, walked one and struck out one. Antonio Garcia pitched four innings. He faced 20 batters, allowed three hits, two earned runs, walked three and struck out three.
Chesterfield also used two pitchers. Ty Garner started and pitched five-and-one-third innings. He faced 27 batters, alloed six hits, five earned runs, walked four and struck out four. Jack Anderson pitched two-thirds of an inning. He faced three batters, allowed one hit and struck out one.
Emilio Luna, Bubba Villegas, Bradley Mookini, Arnold Escando and Diego Martinez each scored single runs for Chula Vista South. Luna and Keoni Cavaco each had two singles in the game while Martinez stroked one double.
Of note, two players — Jake Rose and Eric Nakano — played on last year’s California District 42 and California Section 7 championship Sweetwater Valley Little League 12U all-star team.
Chula Vista PONY-13 All-Stars
Team Roster
•Fisher Pyatt
•Keoni Cavaco
•Emilio Luna
•Christian Vazquez
•Bubba Villegas
•Eric Nakano
•Diego Martinez
•Bradley Mookini
•Antonio Garcia
•Arnold Escando
•Jake Rose
Manager: Valentin Luna
Coaches: Brad Nakano, Ivan Proia
Chula Vista PONY-13 All-Stars
Team Statistics
Hitting average: Fisher Pyatt .581, Keoni Cavaco .538, Emilio Luna .456, Christian Vazquez .443, Bubba Villegas .385, Eric Nakano .370, Diego Martinez .340, Bradley Mookini .296, Antonio Garcia .273, Arnold Escando .240, Jake Rose .208
RBI: Cavaco 29, Vazquez 24, Nakano 22, Luna 17, Garcia 15, Pyatt 14, Mookini 12, Villegas 11, Martinez 9, Rose 5, Escando 2
Home runs: Pyatt 4, Cavaco 3, Vazquez 3, Nakano 3
Pitching: Garcia 7-0, Rose 4-0, Cavaco 3-0, Vazquez 2-0, Pyatt 2-0, Luna 1-0, Mookini 1-0
ERA: Luna 0.00, Vazquez 1.47, Garcia 1.58, Nakano 1.75, Rose 3.45
Road to a championship
Chula Vista South PONY-13 All-stars
Undefeated 20-0 Season
San Diego Section champions
Chula Vista South 11, Chula Vista North 1
Chula Vista South 16, Ramona 4
Chula Vista South 15, Emerald Black 4
Chula Vista South 14, Emerald Black 9
Southwest Region champions
Chula Vista South 14, Kimball Park/National City 4
Chula Vista South 10, Emerald 9
Chula Vista South 6, Emerald 2
Super Region champions
Chula Vista South 17, Colton 2
Chula Vista South 4, Long Beach 2
Chula Vista South 6, South County/Mission Viejo 2
Chula Vista South 10, Covina 7
Chula Vista South 2, Kimball Park/National City 0
West Zone champions
Chula Vista South 6, Southeast Valley (Utah) 0
Chula Vista South 13, Pacifica 3
Chula Vista South 9, National City 0
Chula Vista South 6, Hilo (Hawaii) 1
PONY-13 International World Series champions
Chula Vista South 5, Chesterfield (Virginia) 2
Chula Vista South 7, Whittier 1
Chula Vista South 7, Chesterfield (Virginia) 6
Chula Vista South 4, Dominican Republic 1
2015 PONY-13 INTERNATIONAL WORLD SERIES
York Field, Whittier, Calif.
Friday, July 31
Laredo (Texas) 18, Manila (Philippines) 3
Chula Vista South 5, Chesterfield (Virginia) 2
Dominican Republic 8, Mazatlan (Mexico) 0
Whittier 9, Grand Ledge (Mich.) 0
Saturday, Aug. 1
Mazatlan 16, Manila 1
Chesterfield 18, Grand Ledge 1
Dominican Republic 11, Laredo 1
Chula Vista South 7, Whittier 1
Sunday, Aug. 2
Challenger bracket games
Laredo 11, Mazatlan 8
Chesterfield 9, Whittier 1
Upper bracket final: Dominican Republic 4, Laredo 3
Lower bracket final: Chula Vista South 7, Chesterfield 6
Monday, Aug. 3
Championship game
Chula Vista South 4, Dominican Republic 1
Qualified Teams
West Zone: Chula Vista South
East Zone: Chesterfield, Va.
South Zone: Laredo, Texas
North Zone: Grand Ledge, Mich.
Asia-Pacific Zone: Manila
Mexico Zone: Mazatlan
Caribbean Zone: Dominican Republic
Host: Whittier
PONY-13 WEST ZONE TOURNAMENT
Whitter Pony Field
Friday, July 24
Scottsdale (Ariz.) 10, South Sound (Wash.) 5
Hilo (Hawaii) 8, Riverside 5
Pacifica 6, National City 5
Chula Vista South 6, Southeast Valley (Utah) 0
Saturday, July 25
Riverside 6, South Sound (Wsh.) 0
National City 16, Southeast Valley (Utah) 1
Hilo (Hawaii) 13, Scottsdale (Ariz. 5)
Chula Vista South 13, Pacifica 3
Sunday, July 26
Riverside 15, Scottsdale (Ariz.) 2
National City 9, Pacifica 5
Hilo (Hawaii) 12, Riverside 11
Chula Vista South 9. National City 0
Monday, July 27
Championship games: Chula Vista South 6, Hilo (Hawaii) 1
Note: Chula Vista South advancxes to Pony-13 International World Series July 31 to Aug. 3 in Whittier
YOUTH BASEBALL SCOREBOARD
Sweetwater Valley Little League 12U All-Stars
California District 42 champions
California Section 7 champions
Southern California South Division III champions
Southern California Division III champions
United States Western Regional tournament
Chula Vista American Little League 11U All-Stars
California District 42 champions
California Section 7 champions
Southern California South Division III champions
Southern California Division III runner-up
Chula Vista South PONY-13 All-Stars
San Diego Section champions
Southwest Region champions
Super-Region champions
United States West Zone champions
PONY-13 World Series champions
