Eastlake Little League’s 12U all-star team will carry the torch for California District 42 on the long and winding road to the Little League World Series after defeating rival Park View Little League, 10-0, on Monday at the Sweetwater Valley Little League complex to capture this year’s district championship banner.
Eastlake out-scored its four opponents 39-3 to claim the coveted district banner. Game scores included 10-0 over Southwest, 6-0 over Park View, 13-3 over Sweetwater Valley and 10-0 over Park View again.
“This is a tremendous group of kids,” Eastlake 12U manger Matt Fischer underscored. “This group has basically been together since they were 6. We basically put the team back together. We’re trying to make an impact for our community, show the kids there’s a right way to play the game.”
Eddie Acosta tossed a complete game, his second shutout of the tournament, while Malaki Maestas clubbed a three-run walk-off home run to end Monday’s championship outing.
Eastlake advances to the California Section 7 tournament that the district is hosting at Eastlake Little League. Other teams entered in the four-team event include El Centro (District 22), Spring Valley (District 66) and Alpine American (District 41).
“It’s one game at a time now,” Fischer said. “I owe a lot to our coaches Eddie Acosta and Jorge Gonzalez. “They’ve done a great job helping us prepare for each opponent.”
Games in the Section 7 tournament are scheduled Saturday, July 15 (two games), Sunday, July 16 (two games), Monday, July 17 (elimination game final) and Tuesday, July 18 (championship game). If necessary, a championship replay is scheduled for Wednesday, July 19.
Three’s Company
Three programs dominated Monday’s finals with Eastlake, Sweetwater Valley and Park View each sending two teams to championship games. Sweetwater Valley won two of them while Eastlake grabbed the other.
Sweetwater Valley defeated Eastlake, 10-4, in Tuesday’s double-elimination 10U championship game to wrap up this year’s district finals.
It was a reversal of fortunes for the teams after Eastlake had defeated Sweetwater Valley, 12-0, on Monday to force Tuesday’s double-elimination championship game.
Sweetwater Valley finished the eight-team bracket with a 4-1 record that also included victories over South Bay Little League (17-2), Eastlake (14-4) and Park View (4-3) in pre-finals competition.
The newly crowned District 42 champions now embark on an odyssey to Imperial Valley to compete in the California Section 7 championship tournament hosted by Brawley Little League July 15-19.
Because of the heat and driving distance, opening games are scheduled Saturday, July 15, at 8 p.m. on two fields (District 41 vs. District 42 and District 22 vs. District 66). Winners and losers advance to next round games on Sunday, July 16, also at 8 p.m.
The elimination bracket final is Monday, July 17, at 8 p.m., followed by the championship game on Tuesday, July 18, at 8 p.m. An “if” game would be played on Wednesday, July 19, again at 8 p.m.
Games are being played at Volunteer Park, 650 North Second St., Brawley.
The section champion advances to the Southern California divisional tournament.
SVLL 11U manager Arturo Maldonado said he felt his team was the Cinderella team in the division.
“We only had two days off since this tournament started,” said Maldonado, who has announced he is retiring as league president following this season. “Everybody didn’t believe that we could get it done. But we got it done. It’s just amazing. It came down to all the hard work these kids put into practice. They believed in themselves.
“Nobody believed we could make any noise but we did. We were the Cinderella team in our division.”
The SVLL 11s only allowed one run in their 3-0 run through the tournament while racking up 21 runs. The SVLL all-stars defeated Imperial Beach, 12-0, in their first game, then Park View, 3-1, in their second game to advance to Monday’s championship game against Park View.
David Mendoza shut down things on the mound for the newly crowned district champions.
Sweetwater Valley advances to the Section 7 tournament at Spring Valley Little League, opening with a match-up against the District 22 champion on Saturday, July 15, at 2 p.m. Prior to that game, the District 66 and District 41 champions will pair up at 10 a.m.
The losers of Saturday’s openers will meet in an elimination game on Sunday, July 16, at 10 a.m. while the winners of Saturday’s games will advance to the winners bracket final on Sunday, July 16, at 2 p.m.
The elimination bracket final is scheduled for Monday, July 17, at 6 p.m. The championship game is scheduled Tuesday, July 18, at 6 p.m. If a double-elimination game is required it would be played on Wednesday, July 19, at 6 p.m.
Spring Valley Little League is located at 1312 Sweetwater Lane, Spring Valley.
By the numbers
District 42 administrator Ernie Lucero said it was a record-breaking year for the district overall.
“We had record signups,” Lucero said. “More kids signed up in District 42 than ever before, in each and every league. I think it was attributed to the pandemic when everything was shut down and the success of the Padres.”
Park View Little League president Johnny Gonzalez concurred.
“It’s been great, so much fun, entertaining,” he said.
The 12U LLWS will feature 20 teams from around the globe, including 10 in the United States bracket and 10 in the international bracket.
Will Eastlake make it that far? Anything is possible, and the answer to that question will be answered over the coming weeks as teams continue to qualify through section, divisional and regional tournaments.
EASTLAKE 12U ALL-STARS ROSTER:
Kane DeJesus, Saul Gross, Isaac Enriquez, Ryan Nicolaus, Eddie Acosta, Malaki Maestas, Joey Ziomek, Dante Baca, Hunter Piring, Isaiah Cortes, Jaziel Gonzalez, Johnny Lopez
Manager: Matt Fischer
Coaches: Eddie Acosta, Jorge Gonzalez
Park View 12U ALL-STARS ROSTER:
Tomas Sandoval, Jovani Santana, Dylan Goddard, Lukas Yaomoto, Ethan Sanchez, Alonso Gallardo, Jorge Rodriguez, Van Zielinski, Chriss Crabb, Ezekio Valenzuela, Aaron Bleisch, Cruz Moya
SWEETWATER LITTLE LEAGUE 11U ALL-STARS ROSTER
Stryder Tran, David Mendoza, Moises Miramontes, Cesar Valvidia, Adam Bailey, Emiliano Carrillo. Johnny Maldonado, Zeus Ferro, Clark Walrath, Parker Crawford, Aaron Aguiliera, Cooper Hernandez
Manager: Arturo Maldonado
PARK VIEW LITTLE LEAGUE 11U ALL-STARS ROSTER
Remi Icasas, Daniel Segura, Caleb Rudden, Ricardo Herrera, Xavier Bejarano, Marcos Thompson, Jacob Bjornstad, Aiden Victorino, Matthew Johnson, Adrian Molina, Addely Bridges, Emilio Valdez
SWEETWATER LITTLE LEAGUE 10U ALL-STARS ROSTER
Tempi Tran, Brandon Arellano, Steven Carlos, Ezekiel Winnick, Isaac Selga, Sebastian Pino, Andrew Iniquez, Liam Alto, Emi Kish, Cruz Dickinson, Hedley Ludlow, Nico Oani
Manager: Johnny Tran
Coaches: Fernando Kish, Rick Carlos
EASTLAKE LITTLE LEAGUE 10U ALL-STARS ROSTER
Josiah Ziomek, Zachary Rubio, Lucas Del Villar, Tom Smith, Maximus Creighton, Alejandro Rivera, Declan Curtis, Makai Vasquez, Diego Moreno, Cash Mora, Michael Miranda, Carlos Ibarra
Coach: Benny Rivera
California District 42 Little League All-Star Tournaments
10U Division
Saturday, July 1
Chula Vista National 9, Luckie Waller 2
Park View 4, Chula Vista American 2
Eastlake 10, Imperial Beach 0
Sweetwater Valley 17, South Bay 2
Sunday, July 2
Chula Vista American 20, Luckie Waller 0
South Bay 9, Imperial Beach 4
Monday, July 3
Park View 25, Chula Vista National 0
Sweetwater Valley 14, Eastlake 4
Wednesday, July 5
Eastlake 10, Chula Vista American 9
South Bay 12, Chula Vista National 1
Thursday, July 6
Sweetwater Valley 4, Park View 3
Saturday, July 8
Eastlake 10, South Bay 0
Sunday, July 9
Eastlake 2, Park View 1
Monday, July 10
Eastlake 12, Sweetwater Valley 0
Tuesday, July 11
Championship: Sweetwater Valley 10, Eastlake 4
11U Division
Sunday, July 2
Eastlake 2, Chula Vista American 1
Sweetwater Valley 12, Imperial Beach 0
Monday, July 3
Park View 9, Eastlake 0
Wednesday, July 5
Chula Vista American 21, Imperial Beach 0
Saturday, July 8
Sweetwater Valley 3, Park View 1
Chula Vista American 6, Eastlake 1
Sunday, July 9
Park View 3, Chula Vista American 1
Monday, July 10
Championship: Sweetwater Valley 6, Park View 0
12U Division
Saturday, July 1
South Bay 10, Chula Vista National 9
Chula Vista American 6, Imperial Beach 0
Sweetwater Valley 18, Luckie Waller 4
Eastlake 10, Southwest 0
Sunday, July 2
Imperial Beach 15, Chula Vista National 5
Park View 14, South Bay 1
Monday, July 3
Imperial Beach 5, Luckie Waller 2
Southwest 14. South Bay 2
Wednesday, July 5
Sweetwater Valley 8, Chula Vista American 7
Eastlake 6, Park View 0
Thursday, July 6
Park View 10, Imperial Beach 2
Chula Vista American 7, Southwest 0
Saturday, July 8
Eastlake 13, Sweetwater Valley 3
Park View 2, Chula Vista American 1
Sunday, July 9
Park View 5,Sweetwater Valley 2
Monday, July 10
Championship: Eastlake 10, Park View 0
California Section 7 Tournament Scoreboard
Junior Division
District 42 champion: Park View Little League
California Section 7 tournament
Games July 8-9 at Jamul Little League
July 8: District 41 vs. District 66, 8 a.m.
July 8: District 42 vs. District 22, 11 a.m.
July 8: Elimination bracket game, 2 p.m.
July 8: Winners bracket game, 5 p.m.
July 8: Elimination bracket game, 8 p.m.
July 9: Winners bracket game, 8 a.m.
July 9: Championship game, 11 a.m.
July 8: Park View 3, El Centro 1
July 9: Park View 13, Spring Valley 8
July 11: El Centro 5, Park View 4
July 12: El Centro 7, Park View 4
Senior Division
District 42 champion: Park View Little League
California Section 7 tournament
June 28-July 2 at Spring Valley Little League
June 28: District 22 (Yuma) 9, District 42 (Park View) 3
June 28: District 66 (Spring Valley) bye
June 29: District 22 (Yuma) 9, District 66 (Spring Valley) 4
July 1: District 66 (Spring Valley) 14, District 42 (Park View) 7
July 2: (championship game) District 22 (Yuma) 14, District 66 (Spring Valley) 4
Intermediate 50/70 Division
District 42 champion: Sweetwater Valley Little League
California Section 7 tournament
June 28-July 1 at Sweetwater Valley Little League
June 28: District 41 (West Hills) 8, District 66 (Valley de Oro) 4
June 29: District 42 (Sweetwater Valley) 21, District 41 (West Hills) 4
June 30: District 66 (Valley de Oro) 4, District 41 (West Hills) 3
July 1: (championship game) District 42 (Sweetwater Valley) 16, District 66 (Valley de Oro) 1
Southern California Divisional tournament
July 8: Sweetwater Valley 5, Upland National 2
Road to the Little League World Series starts for Alpine American, Spring Valley
The crack of the bat, balls flying out of the yard and runners crossing the plate. The road to the Little League World Series has started in earnest for hundreds of teams across the United States as well as internationally.
The destination is South Williamsport, Pa., Aug. 16-27 for 12U all-star teams. Other divisions, from 10U to Senior leagues, are scattered across the country and start in late July.
The 12U LLWS will feature 20 teams from around the globe, including 10 in the United States bracket and 10 in the international bracket.
Will an East County team from either or California District 41 Little League or California District 66 Little League make it that far? Anything is possible, of course, and the answer to that question will be answered over the coming weeks as teams qualify through district, section, divisional and regional tournaments.
Alpine American Little League from District 41 and Spring Valley Little League from District 66 will carry the torch for East County on the road to the LLWS.
Peak of excitement
Alpine American defeated Rancho de Oro to capture the District 41 championship banner on July 9.
Spring Valley defeated Valley de Oro, 7-2, to claim the District 66 championship flag on July 8 in a double-elimination replay.
Both Alpine American and Spring Valley now advance to Section 7 championship tournaments where they will square off against teams from District 22 (El Centro) and District 42 (Eastlake) in a double-elimination format.
Alpine American, which previously won the District 41 Majors Division Tournament of Champions, won its pool to start all-star play with wins over El Cajon National (10-0) and Mountain Empire (14-0).
Other pool winners included Rancho de Oro, Santee National, West Hills, Lakeside National, Fletcher Hills, Lakeside American and El Cajon National.
It took 15 games in the eight-team double-elimination bracket to determine this year’s 12U District 41 champion.
Alpine American defeated Santee National, Lakeside National and Rancho de Oro to advance to the championship game.
Rancho de Oro eliminated Fletcher Hills to draw a rematch with Alpine American but could not force a second championship game.
Spring Valley opened its double-elimination bracket with victories against Twin Hills (3-2) and Valley de Oro (4-0), Valley de Oro defeated Twin Hills, 4-2, in the elimination bracket final to draw a rematch with Spring Valley in what turned out to be a two-game championship series.
Valley de Oro won the first match-up, 3-0, to force a double-elimination final that went to Spring Valley.
Batter up
The Intermediate 50/70 Baseball World Series is scheduled July 30 to Aug. 6 in Livermore.
The Junior League Baseball World Series is scheduled Aug. 13-20 in Taylor, Mich.
The Senior League Baseball World Series is scheduled July 29 to Aug. 5 in Easley, S.C.
Little League Baseball tournaments in the 10U and 11U age brackets end at the divisional level.
The West Region tournament for the 12U division is scheduled Aug. 8-11 in San Bernardino.
The 10U Southern California divisional championship, hosted by California District 72 Eastvale, is scheduled July 22-31.
The 11U SoCal divisional championship, hosted by California District 43 Newmark, is scheduled July 22-30.
The road to the 11U SoCal championship started on Sunday, July 9, as Rancho de Oro defeated Santee National.
The 10U district championship was scheduled to be decided on Tuesday, July 11, as Santee National and Alpine American dueled it out in a double-elimination game.
California District 66 Little League covers the western portion of East County and northern part of South County. Champions were determined in six divisions:
10U Division: Lemon Grove 3, Spring Valley 2
11U Division: Spring Valley 8, San Diego American 7
12U: Spring Valley 7, Valley de Oro 2
Intermediate Division: Valley de Oro
Junior Division: Spring Valley 12, Encanto 2
Senior Division: Spring Valley defeated Encanto in a best-of-three series.
Next level
California District 41 is scheduled to host the Section 7 Junior League All-Star tournament July 8-12 at Jamul Little League between representatives from District 66 (Spring Valley), District 41 (Lakeside American), District 44 (El Centro) and District 42 (Park View).
California District 66 is scheduled to host the Section 7 11U Little League All-Star tournament July 15-19 at Spring Valley Little League.
California District 42 will host the Section 7 Little League 12U championship tournament at Eastlake Little League, with dates to be announced.
Sweetwater Valley Little League hosted the Section 7 Intermediate Division All-Star Division tournament June 28 through July 1 between representatives from District 66, District 41 and District 42.
Sweetwater Valley defeated District 41 champion West Hills, 21-4, in the winners bracket final to advance to the championship game. Sweetwater Valley then defeated District 66 champion Valley de Oro, 16-1, to claim the section banner.
West Hills doubled up Valley de Oro, 8-4, in an opening round game while Valley de Oro came back to eliminate West Hills, 4-3, to advance to the championship game.
Spring Valley Little League hosted the Section 7 Senior League All-Star tournament June 28 to July 2 between representatives from District 42 (Park View), District 22 (Yuma) and District 66 (Spring Valley).
Yuma defeated Spring Valley, 14-4, to grab the division title and advance to the SoCal tournament July 6-15 hosted by District 72.
Brawley Little League from California District 22 will host the 10U Section 7 tournament.
Play ball
First-round pairings have already been set in both the U.S. and international brackets for this year’s Little League World Series.
Each bracket includes two play-in games. Those are scheduled for Aug. 16 and feature the Mountain region champion against the Metro region champion and the Southwest region champion against the Mid-Atlantic region champion in the U.S. bracket and the Europe-Africa champion against Panama and Japan against Cuba in the international bracket.
The Northwest, New England, Southeast, Midwest, West and Great Lakes region champions begin play on Aug. 17 as do the Caribbean, Australia, Latin America, Mexico, Canada and Asia-Pacific champions in the international bracket.
California District 41 Little League All-Star Scoreboard
12U Division
Championship: Alpine defeated Rancho de Oro
11U Division
Championship: Rancho de Oro defeated Santee National
10U Division
Championship: Santee National defeated Alpine American
