Bonita’s Bashers Win SoCal Little League Title !!

(Sweetwater Valley Little League players, a.k.a. the Bonita Bashers, celebrate Monday after winning the Southern California Championship. Photo courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)

Congratulations to Southern California Champion Sweetwater Valley Little League of Bonita !!!!!

Sweetwater Valley won the championship Monday by beating a very strong team representing Moorpark Little League of Moorpark, 9-1. North Mission Viejo Little League in Mission Viejo hosted the title match. The Bonita Bashers lived up to the their name. They bashed three home runs Monday. Moorpark absolutely belonged in that finals. However, its boys got outmatched.

Monday marked the fourth straight game in which the Doomsday Defense, a.k.a. Sweetwater Valley’s pitching staff, only allowed one earned run. The Bashers won those four contests by decisive scores of 8-1, 7-1, 7-2, and 9-1. All four came against formidable opponents. What a great time to get hot both on offense and defense. Monday’s winner-take-all contest served as Kapono Nakanelua‘s turn to pitch a beauty. And he did. Big time. On the big stage.

The Doomsday Defense.

When Nakanelua reached his 85-pitch maximum, he had thrown a one-hit shutout through 4 1/3 innings. Nakanelua demonstrated amazing control. He recorded eight strikeouts while only allowing two walks. A gutsy performance in a huge game! Take a bow, Kapono! During pregame warm-ups, he showed that he had his curve ball working. Sure enough, Nakanelua’s breaking ball gave Moorpark’s batters fits. That kid is on fire. According to my records, the last time he gave up a run was during the first inning in the California District 42 finals against Chula Vista’s Eastlake Little League. Since then, Kapono has been burning down the house.

(Music by Talking Heads. Photos of Kapono Nakanelua courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)

The Bashers went berserk at the plate. They scored in five of the six innings. In the fourth, Cristian Jimenez belted a two-run homer. I called that shot before the game started. Long before the first pitch, I told Cristian’s mother that he would do something big during that game. And, he did. Two batters later, with Joshua Hughes on base, Daniel Sánchez bashed his own two-run dinger. Speaking of Josh, that kid lit it up Monday. Hughes batted 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, and scored four runs. Sánchez added his own double. Ryan García hit a solo home run.

Bashers light it up.

Sweetwater Valley had advanced to Monday’s winner-take-all battle by first defeating Moorpark, 7-2, on Sunday. I attended both games. On Sunday, Ethan Otero absolutely dominated on the mound. The ace picked up the victory, and almost pitched a complete game. Otero exceeded the 85-pitch maximum with only one out to go in the sixth and final inning. Dozens of Sweetwater Valley fans in attendance gave Otero a well-deserved thunderous round of applause as the fire baller exited the game. Otero only allowed one earned run. He recorded seven strikeouts and no walks. A clutch performance in a must-win elimination game. Way to go, Ethan! Take a bow!

After Sunday’s victory, Manager Ward Lannom spoke about his team’s current hot streak.

Smoking hot.

“The bats are firing up,” he told CaliSports News. “We’re scoring runs by playing small ball. We lined up our best pitching for Saturday, Sunday, Monday. Now, we’re done with Saturday and Sunday, and approaching Monday just as planned.” On Sunday, the most fired up bat belonged to Andrew Arnce. He led the Bashers with a pair of doubles and two RBIs. Jimenez and Sánchez each doubled as well. Overall, the 13-1 Sweetwater Valley squad demonstrated that it is Southern California’s best team this year. It is SoCal’s only league with one loss.

To put that one loss into perspective, Moorpark and Santa Margarita National Little League of Rancho Santa Margarita each lost three times. Sweetwater Valley only lost once despite facing each of those giants twice. And, despite facing perennially-strong Eastlake twice.

No one slayed the monster.

Speaking of which, Sweetwater Valley’s victory on Monday marked the second straight Southern California crown for District 42’s famous “three-headed monster” of Little League. Last year, Chula Vista’s Park View Little League won the SoCal title. The monster’s three heads have now won the tournament six times in the past 11 years, and five times in the past seven. Hence, District 42 is clearly the Little League Capital of Southern California. Way to go, District 42!

Sweetwater Valley will represent SoCal at the upcoming West Region tournament. Six teams representing five states will compete in that tourney. It starts on Sun., Aug. 4, at Albert E. Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino. CaliSports News will provide full coverage of Southern California’s team. To do so, CSN is sending two of its writers to the tournament. My esteemed colleague Mark Cohen and I each plan to contribute articles. Double trouble. That should be fun. So, stay with CSN, Southern California’s undisputed leader in Little League coverage.

The six teams will represent Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, Northern California, Southern California, and Utah. Sweetwater Valley plays its first game on Sun., Aug. 4. Until then, stay tuned !!

Déjà vu.

For Sweetwater Valley, its upcoming schedule might seem similar to when that league competed in San Bernardino in 2015. Once again, the Bonita boys will face Hawaii’s team on the opening Sunday night. How déjà vu. In 2015, Sweetwater Valley faced Hawaii on the opening Sunday night. I attended that victory. I remember watching Lannom’s son Walker belt a dinger in his first at bat that night. Now, four years later, Walker is all grown-up. I schmoozed with him at this summer’s games as I would do so with any other young adult. Crazy how fast kids get older.

But, wait. There is more. The familiarity continues. If SoCal beats Hawaii, it will face Arizona the next day, Mon., Aug. 5. Sound familiar? It seems as if every year, SoCal plays on Sunday night, wins, and returns the next day to face a team that received a bye on opening day. Sweetwater Valley did that in 2015, Park View did it in 2016 and in 2018, and Santa Margarita did it in 2017.

The Sahara Desert.

Let me tell you something. That schedule absolutely blows for us fans that must drive long distances. We leave the ballpark late at night, and shlep all the way home, whether to South San Diego County, or in my case, West Los Angeles. Then, we return the next day in time for a 4 pm. PDT start. Plus, the hot temperatures scorch during the daytime. Watch this footage of your favorite crazy rabbi battling the Sahara Desert heat during a day game last year:

(Footage courtesy of ESPN.)

Below is my favorite clip. The camera caught CaliSports News’ Director of Little League tossing a foul ball to a little kid. I would like to think Rabbi Rabbs made District 42 look good:

(Footage courtesy of ESPN.)

Anyway, SoCal teams, especially those from District 42, dominate the West Region. Starting in 2009, Park View twice won the tournament. Sweetwater Valley and Eastlake each won it once. That totals four banners for District 42 in the past 10 years. In addition, Santa Margarita National and Ocean View Little League of Huntington Beach each won one. That means Southern California leagues combined for six of the past 10 West Region championships.

Can Southern California return to Williamsport?

When Sweetwater Valley won the tournament in 2015, that team did so with a memorable final play. Here is the replay of that famous rundown between third base and home plate that sent Walker and his buddies to the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, PA.:

(That never gets old. Footage courtesy of ESPN.)

So what are Sweetwater Valley’s chances of returning to Williamsport? Well, judging the Bashers’ lineup, I might say maybe eight of their 13 players could bash the ball out of a park on the same night. A couple of those sluggers would likely hit a second dinger just because they can. I joke, but that roster ranks as one of the strongest teams SoCal produced in a long time.

The Doomsday Defense literally rolls five ace pitchers: the Sweetwater Sandman Arnce, Hughes, Nakanelua, Otero, and Adrik Sánchez (no relation to Daniel). Each of them is strong enough to be the ace on Sweetwater Valley’s opponent. The last pitching staff that dominant was perhaps the 1971 Baltimore Orioles. They rolled Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar, Jim Palmer, and Pat Dobson. Each won 20 games that year. Those were four. Sweetwater Valley has five!

Comparing to past champions.

Numerous prior representatives of Southern California featured amazing pitching, and a few superstars. Many of those standout athletes might be more talented than anyone on the 2019 team. However, player-for-player, all the way down the roster, I would take Bonita’s Bashers and their Doomsday Defense hands down over almost every team SoCal produced in recent years.

I might compare the current bunch to 2011’s Ocean View. Strong pitching, hitting, and fielding. On the way to winning the world championship, Ocean View knocked out teams in four innings via the 10-run rule. That league only lost once in 2011. It did so by one run. Ocean View bounced back and spanked that same team, 11-2. Similarly, the Bonita Bashers beat teams in four innings this summer. And, so far they only lost one time, by two runs. Sweetwater Valley followed Ocean View’s lead by spanking that same team, 7-1, in a rematch.

The Bonita Bashers are one of the best teams District 42 ever produced. Their core played in the SoCal title game in the 11-and-under division. Three of the kids played in a SoCal title game for Eastlake in the 10-and-under division. Hence, that roster is packed with playoff experience. I like the Bashers’ chances of winning the whole enchilada. And those are my two shekels.

Eastlake finishes second.

Speaking of Eastlake, on Sunday, that league played in the Southern California Championship finals in the 11-and-under division. Despite a home run and two RBIs from Hamza Hatahet, Eastlake fell short, 8-7, against Huntington Valley Little League of Huntington Beach. Congratulations to SoCal 11U Champion Huntington Valley !! Unlike with the 12-year-olds, 11U champions do not continue to a region tournament. Instead, winning the SoCal banner marks the end of the road for Huntington Valley. Next up is returning to school. Until then, Let’s Go SoCal !!

Teamwork makes the dream work.

CaliSports News is proud to report that at least five leagues shared on Facebook my prior article, Sweetwater Valley To Play In SoCal Finals !! Those five include Moorpark. CSN thanks everyone that shares our articles. Teamwork makes the dream work.

Speaking of Moorpark, I was very touched that the mother of one of that league’s players contacted CSN after reading my article. Moorpark’s thrilling eighth-inning rally last week might stand out as a cherished memory for those boys for many many years to come. I could see it becoming their special Little League moment. Forty years from now, when those guys look back at their playing days, and only remember one thing about youth baseball, it might be that eighth-inning rally. Especially, if they were instrumental in it. Especially if they hit the walk-off single.

When I was a little kid, I experienced a special moment similar to that. However, no one wrote about it, and no one photographed it. It is merely immortalized in my memory. The Moorpark boys faced a similar fate. At least they thought so. That game failed to receive any other press coverage, and neither that league nor its district provided a professional photographer.

Preserving a cherished Little League moment.

Fortunately, CaliSports News published a full play-by-play recap of that inning, and included photos taken by District 42’s pro photographer. Little did I know that my article would be the only source to preserve that lasting memory. I am deeply honored to be part of providing that for those youngsters. Writing about that Moorpark comeback, and knowing what my doing so meant to that team and its community might be my favorite part of this summer.

But, wait. There is more. At Monday’s game, I met the woman that wrote to CSN. Such a nice lady. She and her family members in attendance shared with CSN a wonderful story. They told me that Moorpark’s players read my article. In it, I wrote that one of that team’s players has ice water running through his veins. His name is Tanner Stotts. As a result of what I wrote, his teammates gave him a new nickname. Because Tanner has ice water in his veins, he is “Iceman Tan”. I love it. With that, I shall sign off with a photo below snapped of the Rabbsmobile parked at Zuma Beach in Malibu. Go Moorpark !! Go Sweetwater Valley !! Let’s Go SoCal !!

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9 Comments

1. 

   Michelle Leon-Mondragon

   July 30, 2019 at 6:17 am

   Love it! Thank you! You are a fantastic writer and an awesome human being! Appreciate your support!
   • 

     Rabbi Rabbs

     August 3, 2019 at 9:24 pm

     Awww, thank you so much for those amazing compliments. Your entire family has been so awesome to me. I really appreciate all of the warmth each of you has extended to me.
2. 

   Stan Rich

   July 30, 2019 at 10:46 am

   ⚾️🙂❤️So Awesome SVLL Bonita Bashers‼️ Congratulations‼️ on your Winning the 2019 So Cal Championship yesterday 7/29/19 ‼️ We are proud of you and routing for you to continue on to more Victories by winning your game against Hawaii this Sunday Aug 4th at 7:30 pm in San Bernardino ‼️⚾️❤️🙂
3. 

   Oscar

   July 30, 2019 at 11:47 am

   Hi Rabbi Rabbs!

   You capture historical moments better than anyone in the business and we’re truly thankful for your service to the Little League community. It’s rewarding to see your passion, wit, and fierce determination to write about the most rewarding moments in a child’s development. These kids will never forget – thank you!

   Appreciate the support –

   Oscar
   • 

     Rabbi Rabbs

     July 30, 2019 at 8:15 pm

     Thank you so much, Oscar. You are so kind. I really appreciate all of those amazing props.
     • 

       Patti

       July 30, 2019 at 8:36 pm

       I have enjoyed reading your articles regarding District 42! Keep it up next week. Just an FYI many may not be aware of – as for ‘back to school’, Sweetwater Valley & Eastlake kids attending public schools in their district started last Monday, July 22nd, In addition to winning ball games, they have also been required to keep up with classwork via school contracts to miss. Chula Vista Elementary School District & Sweetwater Union High School District are both year round schools. Good job boys!
       • 

         Rabbi Rabbs

         July 31, 2019 at 8:01 am

         Thank you, kindly for your support, Patti. I am so glad you enjoy them.
4. 

   Yvette Otero

   July 30, 2019 at 4:39 pm

   Thank you so much for all the support you have shown by writing these awesome articles about our boys & being there for our boys & cheering for them at their games! ⚾️
   • 

     Rabbi Rabbs

     July 31, 2019 at 8:02 am

     Thank you so much for those wonderful compliments. Very much appreciate that you reached out. So glad you like what I write.