District 42 Hot In Three Divisions, District 56 Takes Two Others

(California District 42’s Chula Vista Eastlake Little League all-stars celebrate after Nico Sánchez, no. 09, hit a three-run walk-off home run on Sunday. Photo by Rabbi Rabbs.)

Little League’s California District 42 all-stars rocked Southern California Divisional tournaments this past weekend. Four SoCal divisions are up for grabs. District 42 opened strongly in three of them. In each division, winners from Southern California’s 10 geographical sections compete.

The tournaments conclude with one league in each division winning SoCal’s crown. The Major 12-and-under division hails as Little League’s flagship. This past weekend, District 42’s Eastlake Little League of Chula Vista continued its hot streak in that division. Before we discuss the exciting games that league played, let us backtrack. In my prior article, Eastlake Machine Keeps Roaring, Park View Collecting Banners, I mentioned that Torrance Little League of Torrance was set to face off Jul. 21 against Lunada Bay Little League of Palos Verdes Estates. Well, Torrance won that contest. So, that league faced Eastlake in the Southern California tournament’s opener. Fountain Valley Little League in Fountain Valley hosted. Now, we are up to speed on the events.

Eastlake smoking hot.

In Eastlake’s Jul. 24 opening match, Torrance waged a great fight. But, Chula Vista’s boys proved victorious. Eastlake won a slug fest, 6-4. You read that correctly. Eastlake gave up four runs in one game! That totals more than the number of runs Eastlake had allowed all summer. Still, overall, at that point, Eastlake outscored its opponents by a whopping 69-7. That is tantamount to scoring 10 touchdowns while only allowing one. Except, a bad snap on an extra point attempt resulted in 69 rather than the full 70 points. That score still qualifies as a blowout.

Anyway, the victory boosted Eastlake’s undefeated record to 8-0. Against Torrance, Luis de León belted a three-run homer to lead Eastlake’s attack. Myles Reyes smacked a two-run double, and Xachito MacFarland added a one-run double. For Torrance, Dominic Golia hit a two-run homer.

Eastlake baseball, not for the faint of heart.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, trailing by four runs, with two outs and nobody on base, Torrance’s boys mounted a last-ditch rally. Four straight hits from Xavier Navarro, Gibson Turner, Andrew Nuruki, and Levi Cornett, and then an Eastlake error, resulted in two Torrance runs to cut Eastlake’s lead to 6-4, and left the bases loaded with two outs. Pressure time. With the tying and winning runs on base, Eastlake turned to its bullpen. In came MacFarland. He proceeded to throw three straight strikes. That ended the ballgame. MacFarland earned a well-deserved save.

In all, that sixth inning marked by far the closest game Eastlake had played all summer, and the first time that team got tested under pressure. But, Torrance would not serve as the last team to put pressure on Eastlake. That quickly became true the following day. As promised in Eastlake Machine Keeps Roaring, the winner of the Torrance vs. Eastlake game would then play the next day against Claremont Little League of Claremont. That happened. On Sunday, Eastlake squared off against Claremont in what turned out to be another nerve-racking experience.

Sunday’s contest continued from where Eastlake’s prior one ended. MacFarland started the game on the mound for Eastlake. He basically threw nothing but strikes. Three strikeouts in the first inning. Three more in the second inning. And, two in the third for a total of eight strikeouts. MacFarland exited the mound in the fourth inning after only allowing one hit. And, that one was a cheap infield hit. By leaving the mound early, MacFarland will be eligible to pitch on Thu., Jul. 29.

The Cardiac Kids.

Eastlake’s bats went wild in the bottom of that fourth inning. Chula Vista’s boys scored five runs. Liam Lee and MacFarland each hit an RBI-single to lead the attack. Ethan Dang added an RBI with a sacrifice fly. Eastlake took a 5-2 lead into the final inning. For the second day in a row, Eastlake appeared on its way to a decisive victory. But, once again, Eastlake’s opponent mounted a sixth-inning rally. This time, Claremont put two runners on base with no outs.

However, District 42’s all-stars got the next two Claremont batters out. So, once again, Eastlake found itself only one out away from a win. And then, it happened. Claremont’s Brady Bickham smashed a three-run homer over the right-field fence. Unbelievable! Down to its last out, Claremont tied the game. What is it about two outs in the sixth inning? Does Eastlake want to give its fans heart attacks? My new nickname for District 42’s team is The Cardiac Kids.

Dramatic ending.

Anyway, Eastlake was not done yet. In the bottom of the sixth, its batters immediately went to work. MacFarland walked. Then, Dang hit his second single of the game. With runners at first and second with one out, Nico Sánchez stepped to the plate. And, bang! It happened. Eastlake’s slugger crushed the ball over the right-field fence in almost the exact same spot that moments earlier, Bickham had hit one. Amazing! Two three-run homers hit in the same inning to the same bushes beyond right field. With that clutch blast, The Cardiac Kids won, 8-5! Eastlake’s fans went wild. Not only were they excited about winning, but they could finally relax. As Eastlake Manager Randy Whitney told CaliSports News after the game, “I feel like I can breathe now.”

Yeah, many Eastlake fans reported sharing that same feeling. However, despite the adversity, Whitney maintained confidence in The Cardiac Kids. “We knew we could get our bats going,” the manager said. And when Sánchez stepped to the plate, “I knew he’d come through for us.”

Clutch camera work.

Whitney was not alone. This Little League blogger also had a premonition. With the winning run standing at second base, and Sánchez at the plate, for the first time in the game, I felt a need for a photographer. Normally, District 42’s Jon Bigornia has that covered. When he photographs a game, I know Bigornia is all over the key at bats. But, he did not attend Sunday’s game. Oh no!

So, I reached for my cellphone. Its camera is terrible, but better than nothing. I stepped into the photographer’s section behind the plate, and pressed my cellphone against the fence. And, wham! Sánchez delivered. The shutter speed of my cellphone’s camera is so slow that it failed to snap the moment the ball left Sánchez’s bat. I clearly need a new camera. However, I managed to capture a photo of the windup of what I believe was the pitch Nico smashed. Here it is:

“I knew he hit it out the second it hit his bat,” Whitney said. While Eastlake’s fans cheered, the manager stayed quiet. He enjoyed the moment as the ball left the field. “It was nice to watch.”

District 42’s dynasty.

With the win, Eastlake improved its record to 9-0. During that span, The Cardiac Kids outscored their opponents, 77-12. Okay, the runs allowed totals in the double figures. But still, Eastlake basically won its games by an average score of 7-1. That gets it done. District 42’s all-stars next face Villa Park Little League of Villa Park on Tue., Jul. 27. When Chula Vista’s boys take the field, they will be one of only six teams still competing for Southern California’s title. And, except for MacFarland, every Eastlake player will be eligible to pitch (according to my calculations).

Eastlake is trying to become the third straight District 42 league to win a SoCal banner. Chula Vista’s Park View Little League won the crown in 2018, and Bonita’s Sweetwater Valley Little League won it last time, in 2019. District 42 teams have played in every Southern California championship game starting in 2015. And, Eastlake itself won the championship in 2013.

District 56 on fire.

Changing the topic, congratulations to District 56! Two of its leagues won Southern California championships. Congratulations to that district’s East Hills Yorba Linda Senior League of Yorba Linda! East Hills captured SoCal’s Senior Division title. And, congratulations to District 56’s Golden Hill Little League of Fullerton! That league won SoCal’s Intermediate Division crown.

This year, officials canceled regional and world series tournaments for those two divisions. Thus, East Hills and Golden Hill reached as far as they can go in 2021. Officials also canceled regional and world series action in the Junior Division. Interestingly, Golden Hill reigns as the current Juniors world champ. Due to this year’s cancellation, Golden Hill will continue to reign as such, at least for another year. However, SoCal’s title is now up for grabs. Because, Golden Hill’s Juniors got eliminated last week. They lost in this year’s Southern California Section 5 finals.

After repeating as District 56’s champs, Golden Hill’s Junior all-stars reached Section 5’s championship game. However, Fullerton’s boys lost to La Mirada Junior League of La Mirada.

Junior Division madness.

Speaking of Juniors, in Eastlake Machine Keeps Roaring, I wrote that Park View’s Juniors were set to play on Jul. 21, in a winner-take-all rematch against El Centro Junior League of El Centro. Well, Park View’s Juniors won that one, 15-4. As such, District 42’s boys won Section 7’s banner.

So, congratulations to Park View! That marks this summer’s third section banner for Park View, and fourth for District 42. With that big win, Park View advanced to Southern California’s Junior tournament. Park View played its first game on Jul. 24. That District 42 representative battled against North Mission Viejo Junior League of Mission Viejo. Santa Anita Junior League in Arcadia hosted. The game continued into extra innings. Finally, Park View won, 10-6, with a dramatic walk-off grand slam from Aidan Galicia. Here is the replay of that game-winning homer:

(Aidan Galicia hits a dramatic walk-off grand slam in extra innings for Chula Vista’s Park View Junior League, Jul. 24. Footage courtesy of Santa Anita Little League Juniors.)

Park View next plays tonight (Monday) against Conejo Valley Junior League of Thousand Oaks.

Park View looking strong.

Speaking of Park View, that league’s Major 11-and-under all-stars opened divisional play on Jul. 24. They faced Tustin Western Little League of North Tustin. Park View pulled out an 8-5 victory. Aliso Viejo Little League in Aliso Viejo hosted. In that contest, Emilio Díaz led Park View’s offensive attack by hitting a 2-RBI double. Noah Medina added a single, a double, an RBI, and scored a run. Park View next plays on Jul. 27 against Encinitas Little League of Encinitas.

Meanwhile, Park View’s Major 10-and-under all-stars started their divisional tournament on Sunday. They lost, 6-0, to El Segundo Little League of El Segundo. Imperial Beach Little League in Imperial Beach hosted. Park View next plays on Jul. 27 against the winner of tonight’s game between Temecula Little League of Temecula and Fontana Community Little League of Fontana.

In all, District 42’s four all-star teams combined for a 4-1 start in Southern California’s divisional showdowns. We shall soon learn how far those four champions advance. Until then, stay tuned!!

Teamwork makes the dream work.

CaliSports News thanks everyone that shares our articles. Teamwork makes the dream work. On that note, CSN thanks Eastlake and District 42 for sharing last week’s Eastlake Machine Keeps Roaring on social media. My next article promises to provide the latest updates on District 42’s champions, and on other Southern California divisional action. Until then, Let’s Go SoCal!!

Stay with CaliSportsNews.com, Southern California’s undisputed leader in Little League coverage, as we keep you up-to-date on all things SoCal sports! All Cali, All the time!

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