Eastlake Continues Red Hot Streak, Takes District 42 Crown
- Updated: July 12, 2021
(Slugger Nico Sánchez belts a three-run homer on Jul. 10 to lead Chula Vista’s Eastlake Little League all-stars to win California District 42’s title. Photo courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)
Congratulations to Chula Vista’s Eastlake Little League, 2021’s California District 42 champion!!
This year marks Eastlake’s first district crown since 2017. That powerhouse league continued on its gigantic roll on Jul. 10. Eastlake’s all-stars captured their district banner in convincing style. They shut out the defending Southern California champion, Sweetwater Valley Little League of Bonita, 4-0. A loud, near-capacity crowd at Park View Little League in Chula Vista watched.
Eastlake finished its district tournament with a perfect 4-0 record. In doing so, that league outscored its opponents by an incredible total of 38-1. Jul. 10’s win marked Eastlake’s third shutout. Eastlake allowed only one run during the entire tournament. Think about that. District 42 is an elite district. Eastlake walked right through it. That team’s defense proved to be lights out. Other California leagues should get nervous. Eastlake may well prove unstoppable. Be warned!
Nico Sánchez led Eastlake in the title match. The slugger put the game out of reach early into the contest. Sánchez smacked a three-run homer in the first inning. After that, Eastlake never looked back. Sánchez is enjoying his own gigantic roll. In addition to his three-run blast, the kid hit a grand slam in a prior game. Seven RBIs in two swings. That gets it done. Ethan Dang picked up the win on the mound. He pitched a complete game six-inning shutout. Dang only allowed four hits, and only issued one walk. He threw seven strikeouts. That is big-time pitching.
Three-Headed Monster strikes again.
In recent years, District 42’s champions bypassed any need to play “if necessary” games. Normally, the champ finishes the district tournament undefeated, by winning games decisively. This year proved to be more of the same. That pattern of domination seems to be a constant.
(Chula Vista’s Eastlake Little League all-stars pose after capturing California District 42 banner. Photo courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)
But, predicting which league will dominate remains a roll of the dice. This year saw Eastlake get red hot. That league did that before. In 2017, Eastlake blew away its district, and moved on to the Southern California championship game. In 2013, that league reached even further. That year, Eastlake won the United States title. 2013, 2017, and 2021. So, every four years Eastlake goes wild. Also, Little League’s famous “Three-Headed Monster” continues to dominate. With Eastlake’s victory, that three-headed beast has won every District 42 banner starting in 2008.
Smoking red hot Eastlake brings fire to the scorching desert.
Eastlake will next represent District 42 in the Southern California Section 7 tournament. Champions from four districts will compete in that event. El Centro Little League in El Centro hosts the affair. Eastlake’s first game takes place on Sat., Jul. 17. El Centro resides in the Imperial Valley desert. That area tends to get scorching hot during July. Forecasts call for temperatures there on game day to reach well above 100 degrees. District 42 fans traveling to the upcoming event are encouraged to bring sunglasses, plenty of water, and sunscreen.
Speaking of the three-headed beast, Eastlake, Park View, and Sweetwater Valley absolutely own Section 7. The last time a league other than those three mighty giants won Section 7 was in 2008. Think about that. That was 13 years ago. This year’s 12-year-olds were not even born yet.
(Sweetwater Valley’s Lucas Nguyen on the mound, Jul. 8. Photo courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)
As for Sweetwater Valley, it reached 2021’s district championship by defeating Chula Vista American Little League of Chula Vista in a close contest, 4-2, on Jul. 8. That was a do-or-die clutch win for the reigning champs. They refused to relinquish their crown so quickly. Sweetwater Valley’s Lucas Nguyen led the way on the mound. He pitched three innings in relief. Nguyen only gave up one hit, and did not walk any batters. The only run scored against him came unearned. Reportedly, 26 of Nguyen’s 32 pitches were strikes. That is an astounding pitching performance.
Park View takes three banners.
Next, congratulations to Park View for winning District 42 banners in three different divisions!!
(Chula Vista’s Park View Little League 11-and-under all-stars with their California District 42 banner. Photo courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)
That mighty league won championships this year in the Major 11-and-under and 10-and-under, and Junior divisions. Park View won the 11-and-under title on Jul. 10 in decisive fashion. That league shut out Eastlake, 14-0. Park View’s 11-year-olds will next play on Sat., Jul. 17, in the Section 7 11-and-under tournament hosted by Jamul Little League in Jamul. To be honest, this writer admits he had never heard of Jamul. So, I found that unincorporated area on a map.
(Chula Vista’s Park View Little League 10-and-under all-stars hold their California District 42 banner. Photo courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)
Park View captured the 10-and-under banner on Jul. 10 with a comeback victory over Eastlake, 8-4, in the title game. Eastlake held a slim 4-3 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth inning. But, then Park View rallied. It scored five unanswered runs to win the championship.
District 42 hosts upcoming tournament.
Park View’s 10-and-under all-stars next play close to home. District 42’s Imperial Beach Little League of Imperial Beach hosts Section 7’s 10U tourney. Park View opens play on Sat., Jul. 17.
(Chula Vista’s Park View Junior Division all-stars pose after capturing California District 42 banner. Photo courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)
To win District 42’s Junior Division championship, Park View beat South San Diego’s Southwest Junior League in the title game, 4-2, on Jul. 8. The Chula Vista 14-and-under squad starts its Section 7 Junior tourney action on Fri., Jul. 16, at Spring Valley Little League in Spring Valley.
Next, congratulations to Southwest on winning District 42’s Intermediate Division championship!!
Southwest takes a banner.
That South San Diego league captured its banner by defeating Sweetwater Valley in a three-game series, two games to zero. Southwest then reached Section 7’s championship game. However, District 42’s representative lost to Rancho San Diego’s Rancho de Oro Little League.
(South San Diego’s Southwest Little League Intermediate Division all-stars pose with their banner. Photo courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)
In all, District 42 awarded three banners to Park View, and one each to Eastlake and Southwest. Park View’s trio and Eastlake’s 12-and-unders play this coming weekend in Section 7 tournaments. We shall soon learn how far those four champs advance. Until then, stay tuned!!
This year, CaliSports News received a rare opportunity to report on Senior Division action. Teams playing in that 16-and-under division are rare. Not many older players remain active in Little League, unfortunately. District 42 last fielded a 16-and-under team a few years ago.
(Bonita’s Sweetwater Valley Senior League all-stars. Photo courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)
But, this year, Sweetwater Valley entered a team into that division. That league reportedly had not hosted a Senior team in more than a decade. So, hats off to 2021’s Sweetwater Valley Seniors, manager, and coaching staff. That all-star team reached this summer’s Section 7 championship. In that, Bonita’s young men faced Lemon Grove’s Lemon Grove Senior League. Lemon Grove forced an “if necessary” game, and won that in a close, 5-4, contest on Jul. 7.
Where are they now?
Changing the topic, it is time for the latest installment of CaliSports News’ popular segment called, Where Are They Now?, in which we report on former Little Leaguers. Speaking of Eastlake, congratulations to that league’s former all-star Marcelo Mayer! The Boston Red Sox selected him with the fourth pick in this year’s Major League Baseball draft. In last year’s The Monster Feeds The Titans, I mentioned that Mayer at that time played for Chula Vista’s Eastlake High School Titans. I also reported that he committed to play for the University of Southern California Trojans. However, Mayer’s college plans got made before he got selected with an early MLB first-round pick that carries an estimated signing bonus worth $6.66 million. Earlier, I mentioned Eastlake Little League’s 2013 all-star team. That summer, while that league’s 12-year-olds worked their way to the U.S. title, Mayer led Eastlake’s 10-and-under all-stars.
(Grant Holman in the 2013 Little League World Series. Photo courtesy of Little League.)
As for the 12-year-olds, their ace got drafted, too. The Oakland Athletics selected Grant Holman in this year’s sixth round. Congratulations to Holman! He pitched an extra-innings no-hitter, and belted a grand slam and a clutch three-run homer in 2013’s Little League World Series. He then became the Titans’ ace before pitching for the University of California at Berkeley Golden Bears.
Speaking of the Red Sox, also in this year’s sixth round, Boston drafted Daniel McElveny. Congratulations to McElveny! He played at Chula Vista American. Later, he led Chula Vista’s Bonita Vista High School Barons. According to his Twitter page, McElveny committed to play for the San Diego State University Aztecs. It seems the Red Sox hired a scout just for Chula Vista.
Teamwork makes the dream work.
CaliSports News thanks everyone that shares our articles. Teamwork makes the dream work. On that note, CSN thanks Eastlake, Sweetwater Valley, and District 42 for sharing last week’s Monster Eastlake Snorting Fire, Ripping Apart District 42 on social media. My next article promises to provide the latest updates on District 42’s teams. 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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One Comment
About Rabbi Rabbs
Joel P Ramirez
July 14, 2021 at 7:19 pm
.. congrats to D42 little league Champs, Eastlake LL, their tournament in El Centro will be very demanding for the kids and coaches because of the heat. FYI they will be playing all their games at night,beginning at 7pm. The format hasn’t changed since I’ve coached 2 all star teams myself years ago. I just wanted to give a little insight on the all stars in the desert.