Southern California Needs One More Win To Reach Williamsport !!

By Rabbi Rabbs
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Updated: August 12, 2021

(Southern California players congratulate Grant Hays, after his third-inning two-run home run, at Little League’s West Region tournament, Wednesday. Photo courtesy of ESPN.)

Southern California only needs to win one more game to go to the Little League World Series !!!

That game will take place tomorrow (Friday) at Albert E. Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino. In that contest, Southern California’s team faces one representing Northern California or Hawaii.

Before we go any further, I must correct something I previously misreported. In Local Little Leagues Say: “Play Ball !!”, I wrote: “the annual West Region tournament played in San Bernardino will likewise change its format. Four teams instead of six shall receive an invite”. Scratch that. Little League officials postponed that realignment. So, this year, the West Region hosts its usual six-team tournament. However, officials added a twist. Instead of only one team from the West advancing to the Little League World Series, two teams shall head to the event.

Two teams shall advance.

This year, officials are not inviting international teams to the Little League World Series. To fill that void, officials are inviting eight additional United States teams. One from each of the eight U.S. regions. In other words, the six teams in San Bernardino are competing to be one of two teams going to South Williamsport, PA. Those two shall be called, “West A” and “West B”. The West’s championship game to be held on Sat., Aug. 14, shall determine which team from the region goes as West A and which goes as West B. I hope that makes sense. Any questions?

Hence, today’s game between Northern California and Hawaii becomes huge. The winner clinches a spot in Saturday’s championship game, and thus, automatically earns an invite to S. Williamsport. The losing team in today’s contest faces Southern California tomorrow. Likewise, the winner of tomorrow’s game earns an invite to S. Williamsport. Whichever team loses tomorrow gets eliminated. The two teams that earn invites, whether they do so today or tomorrow, shall square off on Saturday. But, each team shall fly regardless of Saturday’s result.

Southern California controls its own destiny.

Thus, Southern California Champion Torrance Little League of Torrance controls its own destiny. A win and they are in. Win tomorrow and play in the Little League World Series. Win again on Saturday, and compete in S. Williamsport as the West’s higher-seeded team. It is that simple.

(Southern California’s Gibson Turner pitches to Arizona’s Gunner Brewer, to start the West tournament, Aug. 8. Photo courtesy of ESPN.)

This year’s tournament is also different for other reasons. First, officials asked members of the media to cover the event “virtually”. Seriously!? So, CaliSports News watched the games online. Second, Southern California’s team played its first game at 9 a.m. on a Sunday. What!? Ever since 2015, officials kicked off the annual West Region tournament on Sundays. And, each year, officials scheduled SoCal’s representative to play in the Sunday night game. So why change? A 9 a.m. start cannot be convenient for fans driving from San Diego or Ventura Counties. Keep in mind that officials scheduled that game time before Torrance qualified to compete in the tourney.

A pitchers’ duel.

Anyway, Southern California opened the West Region tournament, Aug. 8., with a loss. Torrance fell to Arizona’s team, 1-0, in a pitchers’ duel. For Arizona, pitcher Alexander McRae was a beast. The 6′-2″ left-hander shut down SoCal’s batters for five solid innings. McRae recorded 10 strikeouts while only allowing two hits. Gunner Brewer relieved McRae to start the sixth inning. Brewer retired the side, three up and three down, to complete the opening day shutout for Queen Creek Little League of Queen Creek, AZ. For Torrance, Gibson Turner started the game on the mound. He pitched well. Turner lasted four and a third innings, and only allowed two hits.

However, in the sixth inning, without having to face Turner, Arizona scored the game’s only run. Queen Creek’s Baylor Denny belted a two-out double to score Julián López from second base.

The Comeback Kids.

With the loss, Torrance’s record dropped to 13-3 for the summer. Once again, Torrance opened a tournament with a loss. In the Southern California Division tournament, Torrance lost on opening day to Chula Vista’s Eastlake Little League. That forced Torrance into the tourney’s elimination bracket. Torrance’s boys then played seven games in the following eight days. Torrance won all seven. Those kids get it done the hard way. That is why I refer to them as “The Comeback Kids.”

(Torrance Little League all-stars pose with their Southern California banner, Aug. 1. Photo courtesy of Torrance Little League.)

On Aug. 10, Southern California played its second game of the West Region tournament. The Comeback Kids faced the team representing Nevada. In a nine-inning marathon, SoCal squeezed past Summerlin South Little League of Las Vegas, NV., 8-6. What an exciting game!

A seesaw battle.

Torrance took a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning, led by Turner. He smashed an RBI-double, and then scored on a wild pitch. However, Nevada bounced back in the second inning. That was when Summerlin’s boys scored four runs to take the lead, 4-2. In that rally, Stone Amsden belted a two-run triple, Chase Griffith added a one-run triple, and Alec Kajioka hit an RBI-single.

However, The Comeback Kids were far from done. Torrance scored a run in the fourth inning, when Dominic Golia singled and scored on an error. In the fifth inning, SoCal tied the game, when Grant Hays drove home a run with a single. That was the first of Hays’ heroic at bats in that game. The score remained tied, 4-4, after six innings. So, the game entered extra innings.

Extra innings.

Southern California dodged a bullet in the bottom of the seventh inning. With two outs, and a Nevada runner on second base, Ethan Gordan hit a single to centerfield. The base runner from second rounded third, and raced toward home. He represented the winning run for Summerlin. If he scored, the game would be over, and Torrance would be eliminated. But instead, centerfielder Skylar Vinson came up huge. He fired the ball right on the money to catcher Andrew Nuruki. The catcher immediately tagged Nevada’s runner right in front of the plate to end the inning. Wow!

(Grant Hays belts an eighth inning two-run homer, Aug. 10. Photo courtesy of ESPN.)

Vinson and Nuruki kept Torrance’s season alive by mere fractions of a second. So, the game moved into the eighth inning. In the top of the eighth, Hays again proved clutch with the bat. He smashed a two-run homer into the side of the snack shop beyond right field. That blast moved SoCal ahead, 6-4. But, Nevada came right back in the bottom of the inning. Singles by Amsden and Kajioka, plus an error, resulted in two runs to tie the score at 6-6. And then, once again, Torrance dodged a bullet. With two outs, and a Nevada runner at third, a ground ball got hit to second baseman Isaac Mora. Summerlin’s runner raced home. Mora needed to throw out a runner or Torrance’s season would be finished. And, Mora made a clutch throw just in time. Great play. The Comeback Kids had survived close calls in the seventh and eighth innings.

Pressure time.

So, the game entered the ninth inning. That was when Hays’ third straight clutch plate appearance won it for SoCal. Hays got up with two outs and the bases loaded. Pressure time. Then, it happened. A passed ball. That scored a run. Then, an error scored a run. Suddenly, Torrance took an 8-6 lead. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Vinson pitched perfectly. Three up, three down, to preserve SoCal’s victory. With the win, Torrance’s record improved to 14-3.

(Xavier Navarro scores Southern California’s winning run on a passed ball in the ninth inning, Aug. 10. Photo courtesy of ESPN.)

With the loss, Nevada’s team was eliminated. Now, let us circle back to Arizona’s team. After defeating Southern California on Aug. 8, Queen Creek faced Northern California on Aug. 9. That team, Petaluma National Little League of Petaluma, shut out Arizona, 11-0. That forced Queen Creek into the elimination bracket. Arizona was scheduled to face Utah on Aug. 10. However, Queen Creek forfeited that game to Washington Little League of Washington, UT. Officials disqualified Arizona because Queen Creek’s players were diagnosed as carrying a contagious virus. As a result, Washington advanced, and squared off against Torrance on Wednesday.

A blowout.

That contest quickly became lopsided. Southern California took a 4-0 lead in the first inning, added four more runs in the third, and never looked back. SoCal beat Utah, 8-1. For Torrance, Hays again had the hot hand with his bat. The slugger smashed his second two-run homer in two days. I may need to start referring to him as “Home Run Hays”. He finished that game with three hits, drove in three runs, and scored twice. Turner added three hits, including two doubles, and scored a run. Nuruki finished with three hits, including a double, an RBI, and scored twice.

On the mound, Dycen Miyake started the game for Southern California. He pitched brilliantly. Miyake worked two innings, did not allow any hits or runs, and threw three strikeouts. Home Run Hays, Brandon Pérez, and Kaishu Harrison combined for the remaining four innings in relief. Together, those three pitchers only allowed three hits and one walk. As for Friday’s game, every Torrance player except for Xavier Navarro is eligible to pitch (according to my calculations).

(Dycen Miyake after his third strikeout in one inning, Aug. 11. Photo courtesy of ESPN.)

With the win, Torrance improved its record to 15-3. Utah’s team was eliminated. And, then there were three. Torrance, Petaluma, and Honolulu Little League of Honolulu, HI. One goes home. Two go to Williamsport. We shall soon learn which team goes where. 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 Torrance, Chula Vista’s Eastlake Little League, and California District 42 for sharing my prior article, Torrance Little League Wins Southern California Crown !! on social media. My next article shall provide updates on West Region action. Until then, Let’s Go SoCal!!

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