Star Of 2013 Little League World Series Dead After Freeway Wreck
- Updated: January 27, 2022
(Micah Pietila-Wiggs, a star of the U.S. champs, slides by Japan’s Kazuki Ishida to score on a wild pitch during the 2013 Little League World Series. Photo courtesy of KFMB-TV.)
Sadness overwhelmed the youth baseball community after shocking news broke this past weekend that a standout Southern California league once again finds itself in mourning. This time the tragedy involves a sudden death of a former world-famous Little League star. Micah Pietila-Wiggs, who helped lead Chula Vista’s Eastlake Little League to capture the 2013 United States championship, reportedly passed away on Jan. 22, after being in an automobile collision.
According to authorities, Pietila-Wiggs, 21, drove a pick-up truck alone on a SoCal freeway, when the vehicle slammed into, and then flipped over, a low concrete wall. A California Highway Patrol news release stated that the early-morning incident involved a traffic safety barricade constructed onto Interstate 5 near the San Ysidro area within San Diego. Emergency personnel reportedly transported the former star from the crash site to a nearby trauma center, at which later that day, Pietila-Wiggs succumbed to injuries. The collision remains under investigation.
A multi-sports star.
The tragic news shook the same Eastlake community that grieved last year. As CaliSports News reported in Little League Mourns Tragic Death Of Eastlake’s Manager, Randy Whitney, who managed that league’s 2021 all-stars to a second-place finish in Southern California, reportedly passed away in September. Still reeling from that sad loss, Eastlake officials circulated this:
(Courtesy of Eastlake Little League.)
That press release includes the following statement: “Micah served as an instrumental part of the 2013 Eastlake Little League World Series team. He continued to excel as an athlete, playing multiple sports. Micah received accolades for his athleticism and academic performance throughout high school. We want to extend our deepest condolences to the Pietila-Wiggs family.”
In a 2019 article, CaliSports News featured the former two-sport high school star. Readers might recall that CSN dedicated an installment of its popular segment called, Where are they now?, to Pietila-Wiggs. In that segment within Smoking Sweetwater Valley To Battle Red Hot Park View, CSN mentioned that he led Chula Vista’s Eastlake High School Titans in baseball and football.
Let’s Go Titans !!
As per that feature, the former Titan baseball star graduated in 2018 with a soaring .420 career batting average. Pietila-Wiggs twice got selected as First Team All-CIF. In 2017, he got voted as the most valuable player in Eastlake’s league. In 2018, that league honored Pietila-Wiggs as its best offensive player. Three times the star hitter merited as First Team All-League. In honor of their former star, the Titans held a memorial service. The team provided details on social media:
(Courtesy of Eastlake High School Titans.)
Pietila-Wiggs led the Titans in football. The San Diego Hall of Champions twice named the wide receiver as Athlete of the Month. Pietila-Wiggs got selected as First Team All-CIF. He got named First Team All-League twice. When combining football and baseball, the star cleaned up. Pietila-Wiggs took three First Team All-CIF honors. He captured five First Team All-League trophies!
The Titans’ baseball team finished first in its Metro Mesa league each of the three years that Pietila-Wiggs got selected as First Team All-League. First, in 2016, Eastlake advanced to the finals of the CIF San Diego Section Open Division. Then, in 2017, as per what CSN reported in The Monster Feeds The Titans, Eastlake returned to its division finals. That time, winning the title. In addition, Pietila-Wiggs’ club finished that season ranked no. 1 in California and no. 3 in the country. Finally, in 2018, as a senior, the Titans advanced to the Open Division semi-finals.
Also as a senior, Pietila-Wiggs helped lead the Titans’ football team to finish second in the Metro Mesa league. Eastlake then reached the 2017 San Diego Section Division I championship game.
Support the family’s Meal Train page.
Eastlake High School created a donation fund to assist the Pietila-Wiggs family with meals and expenses. Here is the link to that: Meal Train for Pietila-Wiggs Family. EHS set the fund’s goal at $5,000. Supporters quickly surpassed that target. The fund already raised close to $50,000!
Regarding the family, Micah’s mother, Ronne Pietila-Wiggs, works as Eastlake High’s assistant principal of student activities and Title IX officer. She remained active in Little League long after Micah entered high school. In fact, last year, throughout Eastlake Little League’s epic march to the Southern California finals, Ronne served as that league’s vice president. Have a look:
(Courtesy of Eastlake Little League.)
Readers should recognize the only name listed above that of Pietila-Wiggs. It belongs of course to Eastlake Little League’s then-president. CaliSports News often quoted Alis Nicolaus.
Collegiate athlete.
In any event, after graduating from high school, Micah ended his football career, and focused on baseball. As mentioned in Smoking Sweetwater Valley, he “broke into the lineup as a freshman on the University of New Mexico Lobos’ baseball team.” However, after finishing his freshman year, Pietila-Wiggs then transferred to Santa Ana College in Santa Ana. There, he played for the Dons’ baseball team. In 2020, he batted .295 with a .421 on-base percentage. After the 2021 season, Pietila-Wiggs finished his stint at Santa Ana with a career .280 batting average.
He then reportedly transferred to San Diego State University. According to reliable sources, Pietila-Wiggs began attending SDSU a week prior to the fatal crash. He never joined that school’s baseball team. Instead, Micah retired from competitive sports to focus on academics.
Little League World Series rock star.
Pietila-Wiggs will arguably be most-widely remembered as one of two boys sporting long blonde hair that led the West Region team in the 2013 Little League World Series held in South Williamsport, PA. Micah and Jake Espinoza created a media frenzy. In the following video filmed prior to the start of that year’s U.S. championship game, a national network television then-reporter interviewed the blonde-haired ball-playing duo regarding their signature hairstyle:
(Micah Pietila-Wiggs, left, and Jake Espinoza, center, speak with ABC Sports’ Jaymee Sire, right, during the 2013 Little League World Series. Footage courtesy of ABC Sports.)
The West’s team would go on to win that game, but lose the next day in the world championship to a team representing Japan. The interviewer would go on to hostess a cooking show. That interview happened near the end of Eastlake’s long journey to Williamsport. Along the way, Pietila-Wiggs, Espinoza, and their team in general, transformed this sportswriter into a fan of Chula Vista’s Little Leagues, as I explained in Why I Follow Little League Baseball.
Little League Capital of America.
Eastlake’s 2013 U.S. title came only four years after another Chula Vista team won the world championship. In 2009, Park View Little League won it all. When Eastlake’s team won its 2013 crown, I became mind-blown that the same city produced two national champions in four years. More importantly, two entirely different leagues. And, get this, the boundaries border each other. What are the odds on all of that? Off the charts! That is when I dubbed Chula Vista as the Little League Capital of America. But wait, there is more. Two years later, in 2015, a third league that borders both Eastlake and Park View moved onto Williamsport, and finished third in the country.
Three neighboring leagues played in the Little League World Series in six years. Amazing. But it got even crazier. Park View returned to Williamsport the following year. So, from 2013 to 2016, three neighboring leagues competed in the Little League World Series! That third league is Sweetwater Valley Little League. It resides in an unincorporated area called Bonita that borders Chula Vista. After Bonita sent a team to Pennsylvania, it became difficult to credit Chula Vista as the sole capital. So, I eventually extended that honor to include the Little League district in which the three leagues compete. That is of course California District 42. Thus, District 42 serves as the Little League Capital of America. CaliSports News also affectionately refers to the trio of leagues that sent teams to Williamsport as the famous “Three-Headed Monster” of Little League.
Three-headed monster.
Pietila-Wiggs played a major role in creating the three-headed beast, and in establishing the capital. During Eastlake’s 2013 run, I jumped aboard the Chula Vista youth baseball bandwagon. As that capital expanded, I embraced the entire nine leagues that compose District 42. Hence, that long blonde-haired kid’s legacy includes helping to turn Rabbi Rabbs into a fan of District 42.
(Thank you, Micah.)
That capital’s top official, District Administrator Ernie Lucero, released the following statement:
“District 42 parents, players, coaches, volunteers and fans: District 42 has learned of the untimely passing of former Little League player Micah Pietila-Wiggs. Micah was a member of the 2013 Eastlake Little League team that captured the United States championship title. He continued to pursue not only his love of baseball but also football, and was a successful dual-sport athlete while attending Eastlake High School. District 42 extends its deepest condolences to the Pietila-Wiggs family, the Eastlake community, and to their friends and teammates.”
Regarding District 42, CSN thanks that district’s Jon Bigornia for his help in compiling this article.
My two shekels.
I will add my own two shekels: May He who comforts mourners comfort that family during their time of tremendous grief. Amen. After Whitney’s death, I closed by writing, “Let us pick it up again next year on a happier note.” Wow. That wish sure did go sideways. Here is hoping that we only experience happiness and good news from now on. Until then, Let’s Go SoCal !!
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