Sweetwater Valley To Play In SoCal Finals !!

(Adrik Sánchez of Bonita’s Sweetwater Valley Little League races towards the Southern California finals after belting a two-run homer Thursday. Photo courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)

It is official. For the fifth straight year, a California District 42 team will play in the finals of the Little League Southern California Championship all-stars tournament !! Congratulations !!

Bonita’s Sweetwater Valley Little League punched its ticket to Sunday’s Southern California finals with a decisive 7-1 victory on Saturday. The Bonita team won in a heated rematch against a super-talented team representing Santa Margarita National Little League of Rancho Santa Margarita. North Mission Viejo Little League in Mission Viejo hosted. The match pitted 2015’s West Region champion against the one from 2017. The two titans first battled earlier in the week. That turned into a controversial spectacle. Sadly, alleged unsportsmanlike conduct marred Santa Margarita’s win. Sweetwater Valley looked for payback on Saturday, and got it.

The Sweetwater Sandman.

For the Bonita bashers, Andrew Arnce pitched brilliantly on Saturday. He earned a complete game, three-hit victory. Dude is in an absolute zone. According to my calculations, Arnce pitched 18 innings this summer, and only gave up one run. That is the equivalent of three complete games, two of them being shutouts. What an incredible hot streak for the Sweetwater Sandman.

(Music courtesy of Metallica. Photos of Andrew Arnce courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)

At the plate, Joshua Hughes belted two doubles, and Joey Castillo added a triple. Bonita’s bashers erupted with a big six-run outburst in the fifth inning to put the game out of reach. For Santa Margarita, Evan Hall drove in the only run, when he hit a fourth-inning double. That marked the only extra-base hit that the Sweetwater Sandman allowed.

Saturday’s win marked the sixth time in seven years that one of the heads from Greater Chula Vista’s famous “three-headed monster” reached Southern California’s finals. The victory sets up Sweetwater Valley’s first trip to the final showdown since 2015. That year, the Bonita league won SoCal’s banner. The league then captured the West Region championship. Finally, that team finished third in the United States at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, PA.

The monster dominates.

On Sunday, Sweetwater Valley confronts Moorpark Little League of Moorpark. If the 11-1 Bonita boys win, they will force a winner-take-all contest to be held on Monday. If Sweetwater Valley were to win the match on Monday, that will mark the three-headed monster’s second straight Southern California crown. Last year, Sweetwater Valley’s next door neighbor, Park View Little League of Chula Vista, won the title. Park View also won it in 2016 and in 2009. Those two adjoining leagues border Chula Vista’s Eastlake Little League. That league represented SoCal in 2013. In all, the monster won SoCal’s tourney five times in the past 10 years, and four times in the past six. Bonita’s bashers can make it five times in seven years. Hence, the term monster.

Moorpark reached the finals by beating Santa Margarita on Thursday. That contest ranks as one of the summer’s most thrilling come-from-behind victories. The game extended into extra innings. The score remained tied, 2-2, heading into the eighth. Here is what happened next:

Dramatic comeback.

In the top of the eighth, Hall drove home two Santa Margarita runs with a clutch single. That gave his team a 4-2 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Moorpark desperately needed its own two runs. Moorpark started a rally. A Santa Margarita error turned into a run. That cut the lead in half. But, with runners still at first and second, Moorpark found itself down to its final out. Nervous time. Ronan O’Connell kept the rally alive by hitting a single. That advanced the runners. Bases loaded, two outs. The tying run was only 60 feet away. A hit or walk would tie the game. An out would hand a victory to Santa Margarita. I would not wish to be the batter. Way too much pressure for a 12-year-old. But, Tanner Stotts stepped to the plate. That kid must have ice water running through his veins. And, then. It happened. WILD PITCH! Runner scored! Tie ballgame!

Pressure time.

Suddenly, the momentum shifted to Moorpark. Its runners moved up to second and third. Suddenly, the winning run was only 60 feet away. Could Moorpark win it? Could that team complete a huge comeback victory? The pressure shifted to Santa Margarita. Suddenly, Stotts was playing with the house’s money. No matter what would happen, he could not make the game’s final out. He walked to load the bases. Two outs. Nowhere to put the next batter. If he got out, the game moves to the ninth inning. If he got a hit or walked, the run scores and the ballgame ends. Whoever stepped to the plate would be the final batter of the inning.

Again, way too much pressure for my taste. Too much at stake. But, hold on. Santa Margarita stopped the game to change pitchers. I would never want to be the kid brought into such a high-pressure situation. Bases loaded, two outs, bottom of the eighth inning. Pitch to one batter. Either get him out, or the game ends. Yikes! Maybe some kids live for that stuff. I get the willies merely thinking about it. After the new pitcher completed his warm-ups, Moorpark’s Cameron Johnson stepped into the batter’s box. Six pitches later, the count was full. You cannot script the scene any better than that. Tied score, bottom of the eighth, bases loaded, two outs, and a full count. Forget about nail-biting. That game reached full cardiac arrest. Next pitch, foul.

Clutch base hit!

Johnson fouled off pitch after pitch. Could the suspense build any greater? And, then, bang! Johnson hit the ball into the outfield and it hit the ground!!!!!! The runner at third scored!!! Moorpark won!!! Unbelievable clutch base hit by Johnson. Incredible Moorpark comeback.

Moorpark and Sweetwater Valley each lost one game this summer. Moorpark lost to Conejo Valley Little League of Thousand Oaks. Just as I watched Sweetwater Valley and Santa Margarita each play in the Little League World Series, I watched Moorpark do so in 1996. In any event, North Mission Viejo will host the finals. CaliSports News will provide updates. So, stay with CSN, Southern California’s undisputed leader in Little League coverage.

As for Bonita’s club, it opened the Mission Viejo tournament last Saturday. In that contest, Sweetwater Valley squeezed out an incredibly tight 1-0 victory against a very good team representing Allied Gardens Little League of San Diego. An amazing pitchers’ duel. Sweetwater Valley’s Kapono Nakanelua and Arnce combined for a two-hit shutout. Nakanelua started the contest on the hill. After three innings, and having thrown 62 pitches, Sweetwater Valley’s manager lifted his starter from the game. In those three innings, Nakanelua struck out five batters while scattering only two hits and two walks to earn the victory. Fantastic numbers.

Once again, enter Sweetwater Sandman.

But wait. Then, Arnce started the fourth inning in relief, and pitched magnificently. He only needed 30 pitches to get out all nine batters that faced him to pick up the save! Amazing!

(Music courtesy of Metallica. Photos of Andrew Arnce courtesy of Jon Bigornia)

Sweetwater Valley scored its only run in the second inning. Dante Millán singled to drive home Castillo, who had walked and reached second base on a passed ball. As it turned out, Castillo’s run was all Bonita’s boys needed to win the opening round match. The bashers demonstrated that they can win in razor close 1-0 battles against very strong pitching. Sweetwater Valley is the real deal. It is loaded with explosive power hitting and excellent lights out pitching.

Doomsday Defense.

Last Saturday’s victory marked three straight shutouts and the fifth shutout of the summer for Sweetwater Valley. One of those three-in-a-row was a combined four-inning no-hitter. Another was that complete game two-hitter. The Doomsday Defense, a.k.a. Bonita’s pitching staff, was not only stingy about giving up runs but with allowing hits. Four different pitchers: Nakanelua, Arnce, Hughes, and Ethan Otero, each combined for those three consecutive shutouts.

With the victory against Allied Gardens, Sweetwater Valley advanced to become one of Southern California’s final six leagues remaining in the 2019 tournament. Then, on this past Tuesday, the Bonita bashers ran up against Santa Margarita. I attended that battle. It should have been great.

Unsportsmanlike conduct.

However, that affair quickly turned ugly. An adult fan allegedly stole pitching signs flashed by one of Sweetwater Valley’s coaches. That fan then reportedly warned Santa Margarita batters which pitches to expect. That is called unsportsmanlike conduct. Little League strictly prohibits it. According to several eyewitnesses whom CSN interviewed, the misbehaving fan may have impacted the contest’s outcome. Despite warnings, play continued. Santa Margarita won, 4-2.

What CaliSports News sources described reminds me of a scene in the movie Casino. In that scene, the character shown in the above photo peeked at a blackjack dealer’s cards. That character then transmitted what he saw to a player sitting at that card table. According to CSN’s sources, a fan allegedly peeked at pitching signs, and then shared the info. Same thing.

Appearance of impropriety.

That is not to diminish a great performance by Santa Margarita’s Brady Ford. He pitched a complete game, allowing only two runs on four hits. However, his team’s four runs are reportedly tainted with an asterisk. Even if Santa Margarita scored legitimately, those runs’ appearance of impropriety still looms large. I might elaborate on that in a future article. Stay tuned !!

For Sweetwater Valley, Arnce pitched lights out. On Tuesday, the Sweetwater Sandman worked 2 2/3 innings, and only allowed two base runners. One walked, and the other Arnce hit with a pitch. He did not allow any hits or runs, and struck out seven Santa Margarita batters.

Sweetwater Valley reaches the final four.

On Wednesday, Sweetwater Valley moved into Southern California’s final four by outlasting a very good squad from Sherman Oaks National Little League of Sherman Oaks, 6-4. What an exciting ending! The teams entered the sixth and final inning tied, 4-4. In the top of the sixth, Nakanelua smashed a clutch game-winning two-run dinger! Way to go, Kapono!

Earlier in the contest, Ryan García and Adrik Sánchez each added their own homers, as the bashers launched three that day. Nakanelua picked up the win on the mound. He threw 1 and 1/3 scoreless innings in relief. Kapono only allowed one base runner. That came on a walk. He gave up no runs and no hits, and threw two strikeouts. Hughes earned the save. He only faced three batters in the bottom of the sixth, and struck out two of them to seal the deal.

For Sherman Oaks, Gabriel Zebrack blasted a big three-run homer in the third inning.

Sweetwater Valley one of last three standing.

Then, on Thursday, Sweetwater Valley moved into Southern California’s final three teams still standing by knocking off Manhattan Beach Little League of Manhattan Beach, 8-1. Daniel Sánchez (no relation to Adrik) started the offensive attack by firing a solo home run in the top of the first inning. Adrik added his own two-run dinger and a double. Hughes and Castillo also doubled. Nakanelua pitched phenomenally. He only allowed two base runners, on a pair of singles, during his 4 2/3 innings. Nakanelua recorded eight strikeouts, and took home the win.

Changing the topic, Eastlake reached the finals of the Southern California Championship all-stars tournament in the 11-and-under division !! Congratulations to Eastlake !!

Eastlake reaches the finals!

On Saturday, Eastlake earned its spot in the championship game by defeating San Carlos Little League of San Diego, 6-1. Noah Fleming pitched spectacularly. He earned the win by only giving up one run during his four innings on the mound. Fleming scattered three hits and two walks.

Eastlake opened the tournament with a decisive 10-5 victory against Torrance Little League of Torrance. Then, Chula Vista’s boys lost, 11-4, to Huntington Valley Little League of Huntington Beach. Eastlake battled back by shutting out Goleta Valley South Little League of Santa Barbara, 5-0. Noah “Chewy” Flores pitched the first 5 2/3 innings, and only gave up three hits.

Then, the Chula Vistans turned away Northridge City Little League of Northridge, 8-7. Eastlake trailed, 6-2, in the bottom of the fifth inning. But, Eastlake’s bats exploded for five runs to take a 7-6 lead. Hamza Hatahet led the way by hitting a three-run dinger. Northridge tied the score, 7-7, in the top of the sixth. In the bottom of the inning, Chewy hit a walk-off double. What a game! However, I feel bad for Northridge’s kids. Late in the contest, those youngsters blew their hard-earned big lead. That hurts. I experienced what that feels like. There is a sense of helplessness. Very depressing. I would rather simply lose from the start of a game than to relinquish a big lead. Again, Rabbi Rabbs might be too sensitive to kids’ feelings to cover Little League.

Rematch.

Chula Vista’s boys will face Huntington Valley on Sunday in the title game. Eastvale Little League in Eastvale will host that rematch. If Eastlake wins the rematch, doing so will force a winner-take-all showdown between those same two teams on Monday. Until then, stay tuned !!

In the 10U championship tournament, Chula Vista American Little League of Chula Vista finished tied for fifth-place in Southern California. CVA dropped its opener, 14-4, to Claremont Little League of Claremont. But, CVA won its next match, 8-3, over Allied Gardens. Then, Chula Vista’s kids shut out Tustin Western Little League of North Tustin, 6-0. In that contest, Gerardo Covarrubias pitched a complete game shutout. Covarrubias was one of four nine-year-olds on Chula Vista’s roster. Then, CVA’s post-season run ended after losing, 4-3, to Ocean View Little League of Huntington Beach. Congratulations to Chula Vista American on a great run!

Girls play baseball.

In Abby Steffen, Sweetwater Valley’s First Female All-Star, I wrote: “To say girls do not often compete in the tournaments leading to and including the Little League World Series is an understatement.” For instance, 10 teams competed in that 10U championship tourney. Each roster contained about 13 youngsters. Call it 130 total players. Chula Vista American’s Yaretzi Amésquita Zavala was reportedly the only female among those 130! Way to go, Yari!

Next, in the Junior division, Park View finished its post-season run tied for fifth-place in Southern California. I think that is very impressive considering the Junior division finds itself still in its infantile stage within District 42. For instance, only five Park View players from last year’s SoCal champion in Majors returned to play for this year’s Junior squad. The Junior division will hopefully gain more traction in coming years. I think right now it trails in popularity behind what is termed as travel ball. I witnessed that at a travel ball tournament held during May. Several of District 42’s standout players from last year’s Majors competed in that tournament, but in June, I believe only one of those same players participated in Little League Junior all-stars. Sad.

This summer’s most popular article!

Next, CaliSports News is proud to announce that the number of page views rocketed off from the charts for 2019 Most Inspirational Player Award Goes To …. That story featuring four-foot giant Diego Falomir ranks as CSN’s most popular article published since Jun. 1. How cool is that?

I think that story’s popularity is due to the broad interest of its topic to readers across the globe. That is as opposed to articles specifically targeting Southern California fans. After the summer concludes, CaliSports News will re-visit its web site’s traffic statistics, and compare its Little League readership to that of all other articles CSN published during 2019. Stay tuned !!

Teamwork makes the dream work.

CaliSports News is happy to report that of the eight District 42 leagues that own a Facebook page, five shared my last article, Bonita Killers Smash Section 7, 10U Monster-Slayer Makes History. CSN thanks everyone that shares our articles. Teamwork makes the dream work.

I also wish to say that I am touched and flattered that so many people within the District 42 community read what I write. That includes managers, coaches, parents, umpires, volunteers, fans, and district and league officials. I am also quickly learning that a ton of District 42’s players follow my byline, and know who I am long before I ever see them in person. It is even entirely plausible that the average age of my most loyal District 42 readers is just north of 11 1/2 years old. Makes sense. If I were that age, and I had access to the web, and I thought my name or one of the other kids from my school might get mentioned, I would visit that site every day. Why not?

Impressive youngster.

On that note, this past week, a player wrote to me, thanking me for mentioning him in my recent article. That was so amazingly thoughtful of him to do, and arrived very unexpectedly. You see, until recently, it never occurred to me that young Little Leaguers read my stories. I always operated under the false notion that I write exclusively for an adult audience. Wrong! In fact, I was wrong twice. Because, when that player wrote to me, I assumed his parents asked him to do so. Wrong! I later spoke with his mother, and she had no idea that I mentioned her son in my article. She had never read it. Again, players read what I write more so than do their parents. Anyway, that youngster impressed me, because he thanked me, and no one told him to do so.

Speaking of managers that read my articles, this past week, I was greatly honored that the manager of the 2009 Little League World Series champion reached out to me. Oscar Castro managed Park View that year. His world champions started baseball fever within the Greater Chula Vista area. In a way, District 42 can credit Castro as a major reason that its area turned into the Little League Capital of America. I remember cheering for that Park View squad. What a great thrill that its manager who I watched now knows who I am, and thanked me for the exposure I give to his area. That made my summer right there! Thank you, Mr. Castro!

Love my job.

I love covering Little League. Players and coaches in pro sports never reach out or thank me.

Changing the topic again, in Bonita Killers Smash Section 7, I mentioned Sweetwater Valley’s Hughes and Eastlake’s Information Officer Christine Decker-Hughes. I have since been informed that those two fine people are in fact members of the same family. What a small world.

Correction.

Finally, I need to make a correction. In SoCal Little League Tournaments Return, I wrote: “More than 300 all-star teams compete in Southern California.” Normally, that statement holds true. But, I am not certain that happened this summer. CaliSports News attempted to determine the number of leagues that entered this year’s competition. Of SoCal’s 39 districts, CSN obtained data from 38 of them. According to my calculations, those 38 districts reported a total of only 290 teams. One district remains unaccounted. That is District 58. CSN reached out to several sources but was unable to obtain the number of leagues that entered District 58’s tournament. If anyone knows the answer, please share it with CSN’s Director of Little League. Depending on how many teams competed in that district, this year’s total may or not be greater than 300.

And, with that, I shall sign off with a photo below snapped of the Rabbsmobile proudly waving its Park View and Sweetwater Valley car flags this week at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point. My car still needs Eastlake and Chula Vista American flags to rock District 42’s entire fearsome foursome. Actually, I need flags from each of my nine children. Until then, Let’s Go SoCal !!

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One Comment

1. 

   Michelle Leon-Mondragon

   July 30, 2019 at 6:32 am

   Touching! Thanks again!