San Diego County teams, including those from its eastern end, were well represented in this year’s Little League postseason all-star tournaments.
The Southern California state tournament wrapped up last weekend in the 10U, 11U and 12U age divisions.
Locally, Santee National Little League hosted the 10-team 10U bracket while Mirta Mesa Little League hosted the 11U bracket, also a 10-team affair.
The SoCal state level is the farthest that 10U and 11U teams can advance. Teams end their seasons with regional state championships.
The 12U division advances beyond the state level to the iconic Little League World Series.
Teams are grouped in districts, then sections, then by state region.
East County is served by District 41 and District 66. Both of those districts send their champions to the California Section 7 tournament, a four-team affair that also includes champions from District 42 (South County) and District 22 (Imperial Valley).
Section 7 champions continue the journey to the Southern California state level that pits the champions from the region’s 10 sections.
There are fewer teams at each level and correspondingly more challenging competition.
To win a state title is obviously not easy but to win two in back-to-back years is rare. District 42 champion Sweetwater Valley did just that by capturing this year’s 11U state title with a 10-4 victory over District 20 champion Claremont on Saturday.
Sweetwater Valley won last year’s 10U state championship as a precursor to making an even bolder statement this summer.
“It is very difficult for one league to win the Southern California championship and then come back the following year with the majority of the same players and coaching staff, one year older, and win again,” California District 42 administrator Ernie Lucero explained.
“The manager Ryan Preciado and coaches Daniel Camacho and Albert Romero were the same team leaders for both years, which provided continuity and led to even greater familiarity and confidence among the kids to do well,. This was a first time in our district. Given this scenario, I expect this team to be strong next year, so I’m looking forward to another exciting district tournament to see which little league will represent District 42.”
And ascend the postseason tournament ladder.
To make it to the Little League World Series is even more of an arduous task. State champions compete in the West Region tournament for an opportunity to complete the trek to South Williamsport, Pa.
This year’s four-team tournament starts Sunday in San Bernardino and concludes Friday, Aug. 14 with the West Region champion that will almost immediately be whisked off to the East Coast for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Teams from Southern California, Northern California, Arizona and Hawaii will be vying for that honor over the next week. Sweetwater Valley — drum roll — will be representing Southern California after defeating District 40 champion Encino, 9-0, in a 104-degree sweat-fest on Sunday at the Little League Complex in San Bernardino.
The District 42 champions got a grand taste of what life at the top is like after showcasing their wares at Al Houghton Stadium. They get to return for an even greater showcase on TV with the whole nation watching.
The West Region champion will join nine other U.S. regional champions and 10 international zone champions for a strictly posh 20-team get-together at the upcoming Little League World Series Aug. 19-30.
Hanging 10s
Two San Diego County teams participated in the 10U SoCal state tournament: Section 6 champion Point Loma (District 32) and Section 7 champion Fletcher Hills (District 41).
Fletcher Hills defeated Fontana Community (District 71), 5-2, in its first game and edged Temecula (District 28), 2-1, in its second game before suffering 6-0 and 6-5 losses to Encino (District 40) and Huntington Valley (District 62).
Point Loma had more success with a 4-2 record in advancing to the challenger bracket final against East Hills (District 56), a 3-2 loss in begrudging fashion. The District 32 champs opened the 10-team tourney with a 12-5 win over Lompoc (District 65), then topped West L.A. (District 25) by a 10-1 score, before engaging East Hills in a 6-5 setback.
Point Loma captured consecutive elimination wins over Claremont (District 20) and Huntington Valley by scores of 4-3 and 14-6, before meeting up with East Hills again.
Encino and East Hills dueled for the division championship with Encino recording an 8-2 win in a double-elimination game on Sunday after Hills had forced the championship replay with a 1-0 win on Saturday.
Back to back
Mira Mesa Little League hosted the 10-team SoCal 11U state tournment. Sweetwater Valley qualified as the Section 7 champion after defeating District 41 champion Alpine American in double-elimination fashion by scores of 10-0 and 3-2 (in seven innings) following a 5-2 setback — the team’s first loss in postseason play.
The District 42 champions opened the section tournament with a 16-0 win over District 22 champion Imperial and shut out District 66 champion Valley de Oro, 12-0, in an ensuing elimination game to get another crack at the District 41 champions.
Sweetwater Valley kept rolling with five consecutive wins at the state tournament to improve to 13-1 while outscoring opponents 51-11.
California Section 6 champion San Carlos (District 33) finished 2-2 with a 15-7 win over Temecula (District 28) and 8-7 decision over Palos Verdes (District 36) and subsequent losses to Sweetwater Valley in the winners bracket final and 6-4 to Claremont in an ensuing elimination game.
