Park View Little League’s Green Machine may have to change its nickname after earning a berth in this year’s Little League World Series. The West region champions will wear light blue jerseys at this year’s LLWS tournament, not Park View green.
Park View added the Little League World Series West Region title to its growing list of all-star tournament championship banners after slipping past Las Vegas Mountain Ridge Little League, 1-0, Saturday night in front of a packed crowd estimated at 12,000 at Al Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino.
The Green Machine will next take the field Friday in South Williamsport, Pa., against Midwest region champion Johnston Little League from Des Moines, Iowa. Game time is 1 p.m. Pacific time.
“It’s surreal,” explained Park View manager Jorge Camarillo, whose team improved to 18-2 in all-star tournament play. “It started when we were eliminated in last year’s district tournament. We worked hard to get here. I have 14 ball-players. At the end of the day, they find a way to get it done.”
Again.
The regional championship game win was the 11th consecutive for Park View after opening the Southern California-South sub-division tournament with a loss. The Green Machine won five consecutive elimination games, swept the ensuing best-of-three Southern California/Division III championship series and successfully navigated a somewhat improbable 4-0 showing in the six-team regional tournament despite being down to its final strike in its tourney opener against Northern California champion Vacaville Central.
“The kids never gave up,” Camarillo underscored.
Park View scored the game’s lone run in the bottom of the fourth inning while starting pitcher Victor Lizarraga took care of the rest by tossing a one-hitter and striking out 13 batters.
Nevada starter Chase Ditmar allowed only three hit but four errors charged to Mountain Ridge proved costly.
With the scoreboard knotted in zeroes, Adriel Colmenero led off the fourth frame by reaching first base on a fielding error. Daniel Leon failed to advance him on a pop bunt but catcher Anthony Soto Jr. followed with an infield hit to place two runners on base. When Adam Amaro reached safely on a fielding error charged to the Nevada shortstop, Park View had the bases loaded with just one out.
Ju Ju Padilla knocked a sharply-hit ball up the middle that Mountain Ridge was able to turn into a force play for the second out of the inning. However, the Park View runner on third base scored.
Ditmar got out of the jam by striking out Santi Garcia for the third out of the inning but Lizarraga had all he needed to work with.
The Park View hurler struck out the side in both the first and second innings and retired eight of the first nine Nevada batters he faced on strikeouts. In fact, Mountain Ridge hitters had been unable to get the ball out of the infield in their first four innings at the plate.
The only blemish were three walks issued by Lizarraga. He walked Thomas Moore with one out in the top of the fifth inning but Park View promptly turned a double play to clear the basepaths and preserve Lizarraga’s budding no-hitter.
Lizarraga entered the top of the sixth inning having thrown 66 pitches. The Little League maximum for one game is 85 and he needed to bear down to minimize his pitches in order to complete the game.
That was complicated somewhat.
The sixth inning always seems to be difficult to complete for any team at any level while sensing victory to be in its grasp.
Chants of “We’ve got three outs to make it happen!” reverberated throughout the Nevada dugout.
The Nevadans got a glimmer of hope when pinch hitter Hunter Kublick broke up Lizarraga’s no-hit bid by depositing a ball into short right center field — the farthest ball hit all game by Mountain Ridge.
Rylan Evans, the next batter, pumped a ball even deeper but it was corralled short of the warning track for the first out of the inning.
Lizarraga then bore down and struck out the next batter, Justin Scioli, for the second out of the inning. But up next strode Garrett Cutting, the hero of Nevada’s elimination game victory over Hawaii the previous day. Cutting homered, drove in two runs and limited Hawaii to one hit while striking out 11 batters.
He represented the go-ahead and potential winning run at the plate.
But Lizarraga, who had retired Cutting in two prior at-bats on a strikeout and pop up, went right after the Mountain Ridge star player.
Lizarraga got a 1-2 count on Cutting before Cutting swung and apparently missed for the third strike. But the ball bounded away from the plate, necessitating a throw to first base to complete the out.
When Park View executed the play for the apparent final out of the game, players began celebrating with the traditional dog-pile. But a review was requested, feeling that Cutting had foul-tipped the ball. If the request was upheld, Cutting would return to the plate with another chance to possibly deliver a game-tying or even game-winning hit.
But the original call was confirmed and Park View players had the unusual opportunity to celebrate a championship-clinching victory twice in the same inning.
The Park View manager felt he had the right man on the mound to enable the team to punch its plane ticket to the Little League World Series.
“I tip my hat to their pitcher because he did a great job of keeping us off-balance,” the elder Camarillo said. “But at the end of the day, we knew we had our guy, He worked magic.”
Lizarraga was obviously elated by the outcome of the championship game.
“It feels awesome,” he explained. “Since the start of all-stars, we knew we a strong team, and we knew there was a lot of tough teams out there, but we knew we had the team that could do it. Our defense is what carried us.”
In a tight pitcher’s duel with so much on the line, there was little room for error.
“It wasn’t easy,” Lizarraga conceded. “(Nevada) was pitching smart and we weren’t hitting. I was pretty excited when we got the lead. I just wanted to shut them down.”
To his credit, the Park View pitcher did not become flustered after his no-hitter was broken up. It only served to increase his focus to put the game on ice. He struck out the final two batters he faced with the game — and a berth in the iconic Little League World Series — on the line.
“I wanted to work my pitches down,” the Park View pitcher explained. “Their lineup was pretty strong. I knew my defense would back me up. They were a good hitting team. I’m really excited we won and are going to Williamsport. We kept it going.”
Nevada ended its all-star tournament run with a 10-2 record. Mountain Ridge entered Saturday’s championship game having scored 39 runs in eliminating three opposing teams.
Park View’s 2016 team follows in the footsteps of the league’s 2009 LLWS champion Blue Bombers and two other teams from California District 42. Eastlake Little League won the U.S. title and finished runner-up to Japan at the 2013 tournament and Sweetwater Valley finished third in the U.S. division last year.
In fact, the current Park View team was cheered on Saturday by four members from Park View’s history-making 2009 team as well as five players from last year’s Sweetwater Valley all-star team.
For now, Park View’s Green Machine continues to take it one game at a time.
“I’m excited,” the Park View skipper explained. “It’s a dream come true. I told our kids we get more games to play, our work is not done. We have a job to finish. We’re going to the East Coast. We want to come home with another banner.”
Extra bases
Ali Camarillo, Soto and Padilla each were credited with hits in the game for Park View. Padilla was credited with the game’s lone RBI.
Ditmar threw 15 first-pitch strikes in his five innings on the mound; Lizarraga threw 13 first-pitch strikes in six innings on the hill.
Ditmar had five strikeouts.
By the numbers
Park View is guaranteed three games in this year’s Little League World Series tournament. Both the United States and International brackets are double-elimination. However, teams that start the tournament 0-2 receive a bonus game against an international opponent that also is 0-2 in the tournament.
Park View (18-2) enters Friday’s LLWS opener with 61 home runs in 20 games. Park View slammed six home runs in its four games at the western regional tournament, including five its his death-defying 18-3 win over Northern California champion Vacaville Central that saw the team rally after being down to its final strike to tie the game in the sixth inning and later score 15 runs on 10 hits with two down in the 10th inning.
Park View’s strengths have been its pitching and defense, but it can also hit the ball pretty good as well with 234 runs scored in 20 games. Park View scored 40 runs in four games at the regional tournament against teams from Northern California, Arizona, Hawaii and Nevada. Besides the 18 runs Park View racked up against Vacaville Central, the reigning District 42 champions also amassed 14 runs in a 14-11 semifinal victory against Hawaii champion Central East Maui.
Lucas Marrujo leads Park View with 40 hits and 29 RBI and has hit nine home runs — second most on the team to Omar Cordero (10 home runs). Marrujo finished the region tournament with six hits, three runs scored, seven RBI and one home run.
Anthony Soto Jr. led Park View with seven hits in the region tournament while Ali Camarillo had six hits; Daniel Leon and Ju Ju Padilla each collected four hits in the region tournament.
Josh Bruce racked up five RBI — four on the strength of a grand slam home run during the 15-run 10th inning uprising against Vacaville Central in the tournament opener. Camarillo and Leon each had four RBI while Santiago Garcia and Victor Lizarraga each had three RBI.
Leon led Park View with two home runs at the regional championship while Marrujo, Lizarraga, Garcia and Bruce each hit one home run. Soto slammed two doubles to lead the team.
Camarillo paced Park View with six runs scored, followed by Soto with five runs scored; Colmenero and Leon each scored four runs. Marrujo, Lizarraga, Padilla, Garcia and Jonluke Hobdy each scored three runs.
Camarillo tops Park View with 34 runs scored while Marrujo has scored 31 runs. Lizarraga ranks second on the team with 26 RBI while Cordero has 25 RBI and Colmenero has 23 RBI.
Lizarraga has hit eight home runs to rank third on the team.
Social media
To follow Park View in the Little League World Series:
https://twitter.com/ParkviewLL/status/765044289080430592
https://twitter.com/parkviewll
https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/pvll/
https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/parkviewlittleleague/
https://www.facebook.com/Park-View-Little-League-Official-Page-124269384291971/
http://www.parkviewlittleleague.com/
Little League World Series
West Region Championship
Sunday, Aug. 7
Hawaii 8, Nevada 0
Southern California 18, Northern California 3 (10 innings)
Monday, Aug. 8
Southern California 7, Arizona 4
Hawaii 5, Utah 2
Tuesday, Aug. 9
Elimination games
Nevada 15, Arizona 4 (5 innings)
Utah 7, Northern California 6
Wednesday, Aug. 10
Elimination game
Nevada 15, Utah 4 (4 innings)
Thursday, Aug. 11
Semifinal (winners bracket)
Southern California 14, Hawaii 11
Friday, Aug. 12
Semifinal (challenger bracket)
Nevada 9, Hawaii 0
Saturday, Aug. 13
Championship game
Southern California 1, Nevada 0
Note: Park View advances to Little League World Series
Little League
World Series
(Aug. 18-28/South Williamsport, Pa.)
United States Division
New England Region: Warwick North Little League (Warwick, R.I.)
Mid-Atlantic Region: Maine-Endwell Little League (Endwell, N.Y.)
Midwest Region: Johnston Little League (Johnston, Iowa)
Southeast Region: Goodlettsville Baseball Little League (Goodlettsville, Tenn.)
Great Lakes Region: Bowling Green Eastern Little League (Bowling Green, Ky.)
Southwest Region: McAllister Park American Little League (San Antonio, Texas)
Northwest Region: Bend North Little League (Bend, Ore.)
West Region: Park View Little League (Chula Vista, Calif.)
International Division
Mexico Region: San Nicolas Little League (Nuevo Leon)
Australia Region: Hills Little League (Sydney)
Asia-Pacific Region: East Seoul Little League (Seoul, South Korea)
Caribbean Region: Pariba Little League (Willemstad, Curacao)
Europe-Africa Region: Emilia Little League (Emilia, Italy)
Latin America Region: Aguadulce Cabezera Little League (Aguadulce, Panama)
Japan Region: Chofu Little League (Tokyo)
Canada Region: Hastings Community Little League (Vancouver, British Columbia)
Park View Little League
Green Machine
District 42 Tournament
•Park View 37, Southwest 0
•Park View 21, Eastlake 2
•Park View 15, Chula Vista Americajn 4
•Chula Vista American 3, Park View 1
•Park View 10, Chula Vista American 4
Section 7 Tournament
•Park View 10, Las Palmas 1
•Park View 17, Imperial 4
•Park View 18, Imperial 7
Southern California Division III-South Sub-Division Tournament
•Bloomington 4, Park View 2
•Park View 16, La Sierra 2
•Park View 8, San Carlos 5
•Park View 9, Bloomington 5
•Park View 7, Ladera Ranch 0
•Park View 6, Ladera Ranch 5
Southern California Division III Tournament
•Park View 6, Redondo Beach 0
•Park View 11, Redondo Beach 8
West Region Tournament
•Park View 18, Northern California 3 (10 innings)
•Park View 7, Arizona 4
•Park View 14, Hawaii 11
•Park View 1, Nevada 0
Park View Little League 12U All-Stars Statistical Leaders
(Through 20 games)
Hits
Lucas Marrujo 40; Victor Lizarraga 30; Ali Camarillo 27; Omar Cordero 25; Adriel Colemenero 23; Anthony Soto Jr. 23; Ju Ju Padilla 20; Daniel Leon 14; Luis Guevara 10; Santiago Garcia 10; Adam Amaro 10; Jonluke Hobdy 6; Joshua Bruce 6; Devin Hinojosa 5
Runs Batted In (RBI)
Lucas Marrujo 29; Victor Lizarraga 26; Omar Cordero 25; Adriel Colmenero 23; Ali Camarillo 19; Ju Ju Padilla 18; Santiago Garcia 17; Daniel Leon 12; Anthony Soto Jr. 11; Joshua Bruce 9
Runs scored
Ali Camarillo 34; Lucas Marrujo 31; Victor Lizarraga 24; Omar Cordero 24; Adriel Colmenero 21; Anthony Soto Jr. 20; Ju Ju Padilla 15; Santiago Garcia 14; Daniel Leon 13; Jonluke Hobdy 11; Adam Amaro 9; Luis Guevara 7; Joshua Bruce 5
Home runs
Omar Cordero 10; Lucas Marrujo 9; Victor Lizarraga 8; Daniel Leon 6; Adriel Colmenero 6; Ali Camarillo 5; Ju Ju Padilla 5; Santiago Garcia 4; Adam Amaro 2; Joshua Bruce 2; Anthony Soto Jr. 1; Luis Guevara 1; Devin Hinojosa 1; Jonluke Hobdy 1
Doubles
Lucas Marrujo 9; Anthony Soto Jr. 6; Adriel Colmenero 5; Ali Camarillo 4; Victor Lizarraga 2; Ju Ju Padilla 2; Omar Cordero 1 Santiago Garcia 1; Joshua Bruce 1
Triples
Ali Camarillo 3; Ju Ju Padilla 2; Anthony Soto Jr. 1; Victor Lizarraga 1
