Photograph by Mark Kocina
Catcher Nick Berry of the Blue Jays puts the tag on Miles Johansen of the Astros and gets the out call from the umpire. But despite the play, the Astros went on to win 11-7 and claim the Quito Little League minor division title.
Marlins fall in TOC semifinals
Astros clinch Quito minor division title
By Dick Sparrer
An outstanding season came to a close last week for the Marlins of the Quito Little League ... just one game short of the District 12 major division Tournament of Champions.
The Marlins earned a place in the TOC by winning the Quito championship, but after opening the tourney with a win the Marlins were eliminated by the Almaden Yankees in a tight 3-2 decision.
Quito jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a couple of runs in the third against the Yanks.
Ryan Takaki was hit by a pitch to open the third and Alex Juull followed with a single, and the runners moved to second and third on a wild pitch. Eddie Sipple bounced out to second, and Takaki was tossed out at the plate when he tried to score on the play.
Juull scored the game's first run when Jeff Bacon reached on an error, and Micko Clark singled to put runners on first and second.
Dave Messer came through with a run-scoring single, and the runners advanced to second and third on the throw to the plate. But a ground out ended the threat.
Juull, meanwhile, was mowing down the Yankees. He allowed a walk to open the game, but retired the next eight straight batters, five of them on strikes.
The Yankees picked up a run in the third, though, when Mikey Sanchez worked a two-out walk and Alex Todd doubled him home.
The Marlins took their 2-1 lead into the fifth, but C.J. Enfantino walked, then Sanchez and Todd followed with back-to-back doubles to put Almaden on top 3-2.
Andrew Palmer kept Quito's hopes alive with a one-out single in the top of the sixth, but Todd struck out the next two hitters he faced to nail down the win for Almaden.
The Yankees went on to drop a 7-1 decision to the Willow Glen Indians in the championship game.
The Marlins had threatened in the second when Clark and David Yee each singled. But the Yanks turned a double play to get out of the jam and remain locked in a scoreless tie.
Quito outhit Almaden 8-4 in the game. Clark was 3-for-3 to lead the attack for the Marlins. Juull, Messer, Yee, Palmer and David Kentera also had hits in the game.
Photograph by Mark Kocina
Steve Economy was among the Astros who picked up a minor division championship trophy from coach Mike Combs.
Minor Division
While the Marlins were winning the major division crown, the Astros won the minor division championship in the Quito Little League this spring.
The Astros clinched the title with a hard-earned 11-7 victory over the Blue Jays in the finals of the league tournament.
District 12 All-stars
The Little Leagues that make up District 12 come from all over the greater West Valley region of the Santa Clara Valley.
And the all-star teams representing those leagues will be action on diamonds throughout that West Valley area this week as some tournaments begin and others continue at local fields.
The Quito Little League will host the prestigious major division tournament that begins June 30 at its field located on Pollard Road right between Los Gatos, Campbell and Saratoga.
The 11-year-old all-star tournament opened last weekend at John Baggerly Field on Blossom Hill Road in Los Gatos, and games will continue through July 12.
The district's 10-year-old tournament also got under way last weekend and will continue through July 10 at the Union Little League field on Camden Avenue just off Blossom Hill.
And the youngest of the all-stars, the 9-year-olds, started play June 23 and will continue their tournament through July 12 at the Cambrian Little League field at Ross and Foxworthy in San Jose.
First-round play in the major division begins Saturday and includes the following match-ups: Saratoga vs. Union, 9 a.m.; Willow Glen vs. Cambrian, 11:30 a.m.; American vs. Branham, 2 p.m.; and Quito vs. Los Gatos, 4:30 p.m.
The Saratoga-Union winner will face Almaden on July 2, 5:30 p.m., and the Willow Glen-Cambrian winner will take on Lincoln Glen on July 3, 5:30 p.m.
Play began last weekend in the 11-year-old tournament Almaden facing Quito, Lincoln Glen meeting Branham and Almaden squaring off with Union. Cambrian was to open on Monday against the American-Quito winner and Saratoga will face the Lincoln Glen-Branham winner on June 26. The final first-round game pits Los Gatos and Willow Glen on June 27, 5:30 p.m., at the Baggerly Field.
Quito, Los Gatos No. 1 and No. 2, Branham No. 1, Union and Almaden No. 1 were all first-round winners in the 10-year-old all-star tournament, and Los Gatos and Cambrian each opened the 9-year-old tourney with victories.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
