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Long road to reach Williamsport
Sunnyvale National knows just how long
By Dick Sparrer
The road to Williamsport is a long one indeed.
And not just because the small town in Pennsylvania is located some 2,800 miles to the east.
Williamsport is the home of the Little League World Series, and the road to get there travels more than 2,800 miles for teams from California District 44--it winds through tournaments played in a number of Northern California cities and ultimately through the Western Regionals in San Bernadino, Calif., before one lucky team qualifies for the biggest Little League tournament of them all.
The Campbell Little League certainly knows how long that road is, having sent three teams to the coveted tournament back in the 1970s. Moreland has been there... so has Santa Clara Briarwood. And Cupertino American and Sunnyvale National have gotten very close, reaching the Western Regionals.
Without a doubt, the road is a long one. But is has to begin somewhere. And for the teams of District 44 it begins this week on fields throughout the Santa Clara Valley.
The District 44 major division all-star tournament gets under way this week with opening-round games set for July 6, 7 and 8 on diamonds all over the area.
The tourney will begin on July 6 when Tri-Cities and Sunnyvale Metro open play at 5:30 p.m. at the Sunnyvale Southern Little League field.
First-round action continues on July 7 with Los Altos facing Sunnyvale Southern at McKelvey Park in Mountain View, Santa Clara Briarwood-El Camino battling Cupertino National at the Santa Clara Homestead field and Santa Clara Westside meeting Campbell at the Moreland field. All games begin at 5:30 p.m.
Sunnyvale National will take on Cupertino American on July 8 at the Tri-Cities field, and the same day Santa Clara Homestead meets Sunnyvale Serra at the Campbell Little League field. Both games begin at 5:30 p.m.
Moreland opens play on July 10 at the Sunnyvale Metro field against the Sunnyvale National-Cupertino American first-round winner, and the same day Mountain View faces the Santa Clara Homestead-Sunnyvale Serra winner at the Santa Clara Homestead field. Both games begin at 11 a.m.
The District 44 major division championship game will be played on July 21, 5:30 p.m., at the Santa Clara Briarwood-El Camino field. An "if necessary" game is slated for July 22 on the same field.
This week also marks the beginning of the District 44 tournament in the 9-10 age division, junior (13-year-old) division and senior division.
Senior first-round match-ups include the following: July 12, 5:30 p.m.--Sunnyvale National vs. Tri-Cities at Cupertino High School, Cupertino American at Sunnvyale Southern; July 14--Cupertino National vs. Sunnyvale National-Tri-Cities winner at Cupertino High, Los Altos vs. Cupertino American-Sunnyvale Southern winner at Los Altos High.
Senior finals are set for July 22 at Cupertino High. Junior first-round match-ups: July 11, 1 p.m.--Sunnyvale Serra vs. Cupertino American at Los Altos High, and Tri-Cities vs. Cupertino National at Sunnyvale Southern; July 11, 4 p.m.-- Sunnyvale National at Sunnyvale Southern, Moreland vs. Los Altos at Los Altos High.
First-round match-ups in the 9-10 age division: July 6, 5:30 p.m.--Campbell vs. Mountain View at Sunnyvale Southern; July 7, 5 p.m.--Cupertino National vs. Cupertino American at Sunnyvale National; July 7, 5:30 p.m.--Tri-Cities vs. Santa Clara Westside at Moreland, and Santa Clara Homestead vs. Sunnyvale Serra at Sunnyvale Metro; July 8, 5:30 p.m.--Sunnyvale Metro vs. Sunnyvale National at Tri-Cities, Los Altos #1 vs. Santa Clara Briarwood-El Camino at Mountain View, and Moreland vs. Los Altos #2 at Campbell; July 10, 2 p.m.--Sunnyvale Southern vs. Sunnyvale Metro-Sunnyvale National winner at Tri-Cities.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
