And the girls fast pitch team's 11 players and coaching staff were primed for it.

"This season the girls were mentally and physically ready," said Tricia Burchell, one of three coaches who help manager Bob Burchell run the all-star squad. "The players set a goal in March to get to the Western Regional and some have been working toward it since they were 11."

Just as it did in 2003, Metro captured District 44 and Section 5 tournament flags this summer and reached the Northern California Division 2 tourney. In fact, for part of the team it was the third such event in as many years. In 2002, Metro's major team accomplished the same feat.

Unfortunately, the 2004 season has ended just like the previous two -- a second-place finish at the Division tournament, one win away from the Western Regional.

This time though, Metro is crying "foul," because one of its losses in the double-elimination tournament at Manteca did not come on the field. It came in the form of a forfeit loss of its first game to Antioch West.

The forfeit was the result of an administrative decision by Little League's highest authority after a disagreement about some "missing paperwork" about proof of residency of three players, Tricia Burchell explained.

The decision, made after telephone calls to Little League's Western Regional office in San Bernardino and national headquarters in Williamsport, Penn., deemed the three girls ineligible and left Metro unable to put nine eligible players on the field.

"The girls didn't lose," maintains Tricia Burchell, "They were given a loss. The girls had a dream taken away by Little League bureaucracy."

"The bottom line is we were told by Little League that paperwork from our girls who were on waivers was not sufficient," explained Burchell, a Vice President on the Sunnyvale Metro Board of Directors.

Because waivers had been approved by Metro Little League President Jeff Farrell and District 44 Administrator Felix Balga prior to tournament play, and no questions had been raised at the District and Section tournaments, Burchell said she was "stunned" by the tournament director's demands at Manteca.

"The Little League website states that no residency info is required for waivers because they already have been approved," Burchell said. "They didn't even let us play under protest, which we were told teams have done in similar situations. If the team produces the requested papers prior to the next game, then the protest is upheld. If not, it becomes a forfeit.

"But we didn't get that chance. Williamsport ruled that we had to forfeit the game and take it as a loss."

The parents drove back to Sunnyvale that night and returned the next morning with the necessary documents, so the all-stars could begin play in the elimination bracket.

After being tagged with the forfeit loss on July 30, Metro whipped tournament host Manteca 11-1 and Antioch West 5-1 behind the pitching of Yuri Okamura and Nikki Burchell amd hitting of KaNeesha Johnson and Kelly Shaver, but lost 3-1 in a pitchers' duel against Cottonwood.

It was Cottonwood, not Sunnyvale, that gained the trip to the Western Regional event. Metro returned home, disappointed that its season ended in a bureaucratic mess.

After topping Sunnyvale Southern for the District 44 championship, Metro beat out Gilroy and North Valley of San Jose for the Section 5 title. Both tourneys were held at Ortega Park.

Metro posted a 4-0 record and outscored opponents 36-6 in the first two tourneys, including a 10-2 win over Gilroy in the Section 5 finale on July 26.

Burchell pitched the distance in the championship game. She struck out six batters and benefited from Metro's errorless defense. First baseman Samantha Ellis made a fine defensive play in the fifth inning, climbing the fence near the dugout to haul in a foul pop-up.