Park View Little League puts Chula Vista on map

Congratulations to the Park View Little League team on winning the Little League Baseball World Series!

Not only did Park View prove it is the best team in the world, it certainly put Chula Vista, California on the map.

Not so long ago, that was what the San Diego Chargers were supposed to do (more on that later.)

San Diego County had not had a Little League world champion since 1961, when Brian Sipe led El Cajon/La Mesa Northern to the title. (That was 19 years before Sipe would become the NFL’s most valuable player with the Cleveland Browns.)

You can name each of the Park View players and they are all “heroes”: Isaiah Armenta, Oscar Castro Jr., Nick Conlin, Kiko Garcia, Bulla Graft, Seth Godfrey, Markus Melin, Jensen Petersen, Daniel Porras Jr., Luke Ramirez, Andy Rios, and Bradley Roberto. The manager is Oscar Castro; the coach, Ric Ramirez.

Without a doubt, big Luke Ramirez (6-foot-2, 212 pounds) will be remembered for his towering home runs.

And Andy Rios will be remembered for turning a great double play with the bases loaded in Sunday’s 6-3 win over Taoyuan, Taiwan for the championship.

But Rios’ top feat was on the mound in an 11-10 win over Warner Robins, Georgia in the U.S. semifinals. He finished the game with 2 1/3 innings of shutout ball after Warner Robins had taken a 10-5 lead. Had he not stopped the bleeding there; Park View would probably not have advanced.

As for the Chargers … their grand plan was to build a stadium in Chula Vista and give the South Bay city a “name.” That didn’t work out in the long run, but Chula Vista is certainly on the map now.

Thanks, Park View Little Leaguers!

Congrats Alpine; Go, Solana Beach!

What a run by the Alpine American Little League All-Stars!

This was the best team in Alpine American history, winning both District and Sectional championships.

Only a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Solana Beach in eight innings Monday night will keep Alpine from making a possible run at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

But what a year to remember!

This team had heart, and it tore the hearts of everyone in attendance from Alpine at Chollas Lake Little League when the team was eliminated.

Even then, Alpine showed its fighting spirit by coming back from a 1-0 deficit with two runs in the top of the sixth.

Congratulations go out to all team members ... and to announcers Marc Bailey and Chuck Taylor of Lite 107.9 FM in Alpine for keeping the community informed of the happenings with this magnificent team.

On a night when the Padres’ bullpen blew a three-run lead in the eighth inning (again), Solana Beach’s bullpen held tough in extra innings to secure the victory.

Best of luck to Solana Beach from here on out as San Diego County’s representative. All the folks in Alpine hope to see the classy team from Solana Beach in the Little League World Series one month from now!

(Photo courtesy of The Alpine Sun)