North Natomas Little League athlete Vinnie Bachellier at the plate. / Photos: Trevor Horn
BY TREVOR HORN
THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz
The North Natomas Little League 11-12 year old major all-star team marked the club’s 10th anniversary by playing up to a golden standard this season.
The group was compiled of players from various teams throughout the league. The team won the District 6 championship last week and advanced to the Section 4 title game held Tuesday – just two steps away from the Little League World Series.
North Natomas Little League 11-12 all stars.
North Natomas took a 2-1 in the top of the third, but lost to Woodcreek of Roseville 14-4 from Phoebe Hurst field No. 2 in East Sacramento, thus ending the longest all-star team run in the history of North Natomas.
“We thought we had a team that would do well and we did have a good tournament,” North Natomas manager Dave Greenly said. “We just ran into a team that was playing better. We can’t be upset about anything. We played well.”
North Natomas lost the opening round game of the sectional playoffs to Fair Oaks Orangevale 14-10 despite leading 7-0 early on. The loss forced North Natomas into the losers bracket, a difficult venture, needing to win six games in six days to clinch the title.
North Natomas beat Lincoln, the same Fair Oaks Orangevale team and Land Park by combined scores of 33-4 to advance to the championships against a team which is considered the most-seasoned majors team in Northern California having won the California state championship at the previous three levels since 2011.
“We weren’t scared,” Greenly said.
Woodcreek took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and the score remained intact until the top of the third.
That’s when Max Martinez belted a double to the left field fence, scoring Vinnie Bachellier to tie the score. Two batters later, Donovan Lopez’s RBI triple scored Martinez and gave NN a 2-1 lead.
It would be the last time North Natomas would hold the lead as Woodcreek power hitters Zackery Watari and Andrew Paolini each hit home runs in the third and fourth innings to open a 10-3 lead.
Brandon Villaflor hit a solo home run in the fourth and Tommy Dodd also hit a solo shot in the fifth.
“We are proud, super proud,” Greenly said. “We didn’t give it away. We got beat (Tuesday). Sometimes that’s baseball. Some of these kids, it’s their second or third year playing baseball. It was a pleasure to be able to coach them.”
In other North Natomas little League All-Star action:
- All four teams won their district round championships. The 9-10 girls lost their first district game but then won two in a row to beat Rio Linda for the district championship. They then traveled to Corning and lost their first two games in the sectional round.
- After winning their district tournament in West Sacramento, the 9-year old boys played in the 9/10 boys tournament, but lost in the middle round game.
- The 9-10 boys beat West Sac for the 9/10 boys district championship and advanced to sections before losing on Tuesday to Lincoln.
- The 11-12 boys beat West Sac in Rio Linda for the district championship.
The North Natomas Little League 9-10 softball team shortly after their win at the District 6 championship against Rio Linda. / Photo: T. Perez
The North Natomas Little League 9-10 all-star team advanced to the Section 2 tournament. / Photo: H. Carlton
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Follow Trevor Horn on Twitter @trevhorn.
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