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The Alpine Little League 12U All-Star team won 5-1 in the first game of the West Region Tournament in San Bernardino on Saturday, moving one step closer to playing in the national Little League World Series.
While many parents of the All-Star team traveled to San Bernardino for the six-day tournament, local Alpine League “superfans” gathered at the Dutch Goose sports bar to watch the game on ESPN.
“It’s like a fairytale to watch them on TV,” said Grant Woodall, a coach of a younger team in the league.
The Alpine 12U All-Star team features some of the league’s best players, ages 12 and younger, who live or attend school in Portola Valley, Woodside and parts of Menlo Park. A selection committee assembles the roster based on both athletic skill and how well players work together.
The Aug. 2 matchup against Arizona’s Arcadia Little League marked the first game of the tournament, which will determine what West Region team will go to the World Series. The region includes Northern California, Southern California, Hawaii and Arizona.
The game remained at 0-0 until the fifth inning, when Arcadia scored one run.In the top of the sixth, Alpine tied the game with two outs before Nolan Levinson hit a triple that drove in three runs, giving Alpine the lead. Patrick Breslin followed with a double, bringing Levinson home to extend the lead.
“When they’re playing at this high level, if the other team makes an error, they can quickly get a lot of points,” said Charlie Adams, an umpire and former league coach.
“You get to know the kids and now to see them on TV — it means a lot,” he said.
While Adams has taken a team past the district level (the first step toward the World Series) no Alpine Little League team had ever reached the West Regional Tournament before this year.
His advice for the kids: “go out and play and have fun.”
The tournament follows a double-elimination format, meaning a team can lose only once and still advance to the championship. Alpine will face the winner of Game 2 on Aug. 4.
If Alpine wins that game, it will move directly to the regional championship. If it loses, it must beat the winner of Game 3 to qualify for the championship, scheduled for Aug. 7.
A championship win would send the team to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
