La Verne’s 12-Year-Old Girls’ and Boys All-Stars Save Best for Last
By winning the North/East District Championship, the 12-year-old LVGSA All Stars earned a berth in the state finals.
It was a great weekend to be a La Verne 12-year-old all star in either softball or baseball this past weekend.
Coming out of the loser’s bracket in the district tournament held in Corona, Calif., the La Verne Girls Softball Association 12-year-olds won back-to-back games (double-dip) against Claremont, including the final, 13-4, to earn the girls a prestigious berth in the state championships, July 9-11m in Lancaster, Calif.
La Verne’s Hailey Long helped La Verne clinch with her amazing pitching, impressing everyone in the stands, including LVGSA League President Kevin McClure.
“Our first year at the ‘B’ level and our girls rocked Corona, Calif., and won the ‘B’ District championship,” McClure said. “They double-dipped Claremont, Calif., our neighbors, to win the championship. Just a testament to the quality of the recreation leagues in the area, both La Verne and Claremont are first time “B” league entrants, with less than 200 girls and we beat the big cities.
“These girls, coaches and parents make me proud to be a part of this organization.”
Meanwhile, the LVGSA 8s and 10 narrowly missed earning invitations, falling one win short. However, the 16Us, by finishing third in their division, also earned a trip to Lancaster for the state finals.
The La Verne Little League 12-year-old all stars played at Pelota Park, where fans saw their boys rally from a 10-4 deficit in the top of the sixth, scoring 10 runs after one to win 14-10 over Ted Green Pomona.
Down to their last two outs, La Verne’s Jacob Wollard hit a solo home run to make the score 10-5. More than giving La Verne a run, the blast seemed to energize the entire bench. After Wollard circled the bases, Kurtis Redman doubled and then Hunter Korn and Nick Lodolo singled, driving in Redman to make the score 10-6. Then Brogan White, who had been touched up for a few runs when he was on the mound, got a measure of revenge by ripping a three-run homer to dead center, bringing La Verne within a run of the Ted Green all stars, 10-9.
After the next batter flied out, La Verne was down to its last out. The dire situation, however, didn’t faze Alex Gonzalez, who singled, bringing up Nick Rodriguez. After taking a passed ball that allowed Gonzalez to advance to second, Rodriguez doubled into the gap for a double to drive in Gonzalez, who had to vault over the Ted Green catcher to reach the plate with the tying run.
With the crowd now sensing something special, Matt Jones, Wollard and Redman singled to give La Verne the lead, 11-10. Up a second time in the inning, Korn doubled to drive in two more runs, and when the final fly-out to left was recorded, La Verne led by the improbable score of 14-10.
Lodolo, who had moved to the mound in the fifth, went back to the hill and shut down Teg Green to get the win, striking out two while surrendering just a single.
With the win, La Verne’s 12-year-old Little League all stars, who advanced to the Divisionals last season, play Glendora American on July 1 at 6:30 p.m.
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