Taking the next step

Mike Sciacca

A week’s worth of frantic, exciting Little League Baseball action in

the District 62 Tournament of Champions has come down to eight teams

vying for division championships.

Huntington Beach-based leagues made a strong showing in the

tournament, which concluded Wednesday with title games in the Majors,

Minor A, Minor B and Junior divisions.

The Majors, Minor A and Minor B division finals were played at

Robinwood Little League.

The Junior Division final was played at Westminster Little League.

The Majors Division final was a battle between the Huntington

Valley Pirates and the Seaview Yankees.

In the Minor A Division final, Huntington Valley No. 2 took on

Fountain Valley No. 2.

In the Minor B Division final, Seaview No. 1 and Huntington Valley

No. 2 played for the district title.

In the Junior Division final, host Westminster battled Fountain

Valley.

The final scores of the four division championship games were not

available at press time.

MAJORS DIVISION

The Yankees, the second-place team out of Seaview, advanced to the

title game by winning the Area 1 side of the bracket at Robinwood.

The Yankees defeated league champions from Robinwood (5-2),

Fountain Valley (10-1) and Westminster (2-0) en route to the

championship game appearance.

“I thought heading into the tournament that we could do some

damage,” Seaview Manager Jim Madden said. “These kids have done an

outstanding job in getting to the championship game.”

In the semifinal blanking of the Westminster Monday, starter

Marcus Trujillo and reliever Jimmy Madden combined to two-hit and

shut out the Dodgers.

Trujillo struck out six and walked one in a three-inning stint and

Madden followed with five strikeouts and no walks during the final

three innings.

“They did a great job,” Madden said of Trujillo and his son Jimmy.

“They both had good velocity, good selection and hit their spots.”

The teams were locked in a scoreless game heading into the top of

the fourth, when the Yankees’ Harlan Kelley turned the game.

With two on and two out, Kelley delivered single to right field,

which drove in what turned out to be the only two runs of the game.

Seaview managed four hits.

In addition to Kelley’s two-run single, Nick Pedevilla singled

twice and Ryan Ortolf doubled in the second inning.

Huntington Valley reached Wednesday’s title game by eliminating

Robinwood No. 2, 5-2, on Monday, in the Area 2 final.

The Pirates’ road to the title game began with a 6-5 win over

Fountain Valley No. 2, followed by a 13-2 win over Seaview No. 1.

MINOR A DIVISION

Fighting it out for the 2004 district banner were Huntington

Valley No. 2 and Fountain Valley No. 2

At the Area 1 final played Monday at Robinwood, Huntington Valley

No. 2 defeated Fountain Valley No. 1, 6-4.

Huntington Valley also defeated the league champions in Ocean View

(9-4) and Westminster (7-2).

Fountain Valley came out of the Area 2 bracket at Seaview by

defeating three division champions in host Seaview (3-0), Costa Mesa

National (3-2) and Huntington Valley (4-1), the latter on Monday.

MINOR B DIVISION

The division boiled down to a final between Seaview No. 1 and

Huntington Valley No. 2.

Seaview marched to the final by defeating Robinwood No. 2 (8-7),

Costa Mesa National No. 1 (3-1) and in Monday’s Area 2 final,

outscored Huntington Valley No. 1, 12-9.

At Robinwood, Huntington Valley No. 2 beat Fountain Valley No. 1

(12-6), Seaview No. 2 (7-4) and on Monday, Costa Mesa National No. 1

(8-5), in the Area 1 final.

Against Costa Mesa National’s Giants, Huntington Valley overcame

back-to-back home runs by the Giants in the fourth inning to post an

8-5 victory.