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LITTLE LEAGUE DISTRICT 62 TOURNAMENTS:

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One down, one more big one to go.

Now that the Little League District 62 Tournament of Champions has come to an end — with Costa Mesa National Red Sox winning the Majors title and the Ocean View Bats (Minor A), Seaview Diamondbacks (Minor B) and Seaview No. 1 (Junior League) also claiming division banners Saturday — it’s time for the eight district leagues to put their collective talent together and send their respective teams into battle this weekend for the District 62 All-Star Tournament.

The double-elimination event begins Saturday and continues through Wednesday. The tournament will take a hiatus over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

In the Little League All-Stars and 9 & 10-year-old All-Stars divisions, Ocean View will host the Area 1 side of the bracket and Seaview Little League the Area 2 bracket.

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Both divisions’ championship games will be played at Seaview Little League beginning July 7.

Westminster Little League will host both the 10 & 11-year-old division and Junior League tournaments.

“I expect our opener to be extremely tough,” Ocean View Little League All-Stars Coach Richard Lopez said of Robinwood, his team’s 10 a.m. opening day opponent Saturday. “Robinwood is traditionally a strong league and their 12-year-old All-star team should be solid from top to bottom.”

“Seaview’s 11-year-old team won district, so I expect them to be strong again this year. Huntington Valley generally fields a good team and Costa Mesa National, with (Dante) Capoccia, will be a worthy opponent whenever he is on the mound.”

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Costa Mesa National gets first title

Costa Mesa National Little League accomplished a first when the Red Sox, the No. 1 team from the league, captured the league’s first district banner in Majors tournament history.

The Red Sox used a little drama, too, in reaching the district summit: Jeff Dottl hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning to break a tie score and send his team to a 4-3 victory.

Dottl’s homer, a line drive shot, hit the yellow marker at the top of the fence, then popped over it and landed on the grass just outside right-center field.

Dante Capoccia earlier had clubbed a three-run home run that clanged off the snack shack positioned well beyond center field to give the Red Sox a 3-0 lead in the third inning.

Capoccia, a key ace for Costa Mesa National, kept Ocean View off the scoreboard until the bottom of the fifth. It was there that the Mets scored three runs to tie the score and Capoccia exited the mound.

“I was very proud of the way the boys battled Capoccia,” Ocean View Manager Richard Lopez said. “That kid is the hardest throwing pitcher I’ve seen this year. When we knocked him out of the game in the fifth, I really thought we were going to come back and win the game.”

Zac Lopez, and Benji Roth — known by his teammates as “Lucky Pants” because he hadn’t washed his uniform pants in the tournament — drove in all three Ocean View runs, two coming off Roth’s double in the fifth.

“It was a classic championship game and I am proud of my boys and the season they had,” Richard Lopez said.

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Bats win all-Ocean View final

The Minor A Division finale Saturday pitted the top two teams from Ocean View, the Bats and River Cats, against each other for the district title.

It was the Bats who emerged with the district crown following a 15-2 victory.

Logan Pouelsen, who threw a perfect game June 17, tossed another complete game (75 pitches) to record the win. He aided his pitching performance with a solo home run. Michael Green hit two home runs in the game.

Sasha Kaboli of the River Cats hit a home run. Kaboli had smashed three home runs in a June 18 second-round win over Robinwood No. 2.

“The success we had this year was a team effort and not just one or two players doing everything,” Bats Manager Sean Pouelsen said. “We didn’t just have a great team, we had an even better group of kids. Every player made a play or had a big hit that kept our season going longer and making it even more special.

“If the success of our two (Ocean View) TOC teams is any indicator, we should be able to compete and make a good run at the District 62 championship.”

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Other division finals

In the Minor B division title game, Seaview’s top team, the Diamondbacks, broke away from a 2-2 tie to claim a 7-6 victory over the Yankees, the No. 2 team from Huntington Valley Little League.

In the Junior League final, Seaview No. 1 needed nine innings to subdue Westminster, 12-11.


MIKE SCIACCA covers sports. He can be reached at (714) 966-4611 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.

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