The Holly Park Major Little League All-Star baseball team tied its District 37 Championship Game against host Westchester only to see Westchester come back with a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to pull off a 4-3 win last Thursday at Carl Nielsen Youth Sports Park.
The Holly Park Major Little League All-Star baseball team tied its District 37 Championship Game against host Westchester only to see Westchester come back with a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to pull off a 4-3 win last Thursday at Carl Nielsen Youth Sports Park.
After a scoreless game entering the bottom of the fifth inning, Westchester scored three runs behind a solo home run by Malik Clayton and a two-run homer from Mike Williams, Jr. for a 3-0 lead. Holly Park came back as Anthony Beau took first base on an error, stole second base, then went to third on a passed ball. After Ricardo Ramirez and Julian Francisco struck out, Jonathan Ramos walked then pitcher Paco Orozc hit a three-run homer to tie the game at three.
Orozc came to the mound but Westchester quickly tagged him for two hits, then a run-scoring single from Brian Dennis to bring home Clayton for the winning run ending Holly Park’s run at a shot of advancing to the Section 4 Tournament, which is this week at Nielsen Park.
“It was a great game,” Holly Park manager Karl Rouston said. “The kids never quit. I take my hats off to Westchester. They’re very good.”
Westchester moved on to face District 36 champion Manhattan Beach, who many observers believe is not only the section favorite but also a strong contender at advancing all the way to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA, in the opener last Tuesday.
Holly Park lost to Westchester 5-2 on July 5, but bounced back with wins over Del Rey 9-5 on July 7 and Westchester 8-4 a day later to send the tournament into a double final.
Holly Park used its power in its win over Westchester. Atin Wright had two home runs and drove in four runs. Martin Palayo added a two-run shot.
Dominique Littlefield was the winning pitcher, going four innings and allowing three earned runs.
In Holly Park’s losers’ bracket final win over Del Rey, it scored five runs in the top of the sixth to overcome a 5-4 deficit.
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Sports Scoop
Galaxy gets another British star
By Joe Snyder
Sports Editor
It was several years ago that British sensation David Beckham came to and gone from the Los Angeles Galaxy Major League Soccer team. He keyed the Galaxy to MLS championships in the 2011 and 2012 season.
During his and between British stars time was Landon Donovan, who retired from the Galaxy after keying his team to another championship last year.
Now, enter Steven Gerrard. Gerrard comes to the Galaxy from Liverpool, England. Of course that is the city known for famous rock and pop stars such as the Beatles, and more recently Cold Play and One Direction. At the StubHub Center in Carson last Saturday, Gerrard did not score a goal but made good plays in keying the Galaxy to a hard fought 2-1 victory over Club America from Mexico City, one of the top soccer teams from Mexico, in the opener of the International Champions Cup.
At 35, Gerrard knows that he is in his final leg as a professional soccer player.
Gerrard played the whole first half and had three shots on goal as both teams were tied at one at the intermission.
Club America surged to a quick 1-0 lead but the Galaxy finally tied the game near the end of the first half on a goal by Ireland’s Robbie Keane.
Alex Gordon scored the winning goal for the Galaxy in the 80th minute.
Look for Gerrard, Keane and even more stars to help the Galaxy rally to capture their sixth ever MLS title this fall.
Laker youth shine: The National Basketball Association Summer League in Las Vegas, NV is on and the Los Angeles Laker rookies are putting on their preview for the upcoming season that starts in late October.
Last Sunday featured a match-up between the Lakers’ rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell and the Philadelphia 76’ers Jahil Okafar, who many were looking as the Lakers’ No. 2 pick in the NBA draft on June 26 in Brooklyn. Instead they chose who most felt would be the third pick by the 76’ers in Russell, a star freshman point guard from Ohio State University, while Philadelphia ended up taking Okafar from Duke.
The Lakers ended up defeating the 76’ers 68-60 and Russell scored 14 points but made just four of 15 shots from the floor for just 27 percent. Okafar led Philadelphia with 19 points.
L.A.’s other first round choice, Larry Nance, Jr., had a strong defensive game.
Manhattan Beach eliminates Tri Park: Tri Park’s Senior Little League All-Star Baseball team lost in the final of the Section 4 Tournament to powerful District 36 champion Manhattan Beach 4-0 on July 1 at Manhattan’s Marine Park.
Manhattan Beach consists mostly of players from its Junior squad that advanced to the World Series last year. It is expected to be a contender for the World Series, as Seniors, this year.
On June 27, Tri Park began with a 10-4 win over District 25 champion Beverly Hills. A day later, Manhattan Beach rolled to a 12-0 victory. Tri Park bounced back with a 12-9 victory over Beverly Hills before being shut out by Manhattan Beach.
Souces are that Manhattan Beach was unscored upon the whole tournament.
Other Section 4 Tournaments begin this week. Other District 37 champions include Lennox (Minors, 50/70 and Juniors) and Westchester (age 10-11 and Majors). In District 27, Torrance won the Majors and 10-11, and West Torrance captured the Minors.
