EL SEGUNDO HERALD April 5, 2018 Page 5
Japan Wins Little League Tourney
Story and Photos by Gregg McMullin
The seventh annual Beach City Baseball
Academy International Tournament was another
triumph. The 16-team tournament that
included Kitasuna, Japan and Little Mountain
Little League from Vancouver, Canada and
teams from Southern California was a huge
success even with the dismal cool weather
at Brett Field. After all was said and done
Kitasuna, the defending Little League World
Series champions, won its sixth tournament
title in seven appearances in the finals. This
time, the team defeated BC Prospects 14-6 in a
game highlighted by four towering home runs.
El Segundo Little League had an entry named
the Big Dawgs, while Beach City Baseball
Academy had four teams entered. Each of
the teams had an El Segundo connection
whether by players or coaches. In all, more
than 20 players from the El Segundo Little
League participated in the tournament. Before
they started, Big Dawgs played an exhibition
game against the JC Nationals (Canada) and
won 12-2. Beach City defeated Kitasuna 3-1
in another exhibition.
Big Dawgs Lose Opener
The Big Dawgs lost their opener to BC
Rancho Grande, a team from the Ojai area
run by Beach City and managed by former El
Segundo High standout Alberto Concepcion.
The Big Dawgs fell 17-9 in game that had
plenty of excitement. Benji Kerin was 3-for-4
with a two-run single in the second inning and
a double in the sixth. Nik Kvitek’s two-run
blast in the first inning cut his team’s deficit
to 6-2. Landon Davis had an RBI double and
Connor Ramirez singled in a run.
In their second game of pool play, the Big
Dawgs fell to BC Red team 12-6. Kerin and
Davis each went 3-for-3, while Mateo Heredia
had two hits including an RBI single. Kvitek
had two hits, including an RBI single in the
fifth inning. Dominic Kopecky and Timmy
Klugg each had RBI singles in a two-run
second inning.
BC Red had an opportunity to have a big
first inning when it loaded the bases, but Kerin
ended up striking out the side. In the third inning
with the score tied 2-2, BC Red put across
three runs highlighted by Dane Acosta’s RBI
triple. In the fifth, Ryan Williams doubled and
Daniel Craig singled. Aiden Laureno had an
RBI double and Acosta’s RBI single helped
put the game away. Dickey Taw struck out
seven in three innings of work.
Beach City Prospects
Advances to Finals
The BC Prospects, which won the tournament
two seasons ago, defeated the MB Heaters 9-2
and the California Baseball Academy 6-1 in
pool play to advance to the elimination round
where they faced BC Rancho Grande. In an
exciting game highlighted by good defense
and timely hitting, the BC Prospects won
6-3 in a game that was closer than the final
score indicated.
BC Rancho Grande took an early 1-0 lead in
the first inning on an error. The BC Prospects
countered with two runs in their half of the
first on Jesse Martinez’s two-run single. In the
second inning, Carson Brooks and Mathew
Verdugo each walked and Lucas Bonham was
hit by a pitch to load the bases. Then Caden
Lewis delivered an RBI single to make it 3-1.
In the fourth inning, BC Rancho Grande tied
the game. Connor Jones doubled, Jake Sigala
walked and Ryan Marriner had an RBI single.
Ben Correa’s RBI single tied the game at 3. In
the fifth, BC Prospects came up with a big
three-run inning. Kanoa Morisaki singled and
BC Prospect’s Lucas Bonham steals second base against BC Rancho Grande. See Little League, page 14
When East meets West. The BC Prospects and the Kitasuna, Japan team pose after the last out.
went to third base when Bonham reached on
an error. Morisaki scored on a double steal to
make it 4-3. Caden Lewis’ RBI double made
it 5-3 and Brett Abitante’s fielder’s choice
made it 6-3.
In the sixth inning the BC Rancho Grande
team had an opportunity to close the gap after
drawing four walks, but didn’t score and lost 6-3.
Pitching was tough on both teams. Dylan
Immel for the Prospects struck out five and
walked two in four innings. Roman Mahler
struck out seven in three innings of relief for
Rancho Grande.
Beach City Prospects punched their ticket to
the championship game with an exciting win
over the Simi Valley Patriots. Dylan Immel’s
walk-off single scored Deegan Grgas to give
the Prospects the win. Max Martinez tossed
four innings and Morisaki finished off the
Patriots’ hot-hitting team.
Kitasuna Advances to Final
Kitasuna’s pitching overwhelmed the Horned
Frogs from Sherman Oaks 14-0, and then shut
out the Redondo Sunset Little League 5-0
before eliminating BC Red 12-1 to reach the
final against BC Prospects.
To put into perspective how disciplined and
good Kitasuna is, the team substitutes freely
when a player makes a mental mistake or appears
to not play at 100 percent. The substitute
knows the consequences and therefore there
is little drop-off in talent level.
The BC Prospects are the only squad to
defeat a Kitasuna team on US soil other than at
the Little League World Series. The Prospects’
3-1 victory in an exhibition game before the
tournament began and also two seasons ago in
the finale (7-3) are Kitasuna’s only blemishes
outside of Williamsport.
Prior to the championship game, nearly 200
spectators sat as former Beach City Prospects
manager Derrick Duarte addressed the crowd
on the passing and memory of another former
Beach City Baseball Academy coach. Brett
Mendoza was tragically taken from us two
weeks ago and his best friend Derrick honored
him with a heartfelt tribute. Brett’s sister Lauren
threw out the first pitch in honor of her
brother before the start of the game and was
given special gifts from the Kitasuna team.
In last year’s final, Kitasuna banged out five
home runs in the first inning and went on to win
easily. This year Kitasuna didn’t have a 12-hit
first inning, but did score early. Taiki Horiguchi
had an RBI double and Eishin Beppu unloaded
on a 275 foot three-run homer to make it 4-0.
In the second inning, Hibiki Yumisashi hit a
towering two-run blast to centerfield. Then
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Dylan Acala and Cruz Ochoa led the BC Surf to an exciting finish in the International Little League Tournament.