SPORTS

It’s the big time: LL World Series

Players on the Scripps Ranch Little League Intermediate All-Star team are now Western Regional champions, now competing with teams from all over the globe at Max Baer Park in Livermore, Calif., in the first round of the Intermediate Little League World Series. (photo courtesy of SRLL)

It’s the big time: LL World Series

The Scripps Ranch Little League (SRLL) Intermediate Division All-Star team, U.S. Western Region Champions, is representing the entire Western United States and will play the All-Star team from Ankeny Little League in Ankeny, Iowa, representing the Central United States at 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 29 at Max Baer Park in Livermore, Calif., in the first round of the Intermediate Little League World Series.

The Scripps Ranch Little League Intermediate Division All-Star team earned the right to be in the Little League World Series by capturing a 13-6 victory over Hawaii on Thursday, July 26 in Nogales, Ariz., thereby becoming the Intermediate West champions.

This team is undefeated in 2018 post-season play, and incredible accomplishment. It has gone 17-0 and won the District 32, Section 6 in Southern California. No team in District 32 has ever advanced to a World Series. It will represent the Western United States in the World Series tournament against All-Star teams from the Central, Southwestern, Southeastern and Eastern regions of the United States and Puerto Rico, the host team from Livermore Little League (the District 57 Host) and international challengers from Europe-Africa, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Australia and Canada.

Scripps Ranch played some amazing baseball over the last six weeks to win the District, Section, State and Regional tournaments. Strong pitching and incredible hitting have carried the team throughout the journey. These players and coaches will put their lives on hold as they compete in their first World Series game on July 29. Parents of these players and their families, along with their coaches have been there the whole way to support the team.

There are a few ways to follow along live during the World Series games. Little League will be live streaming the games at http://intermediateworldseries.org/games/.

Fans can follow along using GameChanger by signing up to be a fan at https://gc.com/t/summer-2018/other-inter_med-stars-5b1db936fbbfc700217ca332.

There will be a watch party tomorrow from 3 to 5 p.m. at Board & Brew, 9880 Hibert St.

A GoFundMe has been set up to support the Scripps Ranch players to help with travel costs, lodging and associated expenses. Visit https://www.gofundme.com/srll-intermediate-allstars?member=444888.

Scripps Ranch Little League wishes to give special thanks to Felicity Hunter and Jennifer Seiff for providing the Facebook Live feeds for all of the fans in Scripps Ranch that have been following along with the team.

Games in the World Series tournament are scheduled to be played from July 29 through Aug. 5. Three final games on Aug. 4 and 5 are scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN.

Scripps Ranch Little League thanks the sponsors below for donating additional dollars to help support the team: Champion T-Shirts, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Rita’s Italian Ice, Replica Printing Services, Scripps Ranch Old Pros, #TeamChloe, Homes by Felicity, Kevin Eastman Studios, West Coast Civil, Yogurt Heaven, Pazzo’s Pizza, San Diego Padres, Clark Pest Control and Ryan Real Estate Group.

Great season highlighted by playoff run

By Bella Ross

The Scripps Ranch Little League (SRLL) Intermediate All-Star team is now in the World Series: the first time in SRLL’s 43-year history that an Intermediate team has accomplished such a feat.

SRLL’s regular season and All-Star competitions ended for the other teams earlier this summer and SRLL President Marcus Armstrong reflected on his first season as league president. He said he wanted to ensure the tradition of baseball is one the kids of Scripps Ranch experienced. Armstrong didn’t want to change much. In addition, he said Little League is something that has always been familiar to him.

“I felt the need to volunteer because it’s something that my grandfather, my mom and my dad did while I was growing up, so it was something I was familiar with,” he said. “Little league was something that I’d always done and it’s just a way for me to give back to my community.”

If there is one thing the league needs, it’s parent volunteers, Armstrong said.

“We are in need of some board members right now,” he explained. “We have some openings that are coming up, so we’re going to need some additional parent volunteers to step up and help out. It’s a lot of work and there’s a lot of time commitment to it, but we can’t have a successful season without parent volunteers, and the board is the place to start.”

Even though the spring season has passed, the league offers a fall season for kids who want to be a part of the sport year-round. Registration for the fall season is underway.

There are differences between the fall and spring programs. To start, Armstrong said, the fall program is not nearly as busy. The season has a greater focus on instruction than competition, he said.

Armstrong emphasized the importance of staying on top of the registration dates. Even though the 2019 season doesn’t get underway until March, registration could start as soon as November, with registration closing toward the start of the new year. Visit manageyourleague.com/SRLL/.