2009 Little League World Series

UPDATE (8/29/09): Park View wins rematch, earns World Series Championship game invite. Park View continued their assault on opposing pitching, banging out nine hits to win the rematch with McAllister Park American Little League (TX, Southwest) 12-2. The game, which started four hours later than scheduled because of rain earlier in the day, was never close, as Park View batted around in the first inning and knocked around two Texas pitchers while blasting three home runs to take a 9-0 lead. The three home runs, a three run blast by Ramirez, a solo shot by Graft, and a grand slam by Rios, broke the record for most home runs by a team since the fences at Williamsport were moved back to the current 225 feet. They also broke the record for most combined home runs in a World Series by all teams. Ramirez held Texas hitless until the fourth, when he gave up two runs on just one hit to close out the victory in four innings. Graft added his second homer of the game, a two run shot, in the third to give Park View the mercy rule cushion. Click HERE to view the box score. As the best Little League team in the United States, Park View will face off against the International Champions, Kuei-Shan Little League (Chinese Taipei, Asia-Pacific) for the World Series title on Sunday August 30 at 12:00 PM PDT. The Park View team is just the third team ever from San Diego County to advance to the World Championship game.  

UPDATE (8/27/09): Park View wins, advances to U. S. Championship. Park View had to come from behind twice to defeat Warner Robins American Little League (GA, Southeast) and earn the trip to the U.S. Championship game, winning 11-10 in the bottom of the sixth inning on a wild pitch with the bases loaded. After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the second, Park View took their first lead in the third inning, led by Godfrey's solo shot, a three run moonshot by Ramirez, and back-to-back doubles that made the score 5-1. The Southeast Region champs came right back to score nine runs in the top of the fourth to regain the lead at 10-5. PV wasn't finished however, as Garcia mashed a two-run blast in the fourth to cut the lead to 10-7. The boys in blue tied the score with three runs in the fifth, capped by Rios' game-tying two-run homer. Georgia was held scoreless in their half of the sixth, but Park View loaded the bases with none out in their half, before Warner Robins uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Conlin to score the winning run from third. That set off wild celebrations from the crowd of 21,000 in Lamade Stadium, and hundreds of thousands of fans in Southern California. Click HERE to see the box score. Park View now gets a rematch against McAllister Park American Little League (TX, Southwest) for the U. S. Championship, on Saturday August 29, at 12:00 PM PDT. The winner advances to the World Series Championship on Sunday August 30, while the loser will play in the consolation game, also on Sunday. The loss eliminates Georgia from the Tournament, and also prevented them from sweeping the Little League World Series titles in 2009. The Warner Robins girls All-Stars had already won the 2009 Little League Softball World Series in Portland, OR earlier this month.

UPDATE (8/25/09): Park View loses final game of pool play. Park View was dragged back down to reality, losing a 6-3 decision to McAllister Park American Little League (TX, Southwest) in front of an announced crowd of 22,500. The kids from Chula Vista broke out a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a two-run homer by Garcia. The lead held up until the third, when Texas put up a four-spot, capped by a two-run homer. Park View cut the gap to 4-3 with a single run in the bottom of the fourth, but could get no closer. McAllister tacked on another two-run homer in the top of the sixth to close out the scoring. Click HERE to check out the box score. The loss gives Park View the second seed from Pool B, and they will face Warner Robins American Little League (GA, Southeast) on Thursday August 27 at 5:00 PM PDT. The winner advances to the U.S. title game, while the loser is eliminated from the Tournament.

UDDATE (8/23/09): Park View clinches spot in U.S. Semi-Finals. Park View continued their winning ways with a 14-0 victory over Peabody Western Little League (MA, New England) at Volunteer Stadium. A pitching duel broke out early, with Ramirez matching Peabody's pitcher inning for inning, racking up 11 K's out of the 17 batters he faced. Ramirez surrendered 2 hits and walked 2 before departing after the fourth with a 1-0 lead. Godfrey hit a solo homer in the fifth to go up 2-0 and you could sense things were changing. That seemed to open the flood gates for the boys in blue. They batted around and then some in the sixth, feasting on Peabody's relief pitching and scoring 12 runs on 11 hits in the inning. Several players had two hits in the inning, including Porras, who is finally breaking out of a mini-slump, and Rios, who went deep twice. Park View is now 2-0 in pool play and is guaranteed a spot in the U.S. Semi-Finals that begin on Wednesday August 26. They will play McAllister Park American Little League (TX, Southwest), who is also 2-0, on Tuesday at 5:00 PM PDT to determine seeding for the Semi-Final games. Click HERE to check the box score.

UPDATE (8/22/09): Park View opens pool play with big win. Park View opened up a 2-0 lead after one inning and never looked back, handing Logan County/Russellville Little League (KY, Great Lakes Region) a 15-0 defeat in front of an estimated crowd of 19,500 in Lamade Stadium. Roberto mashed a two-run triple in the top of the first to open the scoring. Ramirez led off the third with a solo shot to make the score 3-0. The fireworks really started in the fourth inning, with Ramirez (three-run blast) and Roberto (two-run shot) providing the big blows. Armenta, Godfrey and Rios led off the fifth with back-to-back-to-back round trippers, and Garcia blasted a three-run homer to back up his four-inning, one-hit pitching performance. Castro threw a perfect fifth inning to close out the game. Click HERE to view the box score. The seven home runs in a single World Series game could be a record, officials are checking to verify that. Park View will face Peabody Western Little League (MA, New England) on Sunday at 3:00 PM PDT.

The 2009 Little League World Series is under way in Williamsport, PA, and the Park View Little League team begins their quest for the Championship today at 5:00 PM PDT. All the games from the World Series are televised, so make sure you get settled in front of a TV at your favorite place of relaxation and catch all the action. I'm pretty sure that most, if not all, of the TV's in Chula Vista, and San Diego for that matter, will be tuned in to ESPN2 this evening. As always, we'll keep you informed of the outcome of each game and post the box scores here as they become available.

GOOD LUCK PARK VIEW, AND HAVE FUN!