SIGNUP AT CLAIREMONT FAMILY DAYS – AUG. 7, 8AM-4PM

It may be the heart of summer, but it's already time to start thinking about Winter Ball.

Signups will be held on Saturday, August 7 at South Clairemont Park (3605 Clairemont Dr.) during the Clairemont Family Days celebration from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Come by and see our booth, and get signed up for this fun "second season."

Cost is just $25, and covers a shirt, hat, baseballs, insurance and umpires. If your child played during the Spring season, you don't need to bring any paperwork. There will be just a couple of simple forms to fill out. New players to our league need a birth certificate and proof of residency. Teams generally practice once a week until the season begins.

The season, which runs on Sunday afternoons from September 12 until November 21, is designed to give kids a chance to learn new positions, work on new skills, and just get out and enjoy the game of baseball. It is especially helpful for kids expecting to make the transition to a higher division in the next spring season. All of this is accomplished in a low-key, instructional atmosphere, which gives kids a chance to try new things without feeling the pressure of scores and standings.

Games will be played with some of our neighboring leagues, including Clairemont Mesa, Mission Bay, University City, Presidio and a few others. It's a lot of fun and a great way for your kids to keep enjoying the fun and friendships they developed during the regular season.

We hope to have teams in the Farm, Minors, Majors, and Juniors divisions during Winter Ball, but that is all dependent on the number of signups we get. We will also be signing up managers and coaches, so if you are interested in helping with a team this Fall, please come get on our list. We will do final signups on Saturday, August 14 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon at our fields at Cadman.

If you have any questions, please contact Mike Van Cleave (858) 274-6420 or Ken Cicalo (619) 889-9216 for more information.

The latest edition of our highly popular Hilltoppers Poker Tournaments will take place on Saturday, October 9 at 5 p.m., and promises to be more fun and exciting than ever.

If you haven't attended one of our poker tournaments before, be sure to ask around to those who have, and hear some of their great stories. This has become a can't-miss Hilltoppers event. Don't worry if you're not a card shark, this is a fun tournament, with instruction available for beginners. Several first-time players have won prizes in our previous events, and the fun, food, music, camaraderie and fundraising are really what this event is all about.

Our host hotel will once again be the Best Western Seven Seas in Hotel Circle, and thanks again to Joe Toczylowski for making this possible. The Best Western will also again be offering great special room rates for the night of the event. More information on that will be available soon, along with information on our many great prizes.

Entries are just $30, with all proceeds going to Clairemont Hilltoppers. You can print out the entry form below and mail it in, but do it soon as this event is sure to sell out! We're looking for dealers as well as players, so spread the word and don't miss this extremely fun event!

Our Clairemont Hilltoppers Big League All-Star team ended its amazing postseason run on July 13, dropping 5-0 and 9-3 decisions to District 13 of Thousand Oaks, to finish one win shy of qualifying for the West Regional tournament in Bremerton, WA.

Although disappointed with the final outcome, we can all take great pride in this team, which advanced further than any Hilltoppers team in our 54-year history. After winning both our District and Section titles, they won three straight games at the Southern California Divisional Championship in Santa Fe Springs, to reach the July 13 final.

Thousand Oaks, which has placed teams in the Big League World Series six times (1998, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009) and won the World Championship twice (1998 and 2006), played almost flawlessly in the doubleheader, getting great pitching and timely hitting to build leads our kids just could not overcome. We wish them great success in the West Regional. Go SoCal!

After defeating a team from Chino Hills in District 23 on July 9, 10-0, and a team from Palmdale in District 51, 14-0 on July 7, the Hilltoppers defeated another traditional Big League powerhouse from District 46, 5-3 to advance to the final.

The team, led by coaches Randy Darman, Ross Majam and Brian Presley, won three straight games against Scripps Ranch, Mission Bay and Peninsula to win the District title. Players on the team include Alejandro and Ernesto Zavala, Mark Otero, Zack Reyes, Efren Olivas, Zak Darman, Jesus Zerpa, Mark Bial, Jose Bobadilla, Michaelray Duran, Austin Farmer, Taylor Patrick, and Robert Phiakeo. Most of these same players were on the Hilltoppers Senior division team which won both District and Sectional crowns in 2009. The youngest team in the Divisional tournament, all of our ballplayers are eligible to return to compete again next season.

For a final tournament bracket, click on the headline to this article. Thanks kids for a great ride. We'll see you next season!

All Clairemont Hilltoppers All-Star teams, except for Big League, have concluded All-Star play. Congratulations to all the players and coaches for an exciting and fun experience.

9/10-year-old Tournament: Hosted by Mission Bay Little League
• Lost a heartbreaker in their first game, 5-3 to Peninsula Little League on June 26
• Lost another heartbreaker in their second game, 8-7 to Point Loma on July 1, ending their tournament season.

10/11-year-old Tournament: Hosted by Peninsula Little League
• Won first game in a dramatic 5-4 decision against Peninsula Little League in 7 innings on June 26
• Lost their second game, 8-3 to Rancho Penasquitos North on July 1
• Won their third game in dramatic fashion once again, 8-7 in 7 innings, against Coronado on July 5
• Lost their fourth game to University City on July 7, ending their tournament season.

11/12-year-old Tournament: Hosted by Clairemont Mesa Little League
• Lost to Scripps Ranch National Little League 9-3 on June 26
• Lost their second game to University City, 7-3 on July 1, ending their tournament season.

Juniors Tournament: Hosted by University City Little League
• Lost first game to University City Little League
• Won second game on June 30, 13-2 vs. Mission Bay
• Lost their third game, 8-1 to Presidio on July 5, ending their tournament season.

Seniors Tournament: Hosted by Mira Mesa Little League
• Lost their first game to Scripps Ranch on July 1
• Lost a heartbreaker in their second game, 11-10 to University City on July 8

Big League Tournament: Hosted by Mission Bay Little League
• Won first game on June 26, 15-4 against Scripps Ranch Little League
• Won second game on June 27, 6-5 against Mission Bay
• Won third game on June 29, 3-0 against Peninsula.
Hilltoppers win District 32 Big League championship, and advance to Sectional Play.
• Won first game of Sectionals, 17-3 against District 41 on July 1
• Won second game of Sectionals, 23-2 against District 66 on July 2
• Won third and final game of Sectionals, 14-2 against District 66 on July 5
Hilltoppers win Section 7 championship, and advance to Divisional Play
• Won their first game in the Divisional tournament, 14-0 against Palmdale on July 7
• Won their second game in Divisional play, 10-0 against Chino Hills on July 9
• Won their third Divisional game, 5-3 against District 46 of Anaheim on July 11
Next game: Divisional Championship at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, July 13 against either District 46 or District 13. If Hilltoppers wins, they are Southern California Divisional Champs and advance to West Regional Tournament in Bremerton, Washington.

Check back here for ongoing results, and you can click on the headline to this article for a link to the District 32 website with updated results and tournament brackets.

All-Star teams in every division except Seniors and Big League were announced on June 15.

Managers are contacting players who have been selected. Older division selections will be announced at the end of June, as they are still in regular season play.

Opening games and rosters for our All-Star teams are as follows:

9/10-Year-Old All-Stars: Saturday, June 26 at 10 a.m. vs. Peninsula. Tournament hosted by Mission Bay Little League.
TEAM:
Cole Bechtel
Casey Granfors
Trevor Gorman
Emilio Hurtado
George Kinshofer
Jacob Klem
Michael McIver
Colin Ruthenberg
Shane Severson
Tyler Speidel
Anthony Valenzuela
Eric Waldichuk
Manager: Martin Iniguez
Coach: Pat Kinshofer

10/11-Year-Old All-Stars: Saturday, June 26 at 2 p.m. vs. Peninsula. Tournament hosted by Peninsula Little League.
TEAM:
Jayden Dimock
Caleb Espinoza
Austin Gerstenslager
Aaron Granfors
Brandon Hubert
Jacob Keltner
Elijah Leeper
Brenden Pearson
Josh Pizzo
Gavin Rasmussen
Juan Rojas
Phillip Willis
Joey Witkowski
Manager: Bardo Leeper
Coach: Troy Keltner
Coach: Joe Witkowski

11/12-Year-Old All-Stars: Saturday, June 26 at 10:30 a.m. vs. Scripps Ranch National. Tournament hosted by Clairemont Mesa Little League.
TEAM:
Morgan Albers
David Brown
Ken Castillo
Matt Clay
Michael Cortez
Alex Fields
Devin Fife
Alex Laguna
Elias Luna
Grant Ruthenberg
Alex Stigers
Ken Waldichuk
Manager: Mike Van Cleave
Coach: Ken Cicalo
First meeting for the 11/12-year-old team ONLY is the evening of June 15. Players and parents for this team are asked to attend the Majors Rays' TOC game at Rancho Penasquitos Little League. There will be a meeting for the All-Star team right after this game, where you will receive your All-Star hats and get practice schedule information.

Juniors All-Stars: Saturday, June 26 at 10 a.m. vs University City. Tournament hosted by University City Little League.
TEAM:
Justin Ashley
Kyle Ballard
David Camus
Kyle Eaton
Jeremy Granfors
Trent Kuczon
Bosque Leanio
Kyle LeBlanc
Jesse Morton
Jayke Thrasher
Brian Ruthenberg
Manager: Dave Granfors
Coach: Joel LeBlanc

Seniors All-Stars: Thursday, July 1 at 5:30 p.m. vs. Scripps Ranch. Tournament hosted by Mira Mesa Little League.

Big League All-Stars: Monday, June 28 at 5:30 p.m. vs. Scripps Ranch. Tournament hosted by Mission Bay Little League.

Congratulations to all. Be sure to come see our kids in action. These are some of the most exciting games of the year!

Ceremonies begin at 12 noon, with trophies to all of the league’s players, our annual elections, special awards and surprises. The championship game for the Farm division will be played at 9 a.m., with possible Minors and Majors division championships to also be played that morning.

Our delicious Outback BBQ lunch will be served from 11-2 p.m., and is only $3 a plate. There will also be jumpers for the kids, and later in the afternoon a Kids vs. Moms Softball Game for the Majors Division teams that should be must-see viewing.

At Closing Day, we honor all of our players and coaches for a great 2010 season, and will single out some who have really made this a year to remember. Our annual elections will also be held on Closing Day. Six positions will be filled to serve on the 2011 Hilltoppers Board of Directors: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Player Agent, and Senior Player Agent. Nominations will be taken from the floor during the election.

We will also have a Grand Prize drawing at the end of ceremonies, with a prize not to be missed.

Thanks to all who made 2010 a season to remember. A look back at just some of the great memories from this year would include: our fabulous fundraiser dinner at the SkyBox in February, our terrific Opening Day celebration featuring Luke Ramirez and family, our fun night out in April at our fourth annual Poker Tournament, the always great Never on Mother's Day coed softball tournament in early May, the Majors division's exciting weekend at the West Region Headquarters in San Bernardino, and finally our league playoffs.

In between, there were dozens of memorable games and hundreds of great plays. As we head into our tournament season and several more weeks of fun and excitement, we will look back and remember fondly the year we had, and realize that Winter Ball signups in August will be here before we know it!

End-of-the-season playoffs are have begun, and lots of exciting games are being enjoyed. Here are the schedules for each division. Winners of our Minors, Majors and Juniors Divisions will represent our league in the District 32 Tournament of Champions.

Farm Division
Teams with the top two regular season records received a first-round bye in the playoffs
Saturday, June 5: Rockies defeated Twins
Saturday, June 5: Marlins defeated Phillies
Tuesday, June 8: Marlins defeated Mets
Tuesday, June 8: Rockies defeated Orioles
Saturday, June 12: Rockies defeated Marlins.
Congratulations to the Rockies for winning the Farm Championship!

Minors Division
Teams with the top two regular season records received a first-round bye in the playoffs
Tuesday, June 1: Yankees defeated Giants
Thursday, June 3: Braves defeated A's
Saturday, June 5, 12 p.m., South Field: Yankees defeated Cardinals
Saturday, June 5, 3 p.m., South Field: Rangers defeated Braves
Monday, June 7: Yankees defeated Rangers in Game 1, completed Wed., June 9
Wednesday, June 9: Rangers defeated Yankees in Game 2 of best two-of-three.
Saturday, June 12: Yankees defeated Rangers
Congratulations to the Yankees for winning the Minors Championship
Yankees will begin Tournament of Champions play on Tuesday, June 15 at 5:30 p.m. vs. Point Loma. Minors Tournament of Champions will be played at our fields at Cadman Park.

Majors Division
Saturday, June 5, 12 p.m., Padres Field: Rays defeated Padres
Saturday, June 5, 2:30 p.m., Padres Field: Angels defeated Brewers
Monday, June 7, 5 p.m., Padres Field: Rays defeated Angels
Wednesday, June 9: Rays defeated Angels. Congratulations to the Rays for winning the Majors Championship!
Rays will begin Tournament of Champions play on Tuesday, June 15 at 5:30 p.m. vs. Rancho Penasquitos South. Majors Tournament of Champions will be hosted by Rancho Penasquitos Little League.

Juniors Division
Red Sox are Juniors Division Champions and will represent Clairemont Hilltoppers in the District 32 Juniors Tournament of Champions, which starts Monday, June 14 at Mission Bay Little League. The Red Sox first game will be Thursday, June 17 at 5:30 p.m. vs. University City.

Our champion teams in three divisions advanced to the District 32 Tournament of Champions the week of June 14-18. While all three suffered first-round losses, they all had definite moments of glory.

Minors Division: Our Yankees played at our fields, as we hosted the Minors Tournament of Champions at Clairemont Hilltoppers. On Tuesday, June 15 they battled against Point Loma Little League. The Yankees trailed 6-1 entering the 6th inning, before making one of their patented furious rallies. Battling sunset as well as the other team, the Yankees scored five runs in the top of the 6th to tie and had the bases loaded when daylight ran out. Unfortunately, Little League rules require reverting back to the last complete inning in that situation, meaning they went aweay with a hard-luck 6-1 loss.

Majors Division: Our Rays went up agsainst Majors TOC host Rancho Penasquitos South on Tuesday, June 15. Falling behind early, the Rays battled back behind the pitching and hitting of Alex Laguna and David Brown. With the game tied 4-4, they got the lead runner to first base in the bottom of the 6th inning, but were unable to bring him home for the win. In the top of the 7th, Penasquitos scored two runs to take a 6-4 lead. In the bottom halfd of the 7th, the Rays rallied again, with Austin Gerstenslager slugging a clutch two-out double to cut the lead to 6-5. Unfortunately, the Rays were unable to bring home another run, and finished with a heartbreaking 6-5 loss.

Juniors Division: Our Red Sox went up against University City on Thursday, June 17 at Mission Bay. They jumped out to an early three-run lead, but then were not able to withstand  the hitting of the U.C. team, and a few defensive mistakes compounded their misfortunes.

Congratulations to all three teams for getting this far and representing Clairemont Hilltoppers with pride.

A team of 8-year-olds from Clairemont Hilltoppers made us all proud, playing in a fun postseason tournament called "Little Stars," hosted by Mission Bay Little League, June 18-20.

In the fifth time that Clairemont Hilltoppers has entered teams in this tournament, the kids and parents who participated had a wonderful time, playing Friday, June 18 against Mission Bay; Saturday, June 19 against Point Loma and Peninsula; and finally Sunday, June 20 against Rancho Penasquitos North. We had a great group of 8-year-olds in our league this season, and they represented Clairemont Hilltoppers very well.

Thanks to Mission Bay Little League and all of their volunteers for putting on a great tournament. We look forward to sending our kids back again next year!

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For the last 14 years, this annual tournament has been a chance for Hilltoppers parents, coaches, families and friends to get together for a day of fun, food, camaraderie... and even some softball.

Again this year, 9 teams and almost 200 adults took part in this all-day coed tournament. Every team played a minimum of two games, and every participant went home with the beautiful souvenir tournament t-shirt.

A team of Hilltoppers alumni and friends, The Clairemont Crushers, went away with the title for the second consecutive year. Led by longtime Hilltoppers, the Armenta family, the Crushers defeated Team BS, in gthe championship game. BS was led by Hilltoppers President Bill Salonius. The Three Amigos, led by former Hilltopper Liza Reyes finished third in this year's tournament.

Many thanks to all of the parents, coaches and other volunteers who made the day such a great success. This is a great chance for kids from our league to come out and see the parents and coaches who have been giving them "advice" all year, try to live up to those standards. The fun and camaraderie are what make this annual event a highlight every year.

Don't miss your chance to be part of this great Hilltoppers tradition next year!

For the fifth time in recent years, Clairemont Hilltoppers Majors division teams enjoyed a fun baseball weekend at the West Region Headquarters in San Bernardino, on May 21-23.

Despite a freak thunderstorm (complete with lightning and hail) that wiped out the final games on Sunday morning, all four of our teams along with the two Majors teams from Clairemont Mesa, each got to play two games on the same stadium field where the West Regional All-Star Tournament will be held this August.

Beginning with a great combined barbecue on Friday evening, followed by a game under the lights between the Rays and Angels, the weekend kicked off with lots of food, fun and baseball. Kids spent the weekend sleeping in the same brand new dorms the All-Stars will stay in later this summer, and enjoyed great food in the cafeteria, swimming in the Olympic-sized pool and playing lots of ball.

There was also a fun home run derby contest on Saturday afternoon, featuring four players from each of the six participating teams. After a first round of hitting, the field was narrowed to five finalists, who then had a final round of hitting. Final results brought a third-place finish to David Brown, second-place to Alex Laguna, and a contest title to Grant Ruthenberg.

Well over 150 players, coaches, umpires and parents made the 90-minute road trip to San Bernardino, and all came back with stories to tell and memories to take with them for a long time. Many thanks to our host, West Region Director Jim Gerstenslager, and to his staff who made the weekend such a pleasure. Thanks also to our several volunteer umpires, along with our friends from Clairemont Mesa Little League, who made the weekend much more special by sharing it with us.

This has become a great annual tradition for our Majors Division teams. We all look forward to making a return trip next season.

Thanks to the generosity of our District 32 Little Leagues, a team of 11- and 12-year-olds from Vilnius, Lithuania spent a week in San Diego at the end of March, including two games played at our ballfield!

The team, known as Sporto Vilkai (Sports Wolves), arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday, March 27 and spent the next six days fully immersed in the baseball culture of District 32. Players and coaches were housed by host families from several leagues, giving both the Lithuanian players and our own 11- and 12-year-olds a tremendous opportunity to share and exchange customs of their own countries.

At Clairemont Hilltoppers, the Granfors, Ruthenberg and Brown families are each generously hosted a pair of players from this team.

The team played a doubleheader on Sunday, March 28, hosted by Clairemont Hilltoppers at Cadman Park. Our Majors division Padres team played the first game against Sporto Vilkai at 1 p.m., followed by a between-games barbecue, then a second game against a Clairemont Mesa team at 4 p.m. Subsequent games were played with host leagues Rancho Penasquitos Peninsula and Coronado.

In addition to the ballgames, the kids had some great opportunities to experience the San Diego area. They got a tour of Petco Park, went to the beach, hit at the Brickyard batting cages, and attended the San Diego premier of the soon-to-be-released Little League movie, "The Perfect Game." The final highlight of their trip was a visit to Sea World on Friday, April 5. That evening they traveled to Orange County, where they were to be hosted for a second week by leagues in that area for games and sightseeing.

Everyone involved with the experience came away raving about how great the kids were and what a great time it was to share this week with them. All of the host families and leagues did great jobs in making this special for the team, and they are sure to remember their time in San Diego for years to come.

This is the third time a team from Lithuania has made a springtime trip to Southern California, but the first time for District 32 to be involved. What a great experience for our kids to see a little bit of what baseball and childhood is like in other parts of the world. To read a nice article from the April 1st San Diego Union-Tribune about the experience, simply click on the headline to this article.

Named as Charter Members were 17 individuals whose achievements, contributions and leadership will forever be recognized with this honor. A permanent plaque listing the names of all current and future Hall of Famers hangs in our scorebooth building.

Following are the Inductees along with year named:

• Frank Adams (2006)
• Ron Conkle (2006)
• Ken Henderson (2006)
• Tom Franklin (2006)
• John Adams (2006)
• Link Lincavage (2006)
• Harold McCoy (2006)
• Jim Gerstenslager (2006)
• Dave Stephenson (2006)
• Mike Winters (2006)
• Dave Bermudes (2006)
• George Kovacevich (2006)
• Bill Salonius (2006)
• Jeanne Morrow (2006)
• Cesar Carmona (2006)
• Dave Pursel (2006)
• Mike Van Cleave (2006)
• Steve Conner (2008)

These members were recognized for their contributions in one or more of these four categories: Inspirational, Leadership, Volunteer and Special Recognition. Future members will be selected by a committee of current and former Hilltoppers.

Congratulations to all of these Hall of Famers, and many thanks for all you have meant to Clairemont Hilltoppers Little League.