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Last updated
12-05-09 09:07 AM
 
Palmdale Little League
(661) 285-2166
P.O. Box 900732
55th Street East & Avenue R-4
Palmdale, California
93590
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Friday, August 13
2004 Big League Softball All Stars - District 51 goes to Kalamazoo, Mich
This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press on Friday, August 13, 2004. By RYAN MARTINEZ Valley Press Staff Writer
PALMDALE - The Palmdale Little League already has two World Series championship banners hanging. The girls Big League District 51 softball team wants to add to that. "This team has a chance," District 51 manager Walt Patison said. "Again, I'm not bragging or shooting the gun early, but this team could end up on ESPN." The District 51 team will be going to the 2004 Big World Softball Series in Kalamazoo, Mich., that starts on Aug. 16. The team advanced by winning the Western Regional Tournament held at Domenic Massari Park on Thursday. It beat California District 16 from Glendale in the championship game, 1-0. The Palmdale Little League won the Big League World Series in 1996 and also won in the Senior Girls Softball division in 1997, a team that was coached by Patison. This will be District 51's seventh trip to the World Series since winning it in '96. "I'm very excited," three-year District 51 player Tayler Wilson said. "There's lots of excitement. The girls (that haven't gone) don't know what to expect." Wilson is one of two players that went the World Series in 2002, where District 51 placed third. Chanel Reaves, who will play for Iowa Western Community College in the fall, was the other player on that team. District 51 can expect several things from the tournament that will bring several countries together and will have the championship game on Aug. 21 aired on ESPN on a time-delay. When the week-long tournament starts, the District 51 will be playing doubleheaders for the first three days. "The National Games are fine for (the Amateur Softball Association), but the there's nothing like the World Series," Patison said. "It will be tough, but I think these girls will end up in the grand finale. These girls think the same way." The team can also expect to be treated extremely well. A host family in the area will provide food, shelter and rides to games and practices. "We had an awesome host the last time," Wilson said. "I think we are going to get the same family. "Everything is so awesome at the tournament. From the stadium to the people, it is just really special." Wilson was a big part of the District 51's success on a team with a surplus of talent. She scored the winning run in Thursday's championship game. "We've been sailing right along (in the Western Regional) and scoring in that first inning was really big," District 51 coach Ray Beltrami said. District 51 played District 16 on Tuesday in a game that had a lopsided score with District 51 winning 9-1. "Their team came to compete," Beltrami said. "I think the biggest change was their pitcher. She changed her style, slowed her pitch. It caught us with the wind." District 51 had five hits in the game, compared to 27 hits in the previous two games. Nicole Torres had the game's only extra-base hit with a double in the second inning. District 51 showed its depth in the circle by starting Sarah Ely, who pitched six innings and allowed two hits. Laura Calvert pitched the seventh. Nerves showed in the last inning when shortstop Jamie Prather dropped an infield fly for an error. The team bounced back by turning a double play with a tag by Wilson at second and then the force at first. California District 51 1, California District 16 0 District 16 000 000 0 - 0 2 1 District 51 100 000 0 - 1 5 1 Muirhead and Summers. Sarah Ely, Calvert (7) and Zapata. WP - Ely. LP - Muirhead. 2B: Torres (51).
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