Luke Ramirez celebrates the final out for Park View/(AP Photo)
In a battle of boys vs. boys, it was a battle of men vs. boys. The Park View Little League All-Stars scored nine runs in the first and never looked back, beating San Antonio, Texas 12-2 in 3 1/2 innings, a game shortened by the Little League 10-run mercy rule. The big first inning was started by a Luke Ramirez three-run homer and ended by an Andy Rios grand slam. Bulla Graft homered twice for Chula Vista and drove in four. The US champion Blue Bombers will face Chinese Taipei on Sunday in the World Series championship at Howard J. Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.Park View roared out of the gates like a caged tiger, showing no effects from a four-hour delay brought on by over 2 1/2 inches of rain in Williamsport. Andy Rios, who had delivered the clutch game-tying homer in PVLL’s 11-10 semifinal thriller, got things started on defense, making a leaping catch to start a 6-3 double play that ended the top of the first inning. Rios then singled to start the Bombers’ barrage. After a Kiko Garcia walk, Luke Ramirez launched a soaring homerun off the back of the brick facade in center field, putting Park View ahead 3-0. Bulla Graft followed with an arcing fly ball just over the right-field fence for back-to-back homers and a 4-0 advantage.
The San Antonio team, which had made a name for themselves on defense, turning three double plays in bases-loaded situations in the semis, unraveled with three errors in the next five batters. With the bases loaded, Rios crushed a high pitch deep over the center field fence for his 5th homerun of the World Series. It was 9-0 and all but over.
Luke Ramirez, who has battled a sore shoulder in Williamsport, didn’t allow a hit over the first three innings and pitched all the way for Chula Vista, winning for the second time as a starter. When Bulla Graft hit a three-run homer halfway up the hill in the 3rd to make it 12-0, San Antonio had to answer with three runs in the fourth to avoid mercy rule elimination. The Texas kids scored two and had a runner at 3rd before Ramirez closed out the game and the United States championship.
Park View will take on a Chinese Taipei team that has won 17 Little League World Series titles, but none since a 1996 redistricting changed the area they could draw from to form the team. The All-Stars from Chula Vista are the first San Diego team to advance to the Little League World Series championship game since El Cajon Western in 1977, and they are looking to become the second team ever and first since 1961 (El Cajon/La Mesa Northern) to capture the world title. The game will be on ABC Sunday at 12pm.
Craig Elsten -
Chris Ello -
Chainsaw -
