Park View Little Leaguers dogpile after the final out of the World Series/(AP Photo)
The whirlwind ride which has captivated San Diego for the past three weeks has ended with the Park View Little League All-Stars of Chula Vista delivering a world championship to their hometown. In another thriller from Robert J. Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, PA, Chula Vista overcame a 3-0 deficit to defeat Chinese Taipei 6-3 and claim the Little League World Series Championship. Bulla Graft’s go-ahead RBI single in the 4th put Park View up for good, while Andy Rios continued his dominant World Series with three hits, an RBI, and a dazzling defensive play at shortstop. It’s the first Little League World Series championship for San Diego County since El Cajon/La Mesa Northern won in 1961.
“It’s been unbelievable,” said PVLL president Rod Roberto in postgame comments to KGTV, ”I pulled back and watched as the kids dogpiled on the mound. What a feeling.”
With a packed crowd of over 32,000 jamming the hillsides above Lamade Stadium, and vice president Joe Biden watching from the stands, Chinese Taipei and Chula Vista lived up to their billing as the top two teams in Little League baseball. Taipei lefty pitcher Chin Ou baffled the Park View sluggers early in the game with a tough changeup and breaking ball. Isaiah Armenta got off to a good start on the mound for Park View, striking out five in the first two innings. Scoreless in the 3rd, Chinese Taipei forced the Blue Bombers to experience what it’s like on the other end of a potent power display. Top Taiwanese slugger Wen-Hua Sung launched a two-run homer halfway up the hill, a 300+ foot blast, to give Chinese Taipei a 2-0 lead. Chin Ou followed by pulling a high pitch over the right-field fence, and the Park View All-Stars were staring at a 3-0 deficit. Armenta was replaced by Kiko Garcia on the mound, who did not allow a hit the rest of the game.
Chula Vista’s comeback started with some rare defensive generosity from Chinese Taipei, which entered the World Series final with only three errors. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 3rd, Chin Ou struck out Bulla Graft and had two strikes on Bradley Roberto, when Roberto’s slow roller was bobbled at second base for an error, closing the deficit to 3-1.
Nick Conlin slides in with the game-tying run for Chula Vista/(AP Photo)
In the fourth, Park View turned the game around for good. After an easy inning on the mound for Kiko Garcia, the PVLL bench sparked the comeback. Jensen Petersen came off the bench to single, and Nick Conlin followed with his only hit of the World Series, a pinch-hit double, putting runners at 2nd and 3rd with nobody out. Seth Godfrey’s RBI sac fly plated Petersen to make it 3-2. Andy Rios singled to put runners at the corners, and with Garcia at the plate, a wild pitch scored Conlin, tying the game at three. Garcia wound up striking out for the second out of the inning, and with Rios at second base, Chinese Taipei elected to intentionally walk Luke Ramirez. Bulla Graft made the strategy backfire when he lined a fastball over the second baseman’s head for a clean RBI single, giving Chula Vista a 4-3 lead.
The drama was far from over, however. In the 5th, a pair of hit batsmen and a walk loaded the bases for Chin Ou with just one out. With Garcia on the ropes, it was “Hollywood” Andy Rios to the rescue once again. Ou hit a high hopper to short, which Rios short-hopped, tagging the runner going by before firing to first base to complete the 6-3 double play. It was a big league-quality play to get the Little Leaguers out of a jam.
Celebration on the field after the final out/(AP Photo)
The Blue Bombers, who set a Little League World Series record for homers, hit none over the fence in Sunday’s championship. They wouldn’t need power on this day, relying on clutch hitting instead. In the bottom of the 5th, Seth Godfrey’s inside-out RBI double with two outs brought home Oscar Castro Jr. to make it 5-3. Andy Rios, who wasn’t retired even one time during championship weekend, then lined a single to left to give Park View their 6-3 final score. Garcia struck out the side in the 6th to close out the game and begin the celebration in Williamsport, Chula Vista, and parts beyond.
League president Rod Roberto told KGTV he had great pride in the work done by manager Oscar Castro and coach Ric Ramirez.
“They made great adjustments along the way. They had different gameplans and found a rhythm with the team. At the beginning in Williamsport, the coaches asked the players, do you want to have a lot of fun and maybe win it, or a little bit of fun and try to win the whole thing. The kids voted they wanted to have a little bit of fun and win it.”
Now, the real fun begins. A parade will take place in downtown Chula Vista on Friday to celebrate PVLL’s world title, and the Padres and Chargers have already contacted the team to schedule on-field celebrations as well at upcoming games. Here on 619 Sports we will attempt to have further interviews from Williamsport before the day is done.
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CHAMPIONS!!! Chula Vista Wins Little League World Series
by Craig on August 30, 2009
Park View Little Leaguers dogpile after the final out of the World Series/(AP Photo)
The whirlwind ride which has captivated San Diego for the past three weeks has ended with the Park View Little League All-Stars of Chula Vista delivering a world championship to their hometown. In another thriller from Robert J. Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, PA, Chula Vista overcame a 3-0 deficit to defeat Chinese Taipei 6-3 and claim the Little League World Series Championship. Bulla Graft’s go-ahead RBI single in the 4th put Park View up for good, while Andy Rios continued his dominant World Series with three hits, an RBI, and a dazzling defensive play at shortstop. It’s the first Little League World Series championship for San Diego County since El Cajon/La Mesa Northern won in 1961.
“It’s been unbelievable,” said PVLL president Rod Roberto in postgame comments to KGTV, ”I pulled back and watched as the kids dogpiled on the mound. What a feeling.”
With a packed crowd of over 32,000 jamming the hillsides above Lamade Stadium, and vice president Joe Biden watching from the stands, Chinese Taipei and Chula Vista lived up to their billing as the top two teams in Little League baseball. Taipei lefty pitcher Chin Ou baffled the Park View sluggers early in the game with a tough changeup and breaking ball. Isaiah Armenta got off to a good start on the mound for Park View, striking out five in the first two innings. Scoreless in the 3rd, Chinese Taipei forced the Blue Bombers to experience what it’s like on the other end of a potent power display. Top Taiwanese slugger Wen-Hua Sung launched a two-run homer halfway up the hill, a 300+ foot blast, to give Chinese Taipei a 2-0 lead. Chin Ou followed by pulling a high pitch over the right-field fence, and the Park View All-Stars were staring at a 3-0 deficit. Armenta was replaced by Kiko Garcia on the mound, who did not allow a hit the rest of the game.
Chula Vista’s comeback started with some rare defensive generosity from Chinese Taipei, which entered the World Series final with only three errors. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 3rd, Chin Ou struck out Bulla Graft and had two strikes on Bradley Roberto, when Roberto’s slow roller was bobbled at second base for an error, closing the deficit to 3-1.
Nick Conlin slides in with the game-tying run for Chula Vista/(AP Photo)
In the fourth, Park View turned the game around for good. After an easy inning on the mound for Kiko Garcia, the PVLL bench sparked the comeback. Jensen Petersen came off the bench to single, and Nick Conlin followed with his only hit of the World Series, a pinch-hit double, putting runners at 2nd and 3rd with nobody out. Seth Godfrey’s RBI sac fly plated Petersen to make it 3-2. Andy Rios singled to put runners at the corners, and with Garcia at the plate, a wild pitch scored Conlin, tying the game at three. Garcia wound up striking out for the second out of the inning, and with Rios at second base, Chinese Taipei elected to intentionally walk Luke Ramirez. Bulla Graft made the strategy backfire when he lined a fastball over the second baseman’s head for a clean RBI single, giving Chula Vista a 4-3 lead.
The drama was far from over, however. In the 5th, a pair of hit batsmen and a walk loaded the bases for Chin Ou with just one out. With Garcia on the ropes, it was “Hollywood” Andy Rios to the rescue once again. Ou hit a high hopper to short, which Rios short-hopped, tagging the runner going by before firing to first base to complete the 6-3 double play. It was a big league-quality play to get the Little Leaguers out of a jam.
Celebration on the field after the final out/(AP Photo)
The Blue Bombers, who set a Little League World Series record for homers, hit none over the fence in Sunday’s championship. They wouldn’t need power on this day, relying on clutch hitting instead. In the bottom of the 5th, Seth Godfrey’s inside-out RBI double with two outs brought home Oscar Castro Jr. to make it 5-3. Andy Rios, who wasn’t retired even one time during championship weekend, then lined a single to left to give Park View their 6-3 final score. Garcia struck out the side in the 6th to close out the game and begin the celebration in Williamsport, Chula Vista, and parts beyond.
League president Rod Roberto told KGTV he had great pride in the work done by manager Oscar Castro and coach Ric Ramirez.
“They made great adjustments along the way. They had different gameplans and found a rhythm with the team. At the beginning in Williamsport, the coaches asked the players, do you want to have a lot of fun and maybe win it, or a little bit of fun and try to win the whole thing. The kids voted they wanted to have a little bit of fun and win it.”
Now, the real fun begins. A parade will take place in downtown Chula Vista on Friday to celebrate PVLL’s world title, and the Padres and Chargers have already contacted the team to schedule on-field celebrations as well at upcoming games. Here on 619 Sports we will attempt to have further interviews from Williamsport before the day is done.
Related Posts
Tagged as: 6-3, Andy Rios, Armenta, Blue Bombers, Breaking Ball, Bulla Graft, Changeup, Chinese Taipei, Chula Vista, Chula Vista Little Leaguers, Dominant World, Early In The Game, Field Fence, High Pitch, Joe Biden, Lamade Stadium, Little League Baseball, Little League World Series, Little League World Series champions, Park View Little League, Park View Little League All-Stars, Photo Caption, Postgame Comments, Potent Power, President Joe, Pvll, Seth Godfrey, Sluggers, West, Williamsport Pa, win, World Champions