SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Sunnyside Little League failed to get a hit against starting pitcher Kapono Nakanelua of Sweetwater Valley, the Southern California representative in the Western Regional Little League tournament.
Damian Lorta, who had been the best hitter for Sunnyside, had a ground out to second to end a scoreless first inning. Izaiah Moraga, the fourth starter for Sunnyside, yielded a long home run to lose a shutout and a no-hitter.
You might think it was a difficult night for team manager Francisco Rivero and the players.
Actually, things weren’t difficult at all for the Sunnyside Little Leaguers — except for some tension in the end.
Sunnyside scored a run in the second inning and posted crooked numbers in the next two innings, earning a 8-6 victory in Wednesday night's elimination game.
Sunnyside advances to Friday night’s Western Regional semifinal game.
Friday's game will be televised on ESPN.
“We have a lot of confidence and we will finish what we start,” Sunnyside coach Francisco Rivero said. He added that the coaches, parents, and players said prayers and credited God for watching over the team.
“We knew they were a good team and we had to battle inning by inning. Our offense showed up for one more day.”
While it was true that Sunnyside didn’t get a hit against the starter, three players reached base on walks. Catcher Jordan Mayboca was hit by a pitch to start the second inning, and scored the first run on two wild pitches and the front end of a double steal.
Sunnyside scored five runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 6-0 lead. Andrew Romo led off the inning with a walk, and he had another walk later in the inning.
Romo stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. Aciel Guillen drew another walk. Romo scored the second run when he and Guillen executed a double-steal.
Juan Hernandez got the first hit of the game when he bunted down the third base line. Hernandez stole second when catcher Adrik Sanchez held onto the ball in hopes of preventing another double steal.
It didn’t matter.
Damian Lorta hit a three-run homer to give Sunnyside a 5-0 lead. It was his third home run of the regional tournament, but it wouldn’t be his last. His second home run was went further than the first.
“I fouled off three pitches and then sat back more,” Lorta said.
Sunnyside pitcher Izaiah Moraga didn’t allow Sweetwater Valley to get a hit in the first three innings. After giving up a home run to Daniel Sanchez, he retired the next three batters in the fourth inning.
“I was nervous at first, but when I saw their swings I knew what pitches I could get by them,” Moraga said.
Sweetwater got three runs when Josh Hughes hit a bases-loaded triple to cut Sunnyside’s lead to 8-5. After Daniel Sanchez singled, Francisco Rivero Jr. came in and struck out two batters to end the inning.
“Izaiah did a really good job,” Rivero Jr. said. “After seeing him pitch, I knew what they could and couldn’t hit.”
Sweetwater added one run in the sixth, but Rivero Jr. retired Hughes on a fielder’s choice to lock up the victory.
“I was waiting for the opportunity to pitch,” Rivero Jr. said, adding that he hadn’t had many chances to pitch during the postseason. While the younger Rivero was impressive, his father and manager said it won’t be enough to not have to clean his room.
