The teams and opening match-ups have been set for the Western Regionals Little League tournament in San Bernardino.
The tournament – it is actually two in one (Western Region and Northwest Region) – is the qualifier for the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Cambrian Park Little League of San Jose won the NorCal title and will meet Chandler National North of Arizona in Game 1 of the West Region tourney at 8:30 a.m. Sunday.
Cambrian Park defeated River Park American 11-0 in four innings to win the divisional tournament.
Some of the Cambrian Park standouts are Jacob Meza, Johnny Tarantino, Griffin Allen, Seita Shiratori and Tyler Pearson.
Players stay in barracks in San Bernardino on the sprawling grounds of the Western Regional headquarters. There is a swimming pool, cafateria, basketball courts and ping pong tables. Some teams take field trips on off days to nearby amusements such as Disneyland or the beach. Houghton Stadium, which hosts the games, holds more than 8,000 fans and the stadium often fills up for such showdowns as NorCal vs. SoCal.
The players keep themselves busy on the regional grounds, swapping Little League pins, playing various forms of baseball and splashing around in the pool to cool off under the sizzling Inland Empire sun. Meantime, the parents of the players usually stay together in hotels on Hospitality Lane in San Bernardino and enjoy the games and devise their own fun.
Other teams in the West Region are Waipio LL of Waipahu, Hawaii; Paseo Verde LL of Henderson, Nevada; Sweetwater Valley LL of Bonita in Southern California and Snow Canyon LL of Santa Clara, Utah.
The other West Region opening game is SoCal vs. Hawaii at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The teams qualifying for the Northwest Region tourney are Gastineau Channel LL of Juneau, Alaska; West Valley LL of Eagle, Idaho; Boulder Arrowhead LL of Billings, Montana; Wilshire/Riverside LL of Portland, Oregon; Cascade LL of Vancouver, Washington; and Gillette LL of Gillette, Wyoming.
Northwest opening games are Oregon vs. Wyoming at 11 a.m. Sunday and Washington vs. Idaho at 4 p.m. Sunday.
The Northwest Region concludes Aug. 15 and the West on Aug. 16 with title games telecast on ESPN or ESPN2.
