All stars fall in title game; 8-10’s battling in District 35 tourney
It’s been an exciting stretch of baseball for a pair of Cloverdale Little League teams in District 35 tournament action, with one falling just short of glory while the other continues to battle.
Representing Cloverdale are the junior and 8- to 10-year-old squads.
The CLL junior all stars, led by manager Jason Jenkins and coaches Ian Jones and Matt Lemley, made a great run at the District 35 championship with three wins before ending their season with a loss in the title game.
Cloverdale opened the tourney on June 22 with a 12-2 romp in five over defending champion Sebastopol. The CLL stars fell the following day to Santa Rosa American, 14-4 but reeled off successive wins over Petaluma National (5-4) and Westside (7-2) to set up a title clash with unbeaten Santa Rosa American on June 27. Cloverdale would run out magic, falling in the rematch to their tourney nemesis, 12-2.
The CLL junior team included Kolby Jenkins, Emilio Diaz, Dylan Jones, Casey Lemley, Audie Hanes, Dominic Vellutini, Travis Wilson, Diesel Cavallo, Caden Axell and Ayal Fitchelber.
Meanwhile, the 8- to 10- year-old all star team, led by manager Carl Howell and coaches Adolpho Espinoza and Cheyene Langston, opened the District 35 tournament on June 29 at Rincon Valley with a 14-7 loss to Ukiah. The boys bounced back in a big way the following day with a 19-10 win over Laytonville. At press time Cloverdale was preparing to take on El Molino in an elimination game on July 1.
The 8-10 year-old roster includes Jaxson Randolph, Vaughn Randolph, Danny Espinoza, Caleb Howell, Evan Robledo, Jayden Jackson, Cash Langston, Kingston Cavallo, Damian Flores, JR Damian, Chase Tilghman, Tristan Huls and Wyatt Plum.
