The Sebastopol Little League Junior division all-star squad continued to make league history last weekend, advancing to the Section 1 championship round with exciting wins over Vacaville and Oakland.
The team, led by manager JP Merlaud and coaches Jim Brown and Geoff Fox, features 13-14 year-old players Henry Baggett, Hunter Cassatt, Colin Davis, Meyer Feilecan, Jacob Fitch, Ahren Fowles-Parnay, Brenden Fox, Miles Gaberman, Ruben Guiterrez, Kyle Hardesty, Cade Martignoli, Devin O’Brien, Reid Olson and Aaron Knuth.
Sebastopol has been on a tear since facing possible elimination in the district tourney last month, winning three straight games, including a 6-4 win over Fort Bragg to capture the District 35 title. The victory advanced the local squad to the Section 1 Tournament hosted by Rincon Valley, opening up on July 6 with a 17-2 shellacking over Vacaville. Sebastopol took on Oakland in a barnburner on July 8, clawing back from a 17-12 deficit with a five-run rally in the seventh inning to send it into extra frames knotted at 17-all.
Sebastopol pulled it out in the eighth inning when Fitch hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded to walk off with an electrifying 18-17 victory. At press time Sebastopol was waiting to take on the winner of the Vacaville-Oakland game on July 10 in Santa Rosa. Since the SLL juniors have yet to lose a section game, they’ll have to be beaten twice. Should Sebastopol lose the next game, the teams will meet again in a title clash at the same field on July 11 at 5:30 p.m. If Sebastopol wins, it will become the first SLL all-star team to capture a section championship.
The winner will advance to play in the Regional Tournament hosted by District 9 in Salinas beginning July 14.
