14 and 15 year olds open Western Regionals Tuesday against Nevada
The state champion Steel Lake Little League Senior team is set to head south for the summer. The team, along with its three coaches and parents, are leaving for California tomorrow.
The group of 14 and 15 year olds will open the 2008 Western Regional Tournament on Tuesday against Nevada. Steel Lake qualified for the tournament by winning the Washington State Senior Little League championship last week. Steel Lake beat Pacwest Little League in the title game at Mosier Park in Burien.
The 10-team regional tournament will be held in Upland, Calif. through Aug. 5.
The tournament also includes state champions from Idaho, Alaska, Nevada, Hawaii, Arizona, Oregon and Montana, as well as the best teams from Southern and Northern California.
Steel Lake will play the Nevada state champs in their opener at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The winner will take on Southern California on Wednesday.
The Western Regional winner will advance to the 2008 Senior Little League World Series, which will be held Aug. 10-16 in Bangor, Maine. The World Series will include five regional champions from the United States, as well as teams from Canada, Europe, Latin America and the Asian-Pacific.
The Steel Lake team includes Jerrod Bachman, Jeff Edd, Sean Fogelberg, Campbell Flewelling, Mason Lapping, Erik Lindenauer, Chris Nishimura, Kevin Oyer, Travis Quackenbush, Ryan Rasmussen, Brian Thomason, Jory Tysdal, Chaz Woo, Dan Zumwalt and Tyler Zumwalt. The team is coached by Brent Edd and Jon Lindenauer.
Steel Lake Little League is also accepting donations to pay for flights, hotel and food for the 15 players and three coaches while they are in California.
Checks can be mailed to Steel Lake Little League, PO Box 4493, Federal Way, 98063 or visit www.eteamz.com/steellakelittleleague. The team is also hosting a fundraising car wash from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Auto Zone in Edgewood, 413 Meridian Ave. E, today (July 26).
• The Steel Lake Little League all-star baseball team was eliminated from the 2008 Washington State Tournament in Mill Creek on Tuesday. The 11 and 12 year olds lost to Redmond North in the loser’s bracket, 6-4. Bainbridge Island downed Steel Lake, 7-5, in their opening game of the tournament on Sunday.
Steel Lake won the District 10 Tournament to qualify for state.
The Steel Lake Little League all-star team included Tommy Amato, Jesse Fite, Drew Huttenlocker, Jake Kolterman, Hunter McSwain, Mikey Jojica, Jacob Nugent, Zachary Lane, Alex Poltz, Jordan Price, Clayton Regehr and Eddie Sweeney. The team is coached by Rich Price, Dale Fite and Scott Kolterman.
There are 13 districts represented in the state tournament and the eventual winner will play in the Northwest Regional Tournament in San Bernardino, Calif.
• The Federal Way National 10-11 year old all star team was knocked out of the 2008 Washington State Tournament Tuesday by South Kitsap Western Little League. The loss ended Federal Way’s season.
National lost their opening-round game last Sunday to Greater Richland Little League at Sunset Park in Auburn, before beating Northshore Little League in a loser-out game on Monday.
The team included Max Dalrymple, Garrett Westberg, Christian Stafford, Jon Charbonneau, Justyn Ekness, Lawyer Braun, Scott Sunitsch, Markus Montelongo, Dax Wallat, Taylor Davis, Zach Nunez, Donavan Castro and Brandon Henderson. The team is coached by Tim Robbins, Tomas Montelongo and Marcus Hudson.
Sports editor Casey Olson: 925-5565, sports@fedwaymirror.com
