Gastineau Channel Little League eliminated Cedar City Little League on Monday from the Little League West Regional tournament.
The Juneau team rallied back from a five-run deficit to defeat the Utah squad 15-13 at Ida Price Middle School in San Jose, California. Cambrian Park, of California, and Butte Northwest, of Montana, were the two other teams to be sent home on the fourth day of the Junior division tournament following losses in the loser’s bracket. Gastineau Channel will now face the winner of Tuesday’s game between North Central (Washington) and Livermore/Granada (California) on Wednesday.
[Little League: Juneau starts off strong at West Regional]
Kaleb Campbell led Juneau with two hits and three RBIs in the win. The game featured a combined 17 hits and 22 walks between Alaska and Utah teams.
“It was a hitting barrage between the two teams,” Juneau coach Randy Quinto said.
Juneau outhit Cedar City 9-8, but didn’t score its first run until the fourth inning, by which time they trailed 5-0.
“We were hitting decent hits, but they’d die through the infield and they became routine plays for the other team,” Quinto said of the beginning of the game.
Juneau batted around the lineup in both the fourth and sixth innings, scoring six and nine runs, respectively.
The victory arrived a little more than 48 hours after Gastineau Channel dropped its first game of the tournament, a 10-1 loss to La Grande Little League from Oregon. Juneau gave up seven runs in the final inning after trailing by just two runs most of the game.
Gastineau Channel Little League Junior All-Star Joe Aline receives encouragement from his teammates in a game against La Grande Little League in the West Regional Tournament at Ida Price Middle School in San Jose, California, on Saturday, July 27, 2019. Juneau lost 10-1. (Courtesy Photo | Lori Crupi)
The teams left standing in the tournament come from nine different communities spread across eight western states, including Juneau (Alaska), Tucson (Arizona), Pearl City (Hawaii), Boulder City (Nevada), Livermore (California), La Grande (Oregon) and Fullerton (California).
The championship game is slated for Saturday, with the winner headed to the Little League World Series Aug. 11-18 in Taylor, Michigan.
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nainsworth@juneauempire.com. Follow Empire Sports at @akempiresports.
