08/13/2015
UNBEATEN TEAMS PLAY ON ESPN IN NORTHWEST AND
WEST REGIONAL SEMI-FINALS THURSDAY
SAN BERNARDINO – For tennis it’s “Breakfast at Wimbledon” and for Little League this year it will be “Brunch at Western Regional Headquarters” in San Bernardino, CA as Washington will play Oregon in an early morning 10 am broadcast on ESPN Thursday.
The first Northwest semi-final will begin three straight days of games being broadcast live on ESPN from Al Houghton Stadium to determine the two Regional champions who will go to the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, PA. San Bernardino was once surrounded by orange groves, so instead of “strawberries and cream” start your little league television viewing with brunch of a “glass of cold Orange Juice and a California omelet”.
The 10 am Northwest semi-final will feature the Oregon State Champion All-Stars from Wilshire-Riverside Little League in Portland, Oregon against the Washington State Champions from Cascade Little League of Vancouver, Washington. While in different states, the two leagues are only about ten miles from each other being separated by the Columbia River.
Both Portland and Vancouver are undefeated in the tournament. Oregon went 8-0- to get to the Regionals and beat Wyoming, 12-3, and Alaska, 11-6, to improve their overall tournament record to 10-0 and one of the spots in the Northwest semi-final.
Vancouver went 10-0 to get to San Bernardino and the Northwest Regionals. They initially defeated Idaho, 5-0, and then Montana, 11-2, to raise their record to 12-0 and the other semi-final spot. The winner of Thursday morning’s game will earn a spot in the Championship game at noon on Saturday that will also be broadcast on ESPN. The loser will still have a chance at the championship and will play the winner of Wednesday night’s Montana/Idaho game at noon on Friday. This game will also be on ESPN. The winner of Saturday’s game will represent the Northwest Region at the Little League World Series.
Thursday evening at 6 pm, ESPN will broadcast the West Regional semi-final. This game will feature two of the most explosive offensive teams in the Regional Tournament. Representing Southern California is the Sweetwater Valley Little League All-stars from Bonita, CA near San Diego. Sweetwater Valley went 12-0 to get to the West Regional - twice scoring more than 20 runs. They defeated perennial power, Hawaii, in their opening game, 16-9, and then defeated Nevada, 11-2, for their spot in the semi-finals. Southern California has scored in double digits in 11 of its 14 victories.
Southern California will face the Utah State Champions from Snow Canyon Little League of Santa Clara, Utah near St. George. Snow Canyon went 4-0 to win the Utah State Championship and, after a first round bye, defeated Arizona, 11-1, for its spot in the West semi-final. Utah has scored in double digits in four of its five games. Something will have to give when these two offensive powers meet Thursday night. The winner will advance to the West Championship game which ESPN will broadcast at 6 pm Saturday before an anticipated crowd of approximately 9,000 spectators. The winner will represent the West at the Little League World Series the following week.
The loser of Thursday night’s game will still have a chance to go to the World Series and will play Friday at 6 pm against Hawaii. The winner of Friday’s game will play in the championship on Saturday evening. This second semi-final will also be broadcast on ESPN.
Both the West and Northwest Regional Champions will play at the end of next week at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, PA
While all of the games - Thursday through Saturday - will be on ESPN you can attend them in person at Al Houghton Stadium at the Western Regional Complex. It is located in northern San Bernardino by taking the Palm/Kendall off-ramp on the I-215 freeway. Admission is FREE!
