Eastvale Little League baseball team embraced pressure on way to West Region Tournament (2024)

SAN BERNARDINO — Corey Tatum sees this group of players, his Eastvale Little League all-star baseball team, as record setters.

“We’re going to compete to the highest level that Eastvale Little League has ever reached,” said Tatum, Eastvale’s manager. “That says a lot, in and of itself.”

Eastvale Little League has the singular distinction as the first Riverside County-based Little League in more than 40 years of competition to win the official Southern California championship.

“We’re a small city and we all stick together,” Tatum said. “This is a proud moment for everyone in Eastvale.”

The new 12-year-old SoCal champions, who shut out San Diego’s 4S Ranch on back-to-back days last week to claim Riverside County its first Little League state title, will take the field in the Little League West Region tournament at Al Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino starting Sunday against Arizona at 6 p.m.

HARADA HERITAGE HISTORY

After splitting from Mira Loma Little League, Eastvale Little League has operated independently since 2007 and currently boasts more than 1,000 players and 250 registered coaches.

“We were around before the City of Eastvale was incorporated,” said Eastvale’s current mayor Christian Dinco, who previously served as the league’s president and on its board.

The league has indeed grown with each successive year to among the largest in Riverside County, and annually hosts regional, sectional and state tournaments at Harada Heritage Park.

“I feel like, regionally, Eastvale’s getting known as a sports town,” Dinco said. “We’re really proud of the community involvement that goes into Eastvale Little League.”

To wit, the league’s 10-and-under, 11u and 12u baseball teams all qualified for the state tournament this year – a rare feat for any Little League program.

THE MAYOR

No doubt its biggest supporter, Dinco has been out front in the push for attention for this team and league this season.

“I’m so proud of this team,” Dinco said. “I’ve been on the board for Eastvale Little League, in addition to my duties as mayor, for 15 years and I was the president for eight years, so we couldn’t be more over-the-top excited for this team.”

He last served as a coach in the league three years ago, so Dinco knows all about the all-star experience having managed Eastvale at sectional tournaments.

“We’ve never gone as deep as we have this year but the last few years our teams have done well and we’ve started to be recognized,” he said. “This is a massive accomplishment.”

HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE

Hosting the Southern California championship tournament for the first time at Eastvale’s Harada Heritage Park, it was a 5-3 loss to 4S Ranch in the tournament opener that Tatum said sparked the team’s current seven-game winning streak.

“After we lost to 4S Ranch, the kids were kind of itching and hoping they could redeem themselves,” Tatum said. “For us to come back and win every game and then double-dip 4S Ranch in the championship, the kids just got rolling and it was enjoyable.”

Battling its way out of the elimination bracket, Eastvale embraced the pressure, found ways to win and then exploded on 4S Ranch for a 10-0 competition rule-shortened win last Sunday, July 28 before wrapping it up with an 8-0 win over 4S Ranch on Monday, July 29.

No. 1 starting pitcher Gavin Cruz will likely get the ball in the opener against Arizona’s Litchfield Park Little League on Sunday.

“I have a 1-2-3 but I have a deep pool of pitchers, kids with high velocity and kids that are strike throwers,” Tatum said. “We have a consistent closer, and guys just throw strikes and let the defense do its job.”

If SoCal wins its opener, the team will take on the winner of the Hawaii vs. Northern California matchup. Wailuku’s Central East Maui Little League is representing Hawaii for the second time at the tournament, while Sacramento’s Land Park Pacific LL is making its first appearance.

THE TOURNAMENTS

In addition to the West Region tournament, the Little League Northwest and Mountain Regions also will send champions from San Bernardino on to Williamsport, Pa. for the Little League World Series.

Competing in the Northwest Region is Abbot-O-Rabbit LL (Anchorage, Alaska), West Valley LL (Eagle, Idaho), North LL (Bend, Oregon) and South Hill LL (Puyallup, Washington).

In the Mountain Region, it’s Arrowhead LL (Boulder, Montana), Paseo Verde LL (Henderson, Nevada), Torrington LL (Torrington, Wyoming) and Dixie LL (St. George, Utah).

The double-elimination tournament began Saturday with opening-round games in the Mountain and Northwest Region brackets.

The Northwest Region championship game is Thursday, Aug. 8 at 6 p.m., followed on Friday, Aug. 9, by the Mountain Region title game at 2 p.m., and the West Region final at 6 p.m. All championship games will be broadcast on ESPN.

Originally Published: August 3, 2024 at 10:10 a.m.