West Seattle Little League All-Stars: 1 team in action tonight; 2 championship teams await state play

Exciting times for the West Seattle Little League All-Star teams in tournament play. Right now at Pac West in Burien, the WSLL 10-11 All-Stars are playing South Highline Nationals for a chance to advance to the District 7 semi-final game. Two other WSLL teams already have won their District 7 tournaments and are getting ready for state play:

Above, the 9-10 All-Stars; next, the 11-12 All-Stars:

Laurie Rasmussen shares the overview:

Both the 11-12 All Star team and the 9-10 All Star team won their respective divisions on Saturday to move on to the state competition beginning on July 13th. We are so proud of the boys of summer. Before the games began Saturday, with the 9-10 year old team on field one and the 11-12 year old team on field 2, the 11-12 year old team came over to field one to wish the younger team good luck.

Chris Frost from the 11-12 year old team told starting pitcher Nate Rasmussen, “Nate, I believe in you and know you can do it.” Rasmussen said it was very inspirational for him to hear those words from a player they all admire. It was a very special scene and had parents in tears with the sportsmanship of our WSLL boys.

For details on both of those championship wins, read on:

First, Laurie’s contribution continues with the 9-10 recap:

Saturday’s 9- 10 year old game began by playing South Highline National for a second time this tournament. The 9-10 team came into the game undefeated. Nate Rasmussen was the starting pitcher and had an incredible first inning, striking out two batters and grabbing a soft hit ball back at him getting the out at first. Nate pitched for three innings, striking out six batters and allowing 5 runs.

Westside batters waited until the second inning for their bats to come alive. Spencer Burgess began the inning with a double followed by a double from Julian Rodriguez and a single by Reece McAllister. Alex Fleming was hit by a pitch ending up on first and Nate Rasmussen and Jaden Sadis closed out the inning with RBI singles. Westside scored 6 runs in the second inning, which gave them the lead that they continued to build upon throughout the game.

Westside really came together as a team. All the players were there to win and it showed. Same Pare came in to pitch for Westside in the top of the 4th inning holding the visiting team National to 3 runs. Pare struck out 4 batters and closed out the game with back to back strike outs in the top of the 6th inning. Final score was 12-8.

WSLL 9-10 year olds head to Oak Harbor this weekend to participate in their State tournament. They received a bye for their first game and begin play on Sunday, June 14, at 3:30.

Now, the 11-12 details, by Keven Ruf:

In a dramatic fashion, West Seattle Little League All Stars defeated the PacWest All Stars of Burien to take the District 7 Championship on Saturday, July 6th, at Bar-S Field.

Dylan Diggdon, 12, hit a walk-off line-drive homerun over the centerfield fence in the bottom of the 6th inning with two out and 2 on base to win 11-9. His ecstatic team was there to greet him as he jogged home.

“At first I didn’t thnk it was going to go over,” said Dylan. “I didn’t believe it at first. I looked over and everyone was running out of the dugout.”

Managed by Jason Woodward, the next stop is the State tournament in Vancouver, WA, starting Saturday July 13.

“Wow, WOw, WOW!” exclaimed Woodward after the tense victory. “I’m really not sure what else to say….we are super proud of the boys and the way they fought to the very end.”

It was a long, tough day of baseball for West Seattle. The morning game against PacWest didn’t go well for the West Seattle batters, losing 6-2. Kenji Suzuki, 11, was the starting pitcher but got little run support.

“We struggled at the plate,” said Dave Douglas, assistant coach. “Our top guys weren’t hitting the ball.” West Seattle had two runners on in each of the first three innings, but couldn’t manage to score against solid PacWest pitching.

The same pattern endured in the afternoon game, also against PacWest, until the fifth inning. West Seattle found themselves down 9-2 in the fifth, but with PacWest’s pitcher finally tiring, and no relief on the bench, the West Seattle bats finally came alive. Four runs came across and the momentum shifted.

West Seattle held PacWest scoreless in the top of the sixth and the crowd that had been morose found new life. With the team down 9-6, Will Douglas, 11, started the last inning rally off with a walk. The bleachers were packed with local supporters whose voices lifted the West Seattle All Stars’ spirits. Two runs came across and they felt they were within striking distance.

“I have no doubt you guys can do this,” Manager Woodward reportedly told the team.

His confidence proved prescient when Dylan Diggdon strode to the plate with two runners on and two down. He was waiting on a fastball and hit the sweet spot, sending it rocketing over the centerfield wall.

With the state tournament just around the corner, Dylan said, “I think it’s going to be tough. I think we’re going to do good.”

“The next level is going to be very difficult,” warned coach Douglas. “We’ve got a shot, but we’re going to need a lot of great pitching.”

We’ll be tracking the games ahead, and you can also get updates on the WSLL site at westseattlelittleleague.com.

1 Reply to "West Seattle Little League All-Stars: 1 team in action tonight; 2 championship teams await state play"

  • NW mama July 10, 2013 (11:52 pm)

    How cool! Good luck

Sorry, comment time is over.