Little League International cancelled all Region Tournaments and all seven World Series events on April 30 but all local, district and state affiliates are free to compete as long as state and local health restrictions are lifted or modified for the safety of the athletes and families.
Let’s take a look back at the five World Series champions and three Runner-Up teams from Southern Arizona:
1973 Little League Baseball Runner-Up
Cactus Little League
Mike Banton
Richard Bianco
Tony Bravo
Robert Blum
Bill Brauer
Mike Carreon
Mike Fimbers
Ralph Lanik
Larry Manciet
Mike Martinez
David Mees
Ken Merritt
Gerald Pahissa
Mark Osbourne
Harry Unger
Ed Vosberg
1986 Little League Baseball Runner-Up
International Little League
Ricardo Barcelo
Edward DeBaca
Scott Foster
James Fraccaro
Daniel Fregoso
Brian Howdahl
Philip Johnston
Troy Kelly
Robert Ortiz
Mike Owens
Sam Tullous
Eric Unger
Martin Walker
Todd Warren
Chad Wilson
Justin Wood
1992 Junior League Baseball Champions
Sunnyside Little League
Rene Acedo
Rene Ayala
Gilbert Carreon
Kevin Dennis
Chito Duran
Wallo Fausto
Steve Gradillas
Benny Lopez
Sergio Mendoza
Frankie Nogales
Alan Santa Cruz
Erik Torres
Julio Valencia
Luis Valencia
Coach: Luis Galvan
Coach: Bobby Estrada
2000 Senior League Softball Champions
Santa Cruz Valley-Eloy
(Co-Ed, won by forfeit)
2008 Junior League Softball Champions
Pusch Ridge Little League
Alexis Aguirre (Canyon del Oro/Yavapai/Eastern Arizona)
Kayla Bonstrom (Canyon del Oro/Stanford)
Megan Duran (Ironwood Ridge)
Casey Fisher (Ironwood Ridge/Brown)
Katie Flaten (Ironwood Ridge)
Makayla McAdams (Ironwood Ridge/New Mexico State)
Sammi Noland (Canyon del Oro/Nebraska/Oregon State)
Nicole Reidhead (Ironwood Ridge)
Lauren Robinson (Ironwood Ridge/Northwest University)
Jordan Rocker (Ironwood Ridge/Auburn)
Sarah Rodriguez (Ironwood Ridge)
Elle Sneyd (Ironwood Ridge)
Maria Valencia (Ironwood Ridge)
Micah Wenzel (Ironwood Ridge/Northwest University Soccer)
Manager: Rob Wenzel
Coach: Steve Noland
Coach: Greg Sneyd
2013 Junior League Baseball Runner-Up
Rio Rico
Mikael Bracamonte
Angel Chavez
Cesar Dominguez
Michael Escobar
Sean Fanning
Brian Garcia
Kevin Jimenez
Oscar Lechuga
Sammy Legleu Jr.
Gerardo Lopez
Ralph Padilla
Ricky Paredes Jr.
German Rodriguez
Coach: Trini Lopez
2013 Little League Softball Champions
Sunnyside Little League
Alexandra Tapia
Alexis Anderson
Alyssa Ortiz
Anacely Gutierrez
Angel Sallas (Desert View)
Arlett Arreola (Desert View)
Danitza Aguirre
Destyni Payan
Jaylen Marquez
Jazmin Ayala
Viviana Orantez
Yannira Acuña (Salpointe/ASU)
Zuleika Barnett
Manager: Manuel Tapia
Coach: Rene Ayala
Coach: Sam Gutierrez
2014 Intermediate League Baseball Champions
Nogales National Little League
Aaron Solis (Nogales)
Jonathan Lopez
Dustin Bermudez
Paul Carreno
Cesar Martinez
Mario Duarte (Nogales)
Jesus Robles
Jorge Bojorquez (Nogales)
Feny Rodriguez
Luis Andrade (Nogales)
Gabriel Estrada
German Fajardo (Nogales/Arizona)
Jesus Ochoa
Alex Ramos (Nogales)
FOLLOW @ANDYMORALES8 ON TWITTER
Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014, he was awarded the Ray McNally Award in 2017, a 2019 AZ Education News award winner and he has been a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. He was the first in Arizona to write about high school beach volleyball and high school girls wrestling. His own children have won multiple state high school championships and were named to all-state teams. Competing in hockey, basketball, baseball and track & field in high school, his unique perspective can only be found here and on AZPreps365.com. Andy is the Southern Arizona voting member of the Ed Doherty Award, recognizing the top football player in Arizona, and he was named a Local Hero by the Tucson Weekly for 2016. Andy was named an Honorary Flowing Wells Caballero in 2019. Contact Andy Morales at amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com
Recommended for you
