LINK: FREE CONTINENTAL RANCH/WESTERN PHOTOS
The Intermediate or “50/70” Little League Division was first introduced in 2010 and first played in 2013 as a way to bridge the gap between a 46-foot pitching distance and a 60-foot base path in the Majors and the 60 foot, 6 inches pitching distance and 90-foot paths in Juniors and beyond. At the “intermediate” level the pitching distance is 50 feet and the base paths are 70 feet, hence “50/70.”
There will be no regional or World Series competition at the intermediate level this year so teams around the country are playing for a spot in the state playoffs to claim one of the many state championships.
Nogales won the Intermediate World Series in 2014 by a score of 11-4 over Puerto Rico in a game played in Livermore, California. Nogales also won the West Region in 2013 and 2014 which makes a lot of sense with Nogales High School winning state championships in 2017 and 2018.
A special congratulations to the Nogales Little League Intermediate team on their World Series Championship! pic.twitter.com/sZqmYh9GQW
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) August 24, 2014
2014 NOGALES CHAMPIONSHIP ROSTER
Aaron Solis
Jonathan Lopez
Dustin Bermudez
Paul Carreno
Cesar Martinez
Mario Duarte (Cal State San Marcos)
Jesus Robles
Jorge Bojorquez (Sacramento State)
Feny Rodriguez
Luis Andrade
Gabriel Estrada
German Fajardo (Arizona)
Jesus Ochoa
Alex Ramos
Copper Hills beat Cactus last week to claim the District 12 Intermediate championship and Nogales will face Douglas in a best-of-three series starting on July 8 in District 8 competition. The race to see which team will represent District 5 at the state tournament began Monday night at Crossroads Park in Marana with Continental Ranch beating Western 16-1 in the first game of the championship series.
The State Tournament will be held at Fleischer Park in Nogales starting on July 16.
As mentioned before, Continental Ranch is up 1-0 on Western with Game Two slated for Tuesday night at Crossroads with the first pitch slated for 6:30 p.m. Game Three, if needed, is scheduled for Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m.
Continental Ranch scored seven runs in the bottom of the first inning, another run in the second, five more in the third and three in the fourth to clinch the 16-1 victory over Western. Santi Mendivil hit a home run in the top of the fourth to put Western on the scoreboard.
The home run was one of two hits given up by Wyatt Meza on the night. Meza finished with nine strikeouts in four innings of work.
my office tonight. Little League District 5 Intermediate Western vs Continental Ranch pic.twitter.com/qcgvUTRuRK
— Andy Morales (@AndyMorales8) June 29, 2021
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 and he is a member of the Amphi COVID-19 Blue Ribbon Committee. Contact Andy Morales at amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com
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