The District 12 tournament featuring the 9-10-11 age group included on Monday night a comeback win from seven runs down by Copper Hills against Sunnyside and a dominating performance on the mound by Rincon’s Lucas Johnson in his team’s win over Los Niños.
Copper Hills rallied to beat Sunnyside 8-7 after trailing 7-0 going into the fifth inning at Tucson Field of Dreams. Its lineup made a complete reversal after advancing only one runner to third base in the first four innings.
Johnson retired the first 11 batters he faced — nine by strike out — and was relieved after an infield base hit by Adrian Contreras broke up his no-hitter. Justus Sipe got the next batter to ground out to end the game with Rincon winning 12-0 in four innings.
Rincon coach Justin Sipe summoned his son to the mound because Johnson reached a pitch count of 50, thereby enabling Johnson to pitch again Thursday when Rincon plays Copper Hills in a winner’s bracket semifinal at 5:15 p.m. at Field of Dreams.
“Once they got that hit, I was going to try to let him close it out because he was right there (an out away), but he reached 50 pitches,” Justin Sipe said. “He was dominant on the mound. He was determined early in the game, even pregame. We saw that he was focused. When we warmed up, he didn’t miss a pitch and he showed it tonight.
“He threw a lot of strikes, not a lot of balls, and he was just making them earn everything.”
Johnson said his success came down to basic fundamentals, but he seeks more perfection.
“I just focused on where the (catcher’s) mitt was, and that’s what I did from the start,” he said. “I feel like I did great. … I feel like I can do a little better so I don’t throw pitches high. I want to keep them right in the strike zone.”
Copper Hills capitalized on seven errors by Los Niños to score seven runs in the first two innings. Contreras, Los Niños’ starter, pitched well in those two innings allowing only one hit with no earned runs with a strikeout.
Rincon leadoff batter Elliott Norton reached base all four times in the four innings to get his team’s offense going. He went 2 for 3 with a run and RBI. He also reached base on an error and a hit-by-pitch.
“The boys have been practicing hard; they’ve been preparing four weeks for this,” Justin Sipe said. “It’s all come together. Lucas was dominant on the mound. The kids played good defense.”
Next up is Copper Hills, which showed its mettle in the dramatic comeback win from a 7-0 deficit to Sunnyside with a seven-run rally in the fifth in which it sent 13 batters to the plate.
“I watched Copper Hills; they are a well-coached team, well-rounded,” Justin Sipe said. “Every game from the start, it’s going to get tougher, We’re in a great situation. Luke going deep this game, we didn’t have to use a lot of pitchers. We have two days rest now to get ready. We have all seven of our pitchers available. It’s gonna be a good game.”
Highlighting Copper Hills’ seven-run rally in the fifth against Sunnyside was Jesus Castillo’s inside-the-park grand slam with one out that cut the lead to 7-5. Castillo’s hit plated Andrew Clifton (who singled) and Sebastian Castelo and Gary Ortega (both of whom walked).
With two outs, Mikie Hussey was hit by a pitch and Gino Alcantar walked. Alex Guzman followed with an RBI single and Alcantar later scored on a wild pitch.
“When we got down 7-0, my thoughts were we just need to stay in the game,” Copper Hills coach Mike Hussey said. “We were hitting the ball. They were throwing well, but we needed to stay in the game and continue to fight. That’s what we ended up doing.”
Castillo’s single in the sixth helped Copper Hills load the bases and Mikie Hussey’s fielder’s choice grounder plated the go-ahead run.
Castelo got three of the four batters in the bottom of the sixth to ground out to preserve the lead and get the win.
“We tell the kids hitting is contagious, so once it keeps going, it’s going, it’s going, it’s going, so I think they really take that to heart,” Mike Hussey said. “They never gave up. It just shows the character of these boys.”
Castillo went 3 for 4 with the four RBIs from his grand slam. He also helped settled down Sunnyside’s potent lineup allowing four runs on three hits with eight strikeouts and four walks in 3 2/3 innings of middle relief. At one point, he struck out four consecutive batters.
“I felt I played a really good game, I’d rate it a 10 out of 10,” Castillo said. “When we got down 7-0, I thought we might lose, but we kicked up the energy and that’s how we won.”
Guzman went 4 for 4 with a run and RBI as the leadoff batter, and Clifton at the No. 2 spot went 3 for 5 with a run.
Sunnyside’s Carlo Rivero went 2 for 2 with two walks and three RBIs. His two-run single with two outs in the fourth increased his team’s lead to 7-0.
Rivero’s brother Francisco Romero Jr. was a member of the 2019 Sunnyside Majors team that made it to the West Regional final in San Bernardino, Calif., representing Arizona. They came a game away from reaching the Little League World Series.
Francisco is in the Dominican Republic with an effort to be chosen in the international MLB draft as a Class of 2024 prospect. He will train and play there while going to school over the next three years.
Sabino Carrillo walked three times for Sunnyside against Copper Hills and scored each time. He also had a stolen base.
District 5 & 12 LITTLE LEAGUE RESULTS THROUGH MONDAY’S GAMES
Note: * denotes elimination bracket game
Little League Softball
District 12
9-10-11
Sunnyside is the district champion heading to the state tournament at Payson on July 15.
Majors (Mission Manor)
Monday, June 28
*Game Three: San Xavier 24, Copper Hills 14
Tuesday, June 29
Game Four: Championship — Sunnyside vs. San Xavier, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 30
Game Five: Championship (if necessary, if San Xavier wins Game Four), 6:30 p.m.
District 5
8-9-10
Continental Ranch is the district champion advancing to the state tournament at Cottonwood beginning July 9.
Majors (Flowing Wells)
Monday, June 28
Game One (Best of 3): Marana 11, Thornydale 1
Tuesday, June 29
Game Two (Best of 3): Thornydale vs. Marana, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 30
Game Three (if necessary): Thornydale vs. Marana, 6:30 p.m.
Little League Baseball
District 12
Intermediate 50/70
Copper Hills is the district champion heading to the state tournament at Nogales on July 16.
8-9-10 (Jesse Owens)
Monday, June 28
*Game Four: Cactus 18, San Xavier 8
Tuesday, June 29
Game Five: Rincon vs. Copper Hills, 5:15 p.m.
*Game Six: Sunnyside vs. Cactus, 7:45 p.m.
Thursday, July 1
*Game Seven: Winner Game Six vs. Loser Game Five, 6:30 p.m.
Friday, July 2
Game Eight: Championship (Winner Game Five vs. Winner Game Seven), 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 3
Game Nine: Championship (if necessary, if Game Seven winner wins Game Eight), 6:30 p.m.
9-10-11 (Field of Dreams)
Monday, June 28
Game Three: Copper Hills 8, Sunnyside 7
Game Four: Rincon 12, Los Niños 0
Tuesday, June 29
*Game Five: Southwestern vs. Sunnyside, 5:15 p.m.
*Game Six: Randolph vs. Los Niños, 7:45 p.m.
Thursday, July 1
Game Seven: Copper Hills vs. Rincon, 5:15 p.m.
*Game Eight: Winner Game Five vs. Winner Game Six, 7:45 p.m.
Saturday, July 3
*Game Nine: Loser Game Seven vs. Winner Game Eight, 6:30 p.m.
Monday, July 5
Game Ten: Championship (Winner Game Seven vs. Loser Game Nine), 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 6
Game Eleven: Championship (if necessary, if Loser Game Nine wins Game Ten), 6:30 p.m.
Majors (Field of Dreams)
Wednesday, June 30
Game One (Field 1): Copper Hills vs. Sunnyside, 5:15 p.m.
Game Two (Field 2): Cactus vs. Empire, 5:15 p.m.
Game Three (Field 1): San Xavier vs. Southwestern, 7:45 p.m.
Game Four (Field 2): Rincon vs. Randolph, 7:45 p.m.
Thursday, July 1
*Game Five (Field 1): Loser Game One vs. Loser Game Two, 5:15 p.m.
*Game Six (Field 1): Loser Game Three vs. Loser Game Four, 7:45 p.m.
Saturday, July 3
Game Seven (Field 1): Game One Winner vs. Game Two Winner, 5:15 p.m.
Game Eight (Field 1): Game Three Winner vs. Game Four Winner, 7:45 p.m.
Monday, July 5
*Game Nine (Field 1): Winner Game Five vs. Loser Game Eight, 5:15 p.m.
*Game Ten (Field 1): Winner Game Six vs. Loser Game Seven, 7:45 p.m.
Tuesday, July 6
Game Eleven (Field 1): Winner Game Seven vs. Winner Game Eight, 5:15 p.m.
*Game Twelve (Field 1): Winner Game Nine vs. Winner Game Ten, 7:45 p.m.
Wednesday, July 7
*Game Thirteen (Field 1): Winner Game Twelve vs. Loser Game Eleven, 6:30 p.m.
Friday, July 9
Game Fourteen (Field 1): Championship (Winner Game Eleven vs. Winner Game Thirteen), 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 10
Game Fifteen (Field 1): Championship (if necessary, if Winner Game Thirteen wins Game Fourteen), 6:30 p.m.
Juniors (Jesse Owens)
Monday, June 28
Game Three: Sunnyside 10, Southwestern 9
*Game Four: San Xavier 32, Los Niños 4
Tuesday, June 29
*Game Five: San Xavier vs. Southwestern, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 1
Game Six: Championship (Sunnyside vs. Winner Game Five), 6:30 p.m.
Friday, July 2
Game Seven: Championship (if necessary, if Winner Game Five beats Winner Game Three), 6:30 p.m.
District 5
8-9-10 (McDonald)
Monday, June 28
*Game Eleven: Tanque Verde 4, Continental Ranch 3
Tanque Verde’s Austin Martin pitched a solid 2/3 innings to get Tanque Verde into the championship game.
Tuesday, June 29
Game Twelve: Championship — Canyon View vs. Tanque Verde, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 30
Game Thirteen: Championship (if necessary, if Tanque Verde wins Game Twelve), 6:30 p.m.
9-10-11 (Kreigh)
Monday, June 28
*Game Eleven: CDO 9, Thornydale 5
Tuesday, June 29
Game Twelve: Championship — Canyon View vs. CDO, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 30
Game Thirteen: Championship (if necessary, if CDO wins Game Twelve), 6:30 p.m.
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Majors (Arthur Pack)
Monday, June 28
*Game Eleven: Marana 16, Thornydale 11
Tuesday, June 29
Game Twelve: Championship — Oro Valley vs. Marana, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 30
Game Thirteen: Championship (if necessary, if Marana wins Game Twelve), 6:30 p.m.
Continental Ranch takes first game over Western in the @AZDistrict5LL Little League Intermediate Championship Series with history on @ApacheBaseball1 included https://t.co/4BPyCxXbjg pic.twitter.com/yDfmCCBqoG
— Andy Morales (@AndyMorales8) June 29, 2021
50/70 (Crossroads)
Monday, June 28
Game One (Best of 3): Continental Ranch 16, Western 1
Tuesday, June 29
Game Two (Best of 3): Western vs. Continental Ranch, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 30
Game Three (Best of 3): If necessary, Western vs. Continental Ranch, 6:30 p.m.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator five years ago and is presently a special education teacher at Gallego Fine Arts Intermediate in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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