One by one, the Sunnyside coaches and players introduced themselves to the nation before the team dramatically beat Northern California 3-2 Friday night in a West Region Little League game at San Bernardino, Calif.
Mikey Muñiz’s walkoff RBI double after Izaiah Moraga’s game-tying home run in the sixth inning sent the stands at Houghton Stadium — and Tucson –into a frenzy.
Sunnyside, 11-1 through the district, state and regional tournaments, will be the home team tonight when it plays Hawaii for the championship and right to advance to the Little League World Series at Williamsport, Pa., next week. The game is at 6 p.m. and it will be televised on ESPN.
Before Friday night’s game, ESPN had Sunnyside’s players line up and introduce themselves individually. Here are screen shots of all the coaches and players:
Juan Abril
Favorite food: Seafood
Angel Armenta Jr.
Favorite athlete: Cody Bellinger
Aciel Guillen
Favorite food: Pizza
Juan Hernandez
Favorite team: Arizona Diamondbacks
Cristobal “Damian” Lorta
Favorite team: Boston Red Sox
Jordan Mayboca
Loves to ride rollercoasters.
Izaiah Moraga
Favorite athlete: Jesse Owens
Michel Muñiz Jr.
Beat his coach three times in MLB The Show video game.
Antonio Ochoa
Favorite athlete: Francisco Lindor
Francisco Rivero Jr.
Favorite athlete: Cody Bellinger
Andrew Romo
Favorite athlete: Jose Altuve
Miguel Siqueiros
Favorite athlete: Cody Bellinger
Jorge Zazueta
Favorite athlete: Yadir Molina
Francisco Rivero Sr.
Manager
Cristobal Lorta Sr.
Pitching coach
Ernest Moraga
Coach
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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.