Little League All Stars: Danville 11s Win Section 3 Title

Danville 12, Union City National 2

The Star: Jack Morgan gave Danville the lead for good with a solo homer into a stiff wind in the second and added an RBI-single in the third to ignite a six-run inning.

The Turning Point: Danville's six-run third ended any chance Union City had at forcing a deciding game. 

The Quote: "It was really a team effort," Danville manager Mark Dawson said. "Everybody did something to help out."

What's next? Danville will play the winner of Saturday's game between the champions from Section 1 and Section 2 at Osage Park in Danville on Sunday at 11 a.m. The Northern California Division II tournament represents the final stage for the 11-year-old age group and is a tournament Danville won last year as 10-year-olds.

Bottom Line: The 35-inning scoreless streak Danville's pitching staff carried into the game ended when Union City's Reggie Bell homered in the first inning, but Danville wasn't fazed. It went on to win its eighth-straight game and moved its record over the past two years to 21-1.

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Going into Wednesday's Section 3 11-year-old championship game on Wednesday, the Danville Little League All Star team found itself in a great position. After going through the winners' bracket, Danville had to lose back-t0-back games to be eliminated.

For a team that has lost just once in the past two seasons, that scenario didn't seem likely.

And after Jared Dawson's ground ball in the first inning scored Ryan Bowman to give Danville a 1-0 lead the ticket back to the Northern California Division II tournament was all but punched. After all, Danville's pitching staff hadn't allowed a run in 35-straight innings before Wednesday.

A Union City National homer in the first ended the streak, but it didn't matter. Jack Morgan homered to give Danville the lead for good in the second and the team rallied for six runs in the third to put the game away.

"We knew the streak would end sooner or later," Danville manager Mark Dawson said. "It was only a matter of time."

The only hit Danville starting pitcher Nick Venezia allowed in his three innings of work was the solo homer. He struck out three and walked one before giving way to Ryan Bowman, who struck out two and gave up one run in two innings on the hill. Jared Dawson came in for the final inning and stuck out two, including the final out of the game.

"All the pitchers who threw today kind of flew under the radar a little bit up until this point," Dawson said. "They all did a great job."

They were helped by a flawless defense which turned a pair of gems. 

With a runner on first in the fourth, Bowman knocked down a hard comebacker to the mound and got the runner at second from his knees to start a 1-6-3 double-play. 

Mason Banks one-upped him in the six when he robbed a homer in right field.

"I knew it was going to be hard to get to, but once I felt the fence behind me I thought I could get it," Banks said. "It was maybe an arms length above the fence."

Credit Venezia with the assist. The two friends actually practice robbing home runs in a backyard trampoline game they created.

"I didn't think (the game) would actually help in a game, but maybe it did," said Banks, who was 2 for 3 at the plate with a double and an RBI.

Banks was one of four Danville hitters with multiple hits on the day, joining Venezia (3 for 5), Morgan (2 for 4) and Connor Redmond (2 for 3).

As 10-year-olds, the group won the District 57, Section 3 and Division 2 crowns will attempt to pull of the feat again this year. Danville has a first-round bye and will play the winner of Saturday's game between Section 1 and Section 2 at Osage Park in Danville on Sunday at 11 a.m.

"We talked about getting back there," Banks said. "It's going to be tough to win again; the teams are all the best-of-the-best."

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Danville 12, Union City National 2

Danville 116 112 — 12 13 0
Union City 100 010 — 2 5 2

Danville (ab-r-h) — Venezia 5-1-3, Bowman 2-1-1, Dawson 4-1-0, Koel 3-1-1, Morgan 4-2-2, Redmond 3-2-2, Lonestar 3-0-1, Bartnick 1-1-1, Batza 3-1-0, Facteau 0-1-0, Banks 3-1-2, de Flores 1-0-0. 

Pitching

Danville: Venezia 3 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K; Bowman 2 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 K; Dawson 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, o BB, 2 K.

Hitting

2B — Bowman, Bartnick, Venezia, Banks. HR — Morgan.

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