Little League All Stars: Danville 11s Repeat as Northern California Champions

Danville 12, Scotts Valley 1

The Star: Darroch Koel allowed just one hit and one run in four innings and was 2 for 2 at the plate with a 3-run homer in the first inning.

The Turning Point: Connor Redmond hit a grand slam in the first inning to make it 5-0. Considering Koel had allowed two runs in his previous 20 1/3 innings, Danville was in great shape.

The Quote: "We came out of the box hitting on all cylinders," Danville manager Mark Dawson said. 

What's next? Danville's season is over, it is the Northern California 11-year-old champion.

Bottom Line: Danville showed Friday's loss to Scotts Valley was an aberration, coming back to repeat as NorCal champions.

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Before Danville pitcher Darroch Koel went to bed on Friday night, he envisioned how Saturday's Northern California 11-year-old Little League championship game against Scotts Valley would go.

"I told myself I'd mow them down," he said.

Not only did Koel allow just one hit and one run, he came through with a 3-run first-inning homer to help Danville repeat as NorCal champions with a 12-1, mercy-rule victory.

Already leading 1-0 in the first, Connor Redmond hit a grand slam with no outs in the first inning as Danville took a comanding 5-0 lead. Jared Dawson and Chris Lonestar both scored to make it 7-0 before Koel's homer made it 10-0 in the first.

"We came out hitting on all cylinders," Danville manager Mark Dawson said. "It showed in batting practice that they were ready to put yesterday (a 9-6 loss to Scotts Valley) behind them."

With the early 10-run lead, Danville went into cruise control for the final three innings. Dawson and Billy Facteau both singled and scored in the second to make it 12-1 and Koel didn't allow his first hit until the fourth.

Scotts Valley's Georgia Parsons hit into a 5-4-3 double-play to end the game.

After winning the Northern California title as 10-year-olds in 2009, expectations were high for the Danville squad coming into the summer.

It beat Canyon Creek 15-0 to win the District 57 champions before knocking off Union City National 12-2 in the Section 3 title game. 

"It's always amazing to win a state championship," Mark Dawson said. "To be able to win back-to-back is really special."

Danville finishes the year with an 11-1 record. 

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Danville 12, Scotts Valley 1

Scotts Valley 010 0 — 1 1 1
Danville (10)20 x — 12 12 2

Scotts Valley (ab-r-h) — Panos 2-0-0, Lane 2-0-0, Utic 2-0-0, Neiger 1-1-1, Rimer 2-0-0, Parson 2-0-0, Rockow 1-0-0, Rians 1-0-0, Beraut 1-0-0.

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

Pitching

Danville: Koel 4 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K.

Hitting
2B — Venezia, Morgan. HR — Redmond, 1st, 3 on; Koel, 1st, 2 on.

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