Both Encinitas Little League Tourney Teams Post Wins

It was a good Sunday for both the Encinitas teams still involved in All-Star tournament play.

At Chollas Lake in San Diego, the Encinitas Little League 10- and 11-year-old All-Stars hit eight home runs and that was just enough to squeak by Highland Little League of San Bernardino 16-13 in eight innings in a Southern California South Sub-Division opener.

In Fountain Valley, the Encinitas National Little League 11- and 12-year-old All-Stars stayed alive in their South Sub-Division bracket with a 12-8 win over Fontana Community Little League.

Now both teams have to face a familiar San Diego County rival on Monday. Encinitas LL plays a winner's bracket game against Park View LL of Chula Vista at 5:30 p.m. at Chollas Lake. Encinitas National has a rematch with Park View in an elimination game at 5:30 in Fountain Valley. Park View lost 6-2 to Canyon Springs of Moreno Valley on Sunday after beating ENLL 9-6 on Saturday. Monday's loser is out of the double-elimination event.

ELL's 10-11 team took more than three hours to put away Highland. Jack DeLine opened the game with the first of his two home runs on the evening, and Ethan Paulson slammed the first of his three homers in the second, but Highland still maintained an 8-4 lead early on and held an 11-7 advantage going to the fifth inning.

Billy Gagne stroked two key doubles to keep ELL within striking distance.  A four-run fifth allowed ELL to pull even at 11-all before Jared Jackson hit a solo shot in the sixth to give Encinitas the lead.

Highland responded with a run in the bottom of the sixth to force extra innings, and ELL again scored in the seventh on a Keaton Carattini double (to go with his earlier home run), but Highland answered again.

A DeLine walk and back-to-back homers by by Paulson and Cade Brown finally gave Encinitas the three-run final margin, assuring that the team will finish among the top six in Southern California.