Novato American Sends Three Teams to District Event

Three teams representing the Novato American Little League began District 3 All-Star play over the weekend at sites throughout Marin County.

In the 11-12, 10-11 and 9-10 age divisions, the Novato American representative will play six games over the course of the next two weeks in an effort to qualify for an eight-team, single-elimination tournament that will eventually determine the district champion.

The District 3 champion in the 11-12 division will continue down the long road to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., having also to win sectional and regional tournaments in order to advance to the nationally televised championships.

Here’s a capsule look at each of the Novato American teams:

11-12-Year-Old All-Stars

Roster: Cole Eyler, Aaron Fong, Peter Hunt, Paolo Marcchi, Sean Robinson, Eric Tanaka, Aidan Gilkerson, Dawson Bacho, Roman Jacques, Joseph Kakkis, Evan Kopshever, Carl Savona.

Schedule: June 25 vs. Mill Valley at Hamman Field, 2 p.m.; June 26 vs. San Rafael at Hamman Field, 5 p.m.; Tuesday vs. San Francisco American at Hamman Field, 5:30 p.m.; Thursday vs. Ross Valley at Hamman Field, 5:30 p.m.; July 5 vs. Dixie-Terra Linda at Hamman Field, 5:30 p.m.; July 7 vs. San Francisco National at Hamman Field, 5:30 p.m.

Note: Single-elimination quarterfinals begin July 9.

10-11-Year-Old All-Stars

Roster: Sebastian Gocobachi, Mason Koonce, Matthew Stutzman, Alexander Benjamin, Matthew Lauchenauer, Peter Brown, Bryan Darlington, Briggs Macdonald, Bijan Nahidi, Griffin Wright, Angus Brodeur, Dalton Eckert, Daelin Waschke.

Schedule: June 25 at Dixie-Terra Linda, 11:15 a.m.; June 26 vs. Novato North at Hamman Field, 10 a.m.; Monday at San Rafael, 5:30 p.m.; Wednesday at Mill Valley, 5:30 p.m.; July 5 at Twin Cities, 5:30 p.m.; July 6 vs. San Francisco American at Hamman Field, 5:30 p.m.

Note: Single-elimination quarterfinals begin July 9.

Coach Tom Lauchenauer’s thoughts: “I am very excited to be managing the 11-year-olds this year. My coaching staff includes Mark Stutzman, Farrell Eckert, Rich Brown and Willy Waschke.

“We have eight returning players from the 10-year-old All-Star team from last year and have added four new All-Star players. We have a wonderful group of kids that get along on and off the field. All of the boys are versatile and can play multiple positions.

“The coaching staff has been challenging all of the players at practice, and the boys have responded well and come together and improved as a team quickly, which can be tough with the short time together before the tournament starts. We are looking to be competitive against a lot of good baseball teams that we are going face over the next two weeks.”

9-10-Year-Old All-Stars

Roster: Jack Brubaker, Erik Couacaud, Sam Lynam, Christopher Beach, Jason Bernardy, William Cestarollo, Caden Franceschini, Colby Jacques, Dean Buell-Kidder, Evan Lirette, Ryan McDermott, Max Lucchesi, Peyton Mullarkey.

Schedule: June 25 vs. Tiburon at Hamman Field, 10:30 a.m.; June 26 vs. Dixie-Terra Linda at Hamman Field, 2 p.m.; Wednesday vs. Mill Valley at Hamman Field, 5:30 p.m.; Thursday at West Marin, 5:30 p.m.; July 5 at Novato North, 5:30 p.m.; July 7 at San Rafael, 5:30 p.m.

Note: Single-elimination quarterfinals begin July 9.

Coach Keith Bernardy’s thoughts: “We’re hoping to do well this year. We have four kids who played on the team last year. Hopefully they will do well and possibly get us into the tournament at the end.”