Park View Little League: 2009 Champion

By Michael Clarke

San Diego finally has a world champion. And they are some of the most talented seventh- and eighth-graders you'll ever meet.

With a decisive 6-3 win over Chinese Taipei, the Park View Little League from Chula Vista, Calif., brought the Little League Baseball World Series Championship back to California. It marks the state's sixth title and the first time since 1993 that the best Little League team in the world hails from the Golden State.

Coming From Behind

Things didn't start off well for the squad from the southern suburbs of San Diego. Chula Vista fell behind early on a two-run home run from Wen Hua Sung. The next batter, Chin Ou, launched a solo shot to right to give Chinese Taipei an early 3-0 lead.

But as Chula Vista has shown throughout the tournament, they can hit. Anytime, anywhere.

"We knew we would come back because we knew we could hit any type of pitching," said Kiko Garcia, who threw three-plus innings of shutout ball and went 2-for-4 in the contest. "We knew we could come back. We always do."

Not the Usual Suspects

Ironically, it wasn't the team's two stars--Garcia and six-foot-two first baseman Luke Ramirez--who had the biggest impact. Clutch hitting from 12-year-old second baseman Bulla Graft who drove in the go-ahead run, and a 2-for-2 day from the team's No.9 hitter Seth Godfrey, including a key sacrifice fly in the fourth, provided all the offense Chula Vista would need.

But for a team dubbed the "Bombers"--Chula Vista set a Little League Baseball World Series team record with 19 total dingers in the tournament--the biggest play of the game might have been an inning-ending double play by shortstop Andy Rios. With the bases loaded, Rios scooped up sharply-hit ground ball, ran and tagged a runner heading to third and threw a perfect strike to first base.

"It was just instinct to tag the runner, he was right in front of me," the 13-year-old Rios said. "They had all the momentum with the bases loaded, but I gave us the momentum with the double play."

Three runs were all Garcia would need as he blazed through the Chinese Taipei squad en route to the win. Perhaps the most challenging part of the game for Garcia was trying to catch his breath after being tackled by Ramirez, who outweighs by him nearly 50 pounds.

"Luke grabbed me, dragged me down, fell on top of me and I lost air," Garcia said about the tackle near the pitcher's mound.

Even in the post-game press conference, some of the players still had a difficult time verbalizing what they had just accomplished.

"It's just amazing to be called [World Champions]," said Andy Rios, who went 3-for-3 with an RBI in the game. "We just wanted to come in here and just try to go for it and we did. It's just...it's just an amazing feeling."