During their undefeated District 12 tournament run, the Los Gatos Little League 12U All Stars proved they could win by sheer dominance or by a razor-close margin.
In the championship game, Los Gatos had to dig deep to pull out a 2-1 win over host Willow Glen on July 3. The victory earned Los Gatos a berth into the Section 5 Tournament at Campbell Little League Field, where it will play its opener against the District 39 winner on July 11 at 5:30pm.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these boys,” Los Gatos Manager Damon Williams said. “The bond these boys have and the way they play together as a unit makes them the most special group. It’s the best team I’ve ever been a part of, top to bottom. The kids fought hard from start to end, and it was absolutely beautiful.”
Los Gatos got all the runs it would need when Logan Williams—the manager’s son—smashed an absolute laser to left field for a two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning. It was his first and only homer in District action, a byproduct of being intentionally walked four times.
“Logan had four home runs in scrimmages (leading up to the tournament), but he’s only had seven at-bats because of the intentional walks,” Damon Williams said. “He was due so it was great to see that, and that’s all we needed, apparently.”
That’s because Los Gatos’ defense was superb, repeatedly making game-changing plays at key moments. Willow Glen outhit Los Gatos 8-2 and put more runners in scoring position only to be denied time and again. Outside of the Williams home run, the most pivotal moment of the game came in top of the fifth inning.
Trailing by just one run, Willow Glen had a baserunner at first base with one out when it hit a line drive that traveled all the way to the left-field fence. Los Gatos left fielder Michael Denevi scooped the ball up and made a perfect throw to the cutoff man, shortstop Nico Madeiros, who then rifled a strike to catcher Troy Amburgey. Amburgey made the tag to cut off the potential game-tying run.
An inning earlier, Willow Glen loaded the bases with two out before hitting a screaming line drive, one-hop groundball that was snagged by Los Gatos third baseman Brody Kellenberger, who calmly stepped on the third-base bag for the force out to end the inning.
In the top of the third inning, Los Gatos center fielder Charlie Nielsen made a nice catch before throwing to second base for a double play. Nielsen’s play prevented a potentially big inning from Willow Glen, whose next two hitters singled which led to the team’s lone run.
“The defense was absolutely amazing—just lights out,” Williams said. “The defense saved the game for us.”
Tommy Rabitz started and went 3 ⅔ innings before Oliver Chang pitched the final 2 ⅓ innings. The duo struggled with their control at times but persevered on the mound to put Los Gatos in a position to win.
The championship final was a rematch of the teams’ June 21 pool play game, which saw Los Gatos win handily, 17-3. However, the title contest was a white-knuckle affair that could’ve easily gone Willow Glen’s way.
“In our first game with Willow Glen, we jumped on their really good pitching,” Williams said. “The harder they throw, the harder we hit. So, they brought their soft-throwing guy in and that’s a little tougher for us. It’s a different (hitting) approach, and you’ve got to be patient and think about driving the ball middle away.”
Williams knows the Section 5 Tournament will be a loaded field—it features the champions from District 9, 12, 39, 44 and 59—but he knows his team is up to the task.
“We’ve got Logan, Oliver and Tommy pitching, but we’ve also got a couple of more arms hiding in the wings if we need them,” Williams said. “If we need them, they’ll be ready to go.”
