On August 4, the Little League Western Regionals ended their first day of tournament play with a captivating matchup between Southern California’s Eastvale Little League and Arizona’s Litchfield Park Little League.
With their largest crowd of nearly 5,000 people watching, Eastvale overcame Litchfield Park with a score 4-0. Gavin Cruz, starting pitcher, performed well, only allowing two hits the entire game. Eastvale manager, Corey Tatum, explained that the boys seem to feed off the large amount of support they receive from the community. We asked Carson Tatum, Roman Romero, and Gavin Cruz what it was like to play for such a large crowd.
“Oh it was awesome, amazing. I was a little nervous in the beginning, but it’s awesome to see all your friends and classmates coming to support you. I just got to play like nobody’s watching and do my best and be me. After the first inning, I let the nerves go, and then I felt better as the game went on.”
Although the team was incredibly united in their first game of Regionals, Tatum explained that the team had a rough start during State.
“After our first game in state, falling short to Forest Ranch, we went back to the drawing table. That’s when these kids, on their own, they figured it out we have to do it together. We play for Eastvale, we represent Eastvale, but when we do our breaks it’s no longer Eastvale, it’s together. These kids have played their tails off the last eight games, and it's just getting better, and better, and better.”
Coach Tatum mentioned that each player has a role to help them better the team. After learning that the team needed to come together, Cruz struck out a total of nine batters, while Romeo made a difficult diving catch in right field. In the second inning, Carson Tatum hit the only run-scoring hit to begin Eastvale’s lead. Gavin had one last comment to explain the team's mentality.
“We all thought we can’t be selfish, and we have to play together and do it for the team.”
Eastvale’s next game will begin at 2 p.m. on August 6 with Michael Lontajo set to pitch against Central East Maui Little League from Hawaii. Show your support down at Al Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino.
