Sandpoint falls in Little League regionals opener

VANCOUVER, Wash. — The Sandpoint Little League Junior All-Star team went toe-to-toe with one of the top 13-14-year-old Little League teams in the country for five innings before things went south in a 11-1 seven-inning loss to Nogales, the Arizona state champions, in the opener of the Junior Little League Western Regionals on Thursday in Vancouver.

Preston Pettit threw a brilliant game, holding the free-swinging team from the Arizona/Mexico border in check, as the game was 0-0 heading into the fifth inning.

Nogales features nine players who were members of last year’s Little League Intermediate National Championship team, which beat Puerto Rico in a nationally-televised championship game on ESPN. This year, the team had to win a competitive 13-team Arizona state tournament just to get to Vancouver, and their bats finally came alive in the last two innings to earn the win.

Dillan Mitton scored Sandpoint’s only run on an RBI groundout by Declan Plummer late in the game.

Sandpoint faces the Oregon state champions today in the second game of pool play, with the game webcast live online at www.juniorregionals.com.

Sandpoint then will face Southern California, last year’s state champs, who are coached by former Dodger and Cub first baseman Eric Karros, on Sunday. The final pool play game is Monday against the Washington state champs.

All games are webcast live online at www.juniorregionals.com.