High School Sports

Enjoy a photo story of Fort Bragg’s Little League Champs big game Tuesday night with us

Photo of Frank Hartzell Frank Hartzell Send an email 17 minutes ago
0 6 4 minutes read
Cadence Cutino Johnson batter takes a pitch. There were at least 8 called strikeouts in the gamed, as pitchers from both sides changed speeds and threw confusing curveballs.

There were comebacks by both teams. There was frustration, sorrow, comebacks and some good baseball.

Fort Bragg’s Little League Champions, the team sponsored by Sean Leland State Farm, got knocked out of the District 35 Tournament of Champions by Sebastopol’s championship team, the White Sox, who overcame a 3-1 league to tie, then came back in the final inning to take a lead.

The teams lined up before the game. Moments later came the Little League pledge of sportsmanship and the National anthem
The scorekeepers prepare for the game

Fort Bragg’s champs almost came back in their final frame. The Fort Bragg squad team had runners on second and third when the game ended, launching a big celebration by the Sebastopol winning team, which now moves onto the final four on Wednesday. Sebastopol plays whoever won the El Molino champs vs the Santa Rosa American League champs. That winning team faces the winner of the other bracket, which includes Petaluma Valley, Rincon Valley, Mark West and Petaluma American League.

Sebapotol’s starting pitcher had a mean sinker, watched by a Fort Bragg batter as it began its dive toward the strike zone. The first four innings were a pitcher’s duel, with Sepastopol ahead 1-0, heading into the bottom of the fourth.
Fort Bragg’s Aiden Crowningshield chases down a ball hit into the gap.
Fort Bragg players gather around the coaches during a Sebastopol big inning.
Fort Bragg Pitcher Bodhi Barefoot pitched a very strong 4 innings, allowing just one run. He had control problems late but only allowed 4 hits all game and then was pulled when he exceeded the pitch count allowed for Little League players ages 11-12. Sebastopol was then able to win with walks in the 6th inning.
Sebastopol’s coach inspired players to keep fighting and get back out and play baseball, when the team fell behind 3-1. “You are in this, you can win this.”
There was a very wide emotial range, from near tears to serious concentration to one guy watching what the other dugout was up to. But they did get out there and come back and win.
Jace Ball takes a big cut for Fort Bragg.
A Sebastopol player launches a double during the 4th inning, when they tied the score.
The Fort Bragg batter swings at a high sinker pitch. This one likely wouldn’t have found the strike zone, but the pitches did drop at the plate.

California’s Little League District 35 has been around since 1959, with generations of players, coaches and parents enjoying heroics as we saw.

Paul Katzeff, one of the top baseball fans on the Coast and I had been trying to get together so we decided it would be fun to take in a game while chatting and discussing some ongoing news stories. I had planned to stay an inning or two and talk. But we got sucked into a very good baseball game and pretty much forgot about news topics as we watched, surprised at the quality of play we saw coming from both teams. One pitcher had a nice change-up as well as a fastball and curve. While there were a few mistakes and some errors made, it was nothing like the goofy Little League Baseball I was involved with as a youngster. This league was for 11-12 year olds, although Amias Vose and Theo Wilkenson played at age 10 for Sebastopol.

Paul gave me a square smile and said

“Hey, this is good baseball.”

I replied

“It really is.”

Then we got some baseball play of our own.

Moments later came the biggest thrill of the game for Paul and myself came on a foul ball. We had gone behind the catcher to watch the game. While Little League does have backstops, they are only about 15 feet high. We knew this and fortunately, both of us have played enough to recognize that a foul ball hit straight back as actually going to clear the screen. We both saw it was headed for Paul and I shouted, look out Paul, but he had already realized. This one did not go up and down at all, it barely cleared that screen and came for us like a guided missile. For two old guys we reacted quickly. I think Paul wanted to catch it but thought better at the last minute and went face into the screen. The ball hit hard right where his head had been one second before, then spun madly through the open gate and out into the street, chased by future 12-year-olds.

The ball hit by the Fort Bragg batter is visibile during the comeback in the bottom of the final inning. They got runners on second and third and could have tied, but Sepastopol got. the final out, then celebrated the hard-fought win.
With two outs in the last inning, the Fort Bragg runner stole second as all eyes were on the battle between pitcher and batter.

Paul and I agreed both these teams and their coaches should be proud of how their players fought this game out and showed more than the usual level of skill and discipline seen at this age.

To that end, I wanted to put all the names of the players and adults on both teams in this article

Fort Bragg Little League President John Richelson

Manager Matt Johanson

Coaches: Jake Barefoot and Ian Schrager

Players:

Aiden Crowningshield

Augustus Sinclair

Benjamin Colberg

Bodhi Barefoot

Cadence Cutino Johanson

Jace Ball

Joseph Stornetta

Lorenzo Jara

Max Zarate

Nova Cutino Johanson

Tyren Evans

Sebastopol

League President Josh Skikos

Manager Daniel Gill

Coaches: Dustin Lang, Tyler Villeggiante

Players:

Amias Vose

Theo Wilkenson

Knox Merget

Kent Snyder

Wyatt Villeggiante

Teo Fischer

Emmett Makaram

Landon Gill

Izzy Patheelle

Jase Lang

Elijah Rogoway

Sepastopol players poured out of the dugout after winning their game.
This was a close one and Sebastopol has to play tomorrow and win to reach the championship game.
Start your day with Company Juice in Fort Bragg, California
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Photo of Frank Hartzell Frank Hartzell Send an email 17 minutes ago
0 6 4 minutes read
Photo of Frank Hartzell

Frank Hartzell

Frank Hartzell has spent his lifetime as a curious anthropologist in a reporter's fedora. His first news job was chasing news on the streets of Houston with high school buddy and photographer James Mason, back in 1986. Then Frank graduated from Humboldt State and went to Great Gridley as a reporter, where he bonded with 1000 people and told about 3000 of their stories. In Marysville at the Appeal Democrat, the sheltered Frank got to see both the chilling depths and amazing heights of humanity. From there, he worked at the Sacramento Bee covering Yuba-Sutter and then owned the Business Journal in Yuba City, which sold 5000 subscriptions to a free newspaper. Frank then got a prestigious Kiplinger Investigative Reporting fellowship and was city editor of the Newark Ohio, Advocate and then came back to California for 4 years as managing editor of the Napa Valley Register before working as a Dominican University professor, then coming to Fort Bragg to be with his aging mom, Betty Lou Hartzell, and working for the Fort Bragg Advocate News. Frank paid the bills during that decade + with a successful book business. He has worked for over 50 publications as a freelance writer, including the Mendocino Voice and Anderson Valley Advertiser, along with construction and engineering publications. He has had the thrill of learning every day while writing. Frank is now living his dream running MendocinoCoast.News with wife, Linda Hartzell, and web developer, Marty McGee, reporting from Fort Bragg, California.

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