Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Baseball for breakfast

Morning crowd gathers in Encinitas to root for all-star team

On August 6, the Encinitas Little League all-star team was playing another regional playoff game for the Western Region Championship in San Bernardino. The team had advanced through the ranks to represent all 600 Leagues in Southern California.

Meanwhile, back in town, about 30 fans, friends, current and former coaches, and players gathered at Oggi’s Pizza restaurant in Encinitas to watch the 8:30 a.m. game live (on ESPN3).

Cole Liniak was there watching. He is a former Encinitas Little League player who went on to play ten seasons in the minor leagues and was called up for two seasons with the Chicago Cubs. “This Encinitas team is amazing,” said Liniak. “I also came to see my old coaches.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

One of those former Encinitas coaches watching the game was Don Garcia, who coached Liniak, along with the current team’s pitching coach, Brian Mazone. Both Liniak and Mazone played on the Encinitas team in the late ’80s.

Gene Sarenana, one of the original coaches when the Encinitas Little League was founded in 1957, was at Oggi’s. Another fan, former Encinitas mayor Danny Dalager, played for coach Sarenana in the early ’60s. Dalager later served as president of the league in 1990. He proudly wore his red 1990 league jacket.

Five boys from Paul Ecke Central Elementary School, all fifth-graders, were there to support their fellow teammates. All had played in their regular season with several of the all-star team members. John, Matt, Will, Gavin, and James agreed that it was “really cool” that their league is in the playoffs. The boys were in San Bernardino last weekend to watch the team advance to the playoffs.

Though Encinitas lost their game today (8 to 4), the team was guaranteed an additional playoff game on August 8. The winner of that game (to be played against either Hawaii or Nevada) will advance to the Western Championship final game to be played on ESPN2 on August 9 at 6:00 p.m.

Should the Encinitas Little League advance to the final game, Oggi’s is planning to host hundreds of fans, to support their team’s chances to advance to the World Series in Williamsport, PA.

Three San Diego area Little League teams have had winning trips to the World Series in recent years — two from Chula Vista. Last year’s Eastridge team and 2009’s Park View team both won the World Series title.

Oceanside’s 2001 visit to Williamsport was the first for a San Diego area team. The team was beat, however, by the Mid-Atlantic Division winners, which was later disqualified because their pitcher, Danny Almonte, turned out to be 15 years old — two years past the age limit. The disqualification promoted Oceanside to a third-place finish.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

In-n-Out alters iconic symbol to reflect “modern-day California”

Keep Palm and Carry On?
Next Article

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans

On August 6, the Encinitas Little League all-star team was playing another regional playoff game for the Western Region Championship in San Bernardino. The team had advanced through the ranks to represent all 600 Leagues in Southern California.

Meanwhile, back in town, about 30 fans, friends, current and former coaches, and players gathered at Oggi’s Pizza restaurant in Encinitas to watch the 8:30 a.m. game live (on ESPN3).

Cole Liniak was there watching. He is a former Encinitas Little League player who went on to play ten seasons in the minor leagues and was called up for two seasons with the Chicago Cubs. “This Encinitas team is amazing,” said Liniak. “I also came to see my old coaches.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

One of those former Encinitas coaches watching the game was Don Garcia, who coached Liniak, along with the current team’s pitching coach, Brian Mazone. Both Liniak and Mazone played on the Encinitas team in the late ’80s.

Gene Sarenana, one of the original coaches when the Encinitas Little League was founded in 1957, was at Oggi’s. Another fan, former Encinitas mayor Danny Dalager, played for coach Sarenana in the early ’60s. Dalager later served as president of the league in 1990. He proudly wore his red 1990 league jacket.

Five boys from Paul Ecke Central Elementary School, all fifth-graders, were there to support their fellow teammates. All had played in their regular season with several of the all-star team members. John, Matt, Will, Gavin, and James agreed that it was “really cool” that their league is in the playoffs. The boys were in San Bernardino last weekend to watch the team advance to the playoffs.

Though Encinitas lost their game today (8 to 4), the team was guaranteed an additional playoff game on August 8. The winner of that game (to be played against either Hawaii or Nevada) will advance to the Western Championship final game to be played on ESPN2 on August 9 at 6:00 p.m.

Should the Encinitas Little League advance to the final game, Oggi’s is planning to host hundreds of fans, to support their team’s chances to advance to the World Series in Williamsport, PA.

Three San Diego area Little League teams have had winning trips to the World Series in recent years — two from Chula Vista. Last year’s Eastridge team and 2009’s Park View team both won the World Series title.

Oceanside’s 2001 visit to Williamsport was the first for a San Diego area team. The team was beat, however, by the Mid-Atlantic Division winners, which was later disqualified because their pitcher, Danny Almonte, turned out to be 15 years old — two years past the age limit. The disqualification promoted Oceanside to a third-place finish.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Spa-Like Facial Treatment From Home - This Red Light Therapy Mask Makes It Possible

Next Article

Birding & Brews: Breakfast Edition, ZZ Ward, Doggie Street Festival & Pet Adopt-A-Thon

Events November 21-November 23, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader