Teams from both Danville and the Lamorinda region of the Bay Area reached the bracket play portion of the Connie Mack World Series, which begins Monday morning in Farmington, New Mexico, and features just 10 of the top teams from around the country.
The Danville Hoots, who reached this stage last year before falling to Midland-Cincinnati in the title game, are back again after making it out of the West Regional. Lamorinda, however, came via a Last Chance tournament, and having been staving off elimination for the past couple weeks.
"We won a V Tools Last Chance qualifier in Albuquerque last Sunday just to get here, grinding our way out of the losers' bracket to make it to the championship game," said Lamorinda's Connor Sullivan, who pitches for College Park during the high school season. "It was then an amazing feeling to make it out of pool play, especially considering we have the smallest roster here with only 14 players."
The Lamorinda team reads like a who's-who of the Diablo Athletic League, including third baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who was the DAL-Foothill Offensive Player of the Year, and Northgate graduate Nico Zeglin, a first baseman-pitcher combo who will play next year at the College of San Mateo. Recent Alhambra grad Trent Greene is another notable, as the center fielder will play next year for Fresno Pacific. The only player on the team who was not at the high school level this past year is Livermore grad Logan Cole, who was playing infield for Ohlone Junior College this past spring.
Sullivan and Zeglin figure to be key figures on the mound, along with Berean Christian senior Cole Duey and rising juniors Luke Saunders and Evan Tomlinson of Northgate.
The Danville Hoots, meanwhile, appear as an EBAL all-star team, including eight De La Salle players. Recent Spartan graduates Taison Corio, Ryan Costeiu, Nick Cirelli, and Gunner Mayer are all on the team, along with rising seniors Cole Silva, Chris Santiago, and Jared Amigh, and junior UCLA commit Kyle Harrison. Amador Valley has two recent graduates on the roster - pitcher Jack Snook and infielder Nick Proctor, while San Ramon Valley grad and Saint Mary's commit Connor Linchey is one of the key arms on a deep pitching staff.
Aside from Costeiu, Mayer, Harrison, Snook, and Linchey, juniors Josh Giffins (California HS) and Josh White (Monte Vista) add to that rotation. Giffins is a verbal commit to Utah, while White is committed to Cal. Three players on the Danville team - White, Harrison, and San Ramon Valley rising junior shortstop Jack Grant - will all be playing in the Area Code Games immediately following the conclusion of the Connie Mack World Series. In the meantime, all the players are enjoying the local hospitality and baseball-driven mania.
"Farmington loves baseball, and I think the whole town was at the parade, cheering us on, and making us feel welcome," Sullivan said. "Kids are asking for pictures with us, and asking for autographs. We heard that the Lamorinda team shirts have sold out at the concession stand, and that the locals are cheering for us. We are kind of the underdog here. We are scrappy, and play loose, and I guess they kind of like that here."
Bracket play starts on Monday. The Hoots face Knights Baseball of Tennessee at 11:30 am MST, while Lamorinda faces the defending champion Midland Redskins at 5:15 pm.
