West Side made quick work of Loveland with an 18-0 victory in three innings on Thursday to capture its 40th consecutive district championship.
“This team is good,” said Saurber, who returns as the team’s catcher. “There’s a good set of people on this team. I think we can make it far. I think we’re hitting the ball well, and we’ve got a lot more pitchers than we did last year.”
West Side will open Ohio Little League state tournament play on Saturday, July 19, in Boardman. The bracket has not been announced, and the state tournament will run through July 25.
West Side has 21 state titles and has made trips to the Little League World Series in 1991, 1993, 2007, 2010 and 2021.
“This has been fun so far,” said Gavyn Spears, who laced a two-RBI double in the first inning. “I’m playing with my best friends — and we’re winning. It never gets old winning.”
West Side scored 13 runs in the first inning, four in the second and one in the third. Eight players had at least one hit, while 11 of the 12 players on the roster crossed the plate at least once.
“Again, this is like a crash course,” West Side manager Ken Coomer said. “We started with the all-stars just three weeks ago. So, we’re still in the process of figuring out correct positions, pitching and a lot of rough swinging.”
Saurber went 2-for-2 with three runs and two RBIs, while Jordan Malloy (2-for-3, two runs, RBI), Preston Baker (1-for-2, two runs, RBI), TJ Madden (1-for-3, three RBIs, run) and Cash Jones (2-for-3, two runs, two RBIs) also contributed at the plate.
Plenty of pitching
Coomer said West Side’s pitching staff is deep.
Despite only playing a combined seven innings in two games during the district tournament, West Side had five pitchers take the mound.
“We’re pretty confident in our pitching,” Coomer said. “A couple of these kids got live arms because they’ve had very little reps in them.”
Jones, Spears and Saurber combined to pitch a perfect game in three innings on Thursday. They struck out six of the nine batters they faced. Bobby Frazier and Malloy pitched for West Side on Tuesday.
The young guys
Boone Treadway and Frazier have something in common.
They’re the only 11-year-olds on the West Side 12U All-Star roster.
“It’s fun to be on this team,” said Treadway, who went 2-for-2 with two runs and three RBIs. “They’re funny, good at baseball and fun to play with.
“This is a great community — with a lot of great players around here. We just try to be good every year.”
Frazier tossed three innings of scoreless, one-hit work and had a three-RBI triple in West Side’s district-opening win Tuesday. He went 1-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI on Thursday.
The team
West Side consists of Anthony Saurber, Jordan Malloy, Oakley Turner, TJ Madden, Cash Jones, Teegan Lay, Bobby Frazier, Preston Baker, Lennox Brown, Boone Treadway, Gavyn Spears and Jonathan Lineback.
Ken Coomer is the manager, while Tim Nichting, Chris Craft and Danny Adams are assistants.
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