July 26, 2006

District 57 falls in West final District 57 loses in Big League West final
Tri-Valley Herald

OLALLA, Wash. — District 57 came within one win of a trip to the Big League World Series, but the run ended Tuesday afternoon with a 10-0 loss to Southern California in the Big League West Regionals title game.

"You would think there would be a big letdown, but we went a lot further than we thought we would," District 57 coach Mike Barry said. "I would definitely say we exceeded our expectations. I am proud of them, and they are proud of what they have accomplished. We are definitely disappointed not to have gone further, but we have had so many highs in this tournament that these guys are feeling pretty good about themselves."

While no official seeds were assigned heading into the tournament, District 57 was considered by many to be one of the lower seeds, behind power houses such as Southern California, Hawaii, Washington and Arizona. After losing its first game of the tournament to Hawaii, District 57 went on to go undefeated until Tuesday, eventually eliminating Hawaii on Sunday.

District 57's Nick Dominguez led the team in RBIs, and Shane Reno powered two home runs. The team hit four home runs on Monday in a 15-8 win over Washington.

District 57 pitcher Dakota Laufenberg had two wins, and Bronson Collins was the winning pitcher in the big victory against Hawaii. Travis Anderson's play at shortstop was key to the District 57 defense in the tournament.