Area baseball stars ready to shine on diamond

In the aftermath of the Little League District 16 Tournament of Champions, the all-stars are about to align on area baseball fields.

There will be plenty up for grabs in the district’s four divisions — 9-10, 10-11, Major and Junior — in the coming weeks with trips to the Section 2 Tournament at stake.

Scott Moro, the district’s volunteer administrator, said there doesn’t appear to be a clear-cut favorite in any of the divisions.

“I think it’s at the point where there’s parity in all of the divisions because the league has gotten stronger as a whole,” Moro said. “I think it can swing any way in any of the divisions.

“They’ve been off a couple of weeks since wrapping up the Tournament of Champions, so it will be about getting back to playing games and making the plays. We definitely want to have some teams get to Section 2 and keep it going. They have the capability of doing that.”

The Junior Division will begin first. The two-team event will feature Crescenta Valley versus Burbank-Tujunga-Vaquero. Crescenta Valley won the title last season.

The first game of the best-of-three series will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Dunsmore Park in La Crescenta. The championship tilt will start at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Dunsmore. If necessary, a winner-take-all contest would be held July 2 at a time to be determined and will likely be played at Tujunga Little League Fields.

“It’s a lot of fun because you are seeing a lot of great competition,” Crescenta Valley Junior Manager Bryan Rich said. “It’s about pitching being the key and how quickly you are able to gel as a team.

“We know Burbank will be a very formidable team. It will be a very good tournament.”

The 9-10 and Major Divisions will get started July 5.

There will be five teams in the 9-10 Division. It will consist of two squads from Crescenta Valley and one each from Burbank, Foothill and Jewel City/Jewish War Veterans-Tujunga.

Crescenta Valley 1 will have a first-round bye. Crescenta Valley 2 will open the tournament against Jewel City/Jewish War-Tujunga at 5 p.m. at Tujunga. Burbank and Foothill will follow at 7:30 at the same site.

The championship game will begin at 10 a.m. July 9 at Tujunga. A winner-take-all contest will be held on July 10 at a time and location to be determined.

The Major Division will feature four teams, Burbank, Crescenta Valley, Foothill-Vaquero and Jewel City/Jewish War Veterans.

Crescenta Valley will face Foothill-Vaquero at 5 p.m. at Montrose Park, followed by Burbank against Jewel City/Jewish War Veterans at 7:30.

The title game will be played at 3 p.m. July 9 at Tujunga and a winner-take-all contest will be July 10 at a time and site to be determined.

Three teams — Burbank, Crescenta Valley and Vaquero — will take part in the 10-11 Division tournament, which will start July 6.

Burbank received a first-round bye. Crescenta Valley will meet Vaquero at 6 p.m. at Pacific Park in Glendale. Burbank will take on the winner at 7:30 p.m. July 7 at Pacific.

Burbank Manager Thomas Magoon said pitching depth will likely be a deciding factor.

“You could be playing just about every day, so you need to have two or three starters who you can rely on,” Magoon said. “We have the first-round bye, so we can set up our rotation the way we want.

“If you also have depth [around the field], it also gives you a chance to be successful.”

The championship game will occur at 3 p.m. July 9 at Tujunga. A winner-take-all contest will take place July 10 at a time and venue to be determined.