‘Quake Kids’ Can’t Shake Loose Final Win

Rocked by an earthquake seven months ago, a group of Northridge youngsters were thwarted by Mother Nature again Saturday with a rain delay and then by sizzling fastballs as their team lost the Little League World Series to Venezuela, 4-3.

The squad from Maracaibo outscored Northridge in a tense game before 35,000 spectators and thousands of television viewers in Los Angeles who watched a live national broadcast that sent emotions reeling from anticipation to hope and, finally, disappointment.

“I feel terrible,” said Debra Gray, tears in her eyes as she sat in the Presidente Mexican restaurant in Northridge, where scores of residents--including parents of other children in the league--crowded together to watch the game.

“But they did great. They’re the national champions. . . . There’s not enough thanks we can give to the kids for what they did for our community.”

At the 35er sports bar in Pasadena, downcast patrons filed out quickly after the defeat. “They were upset for the kids,” a bartender said.

“It’s a shame,” said Paul Hendison, a Hollywood marketing consultant who watched the game at the Legends sports bar in Santa Monica. “It was terrific baseball.”

The loss capped a remarkable odyssey for the “Earthquake Kids” from Northridge, who have captured the imagination of baseball fans nationwide.

Most of the players and their families were displaced by the Northridge earthquake. One of the boys has yet to move back into his home. But the young athletes remained committed to their sport, gathering steam and a passel of victories and admirers on the way to their field of dreams in Williamsport.

Laurels and roses have already been strewn in the paths of the players, described Saturday as “matinee idols” by one sports commentator. Southland media outlets and corporations have clamored for their attention, and the city of Los Angeles has a parade and rally planned for Monday.

After the game Saturday, as the Venezuelan players swarmed onto the field and cried for joy, Northridge catcher Matt Cunningham congratulated his opponents and looked for a silver lining.

“That team is a great team,” he said. “They played their game; we played our game. They beat us. . . . We’re U.S.A. champions. . . . We’ve gone as far as we wanted to go.”

The loss took the coveted world title away from the United States and Southern California, which won the series in 1992 and 1993.

With superior pitching and hitting, the South American team stopped a dream run for the Northridge crew. Until the defeat, the San Fernando Valley boys--who signed up for the league just two weeks after the 6.8-magnitude January temblor--had won 20 of 21 games in five tournaments across the country.

Their victories culminated Thursday with a shutout win over a Virginia team for the U.S. title.

But the Maracaibo squad, also impressive in its earlier wins, was led by pitcher Cesar Hidalgo, whose fastball stymied many of the Northridge players.

“The pitcher was good. . . . He was tough to hit,” said Northridge manager Larry Baca.

The two sides went scoreless for two innings before thunder, lightning and heavy rain--more than three inches--stopped play for three hours.

When the game resumed, the Northridge team seemed to have lost some of its momentum. In the third and fourth innings, the boys gave up two runs as the South Americans came on strong.

But with a partisan crowd--including members of the three American teams Northridge defeated on its way to the final--chanting, “U.S.A., U.S.A.,” the Earthquake Kids rumbled back, tying the game.

Supporters’ euphoria evaporated in the fifth inning, however, after Venezuela scored two more runs to make it 4-2. A glimmer of hope for the Northridge team shone in the bottom of the fifth when right fielder Spencer Gordon knocked out a solo home run.

But no runs were scored in the sixth and last inning by either side, leaving a 4-3 final tally.

The Northridge players, dejected in their sky-blue jerseys, sat silent for a few moments. They then shook hands with their Maracaibo opponents, who earned Latin America its first World Series title since 1958.

At dawn Monday, radio station KRTH will send stretch limousines to the boys’ homes to collect them for an on-the-air talk with Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda and Mayor Richard Riordan. Afterward, Disneyland will give them their own parade at the theme park.

On Monday afternoon, the city will stage its celebration: a parade and rally.

As far as Sharmie Drake is concerned, it’s recognition well-deserved.

“They are the U.S. champs,” said Drake, the mother of reserve player Scott (Scooter) Drake Jr. “They are truly our boys of summer.

“These kids gave a championship to a city that has been through so much, and they’ve done it with so much enthusiasm.”

Times staff writers Jeannette Regalado, Abigail Goldman, Jill Bettner and Jack Cheevers, and correspondent Eric Slater contributed to this story.

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