Thousand Oaks Team Goes for Title : Baseball: Today, the Little League All-Stars will try to win a game that could lead to a state championship for the second year in a row.

Five months of sweat and practice will be put to the test this afternoon as a Thousand Oaks Little League team seeks its second consecutive state championship.

*

The Thousand Oaks All-Stars, the best 9- and 10-year-olds from the city’s eight teams, will take the field against a club from North Mission Viejo.

A year ago, the All-Stars defeated a team from Lakewood to take their first championship. If they win today, the Thousand Oaks All-Stars will play for top honors in the state on Sunday.

“I haven’t seen kids like this before,” said Manager Ed Kitchen, who guided 12- and 13-year-olds from Thousand Oaks to a Little League World Series championship last season. “They want it badly.”

A repeat championship will not be easy, even though they are among just four teams left from more than 900 that participated.

At 4:45 p.m. in La Mirada, the All-Stars will take the field against North Mission Viejo, a collection of preteens who on Tuesday edged the team from Thousand Oaks, 4-3.

“After we lost, I told my players that I’ve never had this feeling before in my life,” Kitchen said. “Even though we’re in the losers’ bracket, I’ve never been more confident.”

Only two members from last year’s state champion team have returned this season, with the others too old to play in this league. But Kitchen, who is managing 9- and 10-year-olds for the first time, is undaunted.

“We’ve been there before and we understand what it takes,” he said. “We have two players back from last year, and they give the other players the feel of what it takes to win.”

One of those boys is Chad Lundahl, a scrappy 10-year-old who does double-duty as a pitcher and shortstop.

“It was like a dream come true or winning a million dollars,” Chad said of last year’s championship.

“If you make it to the state championship, you’re a good team,” said Chad, who is batting .421 and pitched three shutout innings in Thursday’s 13-5 victory over a team from El Monte.

“But I think this team can go all the way and be just as good as last year.”

Asked how he manages to hit .421 against the league, Chad sighed. “You pick a window out of the pitcher’s hand and see it from there,” he said a moment later.

Collectively, the All-Stars are batting .350, and the pitchers have a combined earned-run average of 2.73. But they are not letting up. They have been practicing at least two hours a day, seven days a week, for months.

“We usually give them maybe one day off every two weeks,” Kitchen said.

One of the new team members is first baseman Drew Saberhagen, son of Colorado Rockies pitching ace Bret Saberhagen.

“He’s going to be a pitcher, but he’s only 9,” the manager said. “He’s going to be a good one.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

FYI

The Thousand Oaks All-Stars will play North Mission Viejo at 4:45 p.m. today at Behringer Park, Alicante Road and Stanton Avenue, La Mirada.