Little League Rejects Disqualification Appeal

Little League baseball officials on Sunday rejected an attempt by a Woodland Hills team to reverse a decision that sidelined two key players from championship play in a dispute over where they live, authorities said.

League authorities said they have received no documentation that would cause them to change their decision. On Friday, the two 12-year-old players were declared ineligible after Encino team officials charged that neither player lives in Woodland Hills league boundaries.

“[Woodland Hills] needs to present things that people are required by law to change when they change residency--voter registration, driver’s license, income tax forms, that kind of thing,” said Carl Magee, the Little League administrator in charge of the Western region. “What they presented was not enough for [the League’s national headquarters] to change its mind.”

The decision, which keeps Woodland Hills’ best player, Junior Garcia, and another starter, Garrett Feig, on the sidelines, does not prevent Woodland Hills Little League officials from again appealing the disqualifications, authorities said.

Magee said Little League officials will continue to review documentation as it is provided by Woodland Hills.

Woodland Hills officials “indicated they will continue to pursue this,” he said.

Woodland Hills league officials were not immediately available for comment.

Another appeal seemed especially likely Sunday, after the Woodland Hills Sunrise all-stars defeated a Lompoc team 11-0 to advance in the double elimination tournament.

The Woodland Hills team, playing without Junior and Garrett, lost to a Thousand Oaks squad Saturday. Junior, considered the top Little League player in the Valley, and Garrett, who has played in Woodland Hills for four years, sat in street clothes as Woodland Hills lost the first-round sectional game.

But from a hotel room in Lompoc, Woodland Hills Little League President Geri Szabo scrambled to put together an appeal. She faxed documents to Little League headquarters in Williamsport, Pa., that she said exonerated the players.

Woodland Hills needs to keep winning, or the issue will become moot. The team faces Santa Paula today in another elimination game and would have to win games every day through Thursday to advance to the Southern California division tournament in La Puente.

Meanwhile, the Encino Little League officials who complained about the Woodland Hills players were busy cleaning up their fields after vandals broke into the storage and announcer’s booths over the weekend. Chalk was spread on the bleachers, fields were flooded, and graffiti were written on fences.

Encino Little League President Bob Bills estimated damage at $3,000.