Twin Cities All-Stars Set for Little League Openers

Four teams representing the Twin Cities Little League will begin District 3 All-Star play Saturday at sites throughout Marin County.

In the 11-12, 10-11 and 9-10 age divisions, the Twin Cities representative will play six games over the course of the next two weeks in an effort to qualify for an eight-team, single-elimination tournament that will eventually determine the district champion.

The District 3 champion in the 11-12 division will continue down the long road to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., needing also to win sectional and regional tournaments in order to advance to the nationally televised championships.

In the Junior Division, Twin Cities will face each of the other five tournament entrants once in a round-robin format, with the top four advancing to a single-elimination tournament.

Here’s a capsule look at each of the Twin Cities teams:

11-12-Year-Old All-Stars

Roster: Peter Bonomi, Nick Calzaretta, Zach Cohen, Andrew Colletti, RJ Cutkelvin, Clayton Demski, Brannon Dwyer, Andy Ehrenberg, Rusty McDonough, Reese Osborn, John Ryan, Will Sweeney, Alex Wilson.

Schedule: Saturday vs. Ross Valley at Joe Wagner Field, 11 a.m.; Sunday vs. San Francisco National at Joe Wagner Field, 2 p.m.; Tuesday vs. Tiburon at Joe Wagner Field, 5:30 p.m.; June 30 at Novato North, 5:30 p.m.; July 5 at West Marin, 5:30 p.m.; July 7 vs. Novato South at Joe Wagner Field, 5:30 p.m.

Note: Single-elimination quarterfinals begin July 9.

Coach Bill Ryan’s thoughts: “Twin Cities Little League has brought a very talented group of 12-year-olds together this year. Our All-Star team has at least one player from each of our six Major Division ballclubs. We are fortunate to have a good mix of size and speed on both offense and defense. We have six or seven kids who can hit it out of the park on one pitch, which is always nice.

“Obviously our goal is to win one game at a time. If we are successful, we can compete for the district championship and move on to sectionals, state, regionals, and eventually the World Series in Williamsport, Pa.  We know that is a long way off in the distance, so we are taking each play as it comes, and we will see what happens.

“We are very lucky to have Jay Sternberg (former Twin Cities All-Star) and Bill Benz coaching this year. They both bring a ton of baseball knowledge to the field.”

Junior Division All-Stars

Roster: Tyler Peck, Sarah Ihnken, Robby Warfel, Addison Brady, Nate Flax, Joe Matthews, Max Margulies, Michael Albinson, Patrick Quinn, Parker Bartlett, Mason Dean, Peter Nicosia, Dom Orsi.

Schedule: Saturday at Dixie-Terra Linda, 10:30 a.m.; Sunday at West Marin, 10 a.m.; Tuesday vs. Mill Valley at Moody Field, 5:30 p.m.; June 30 vs. Ross Valley at San Francisco, 5:30 p.m.; July 5 at San Francisco, 5:30 p.m.

Note: Single-elimination semifinals begin July 9.

10-11-Year-Old All-Stars

Roster: Henry Gardener, Nick Gardener, Thomas Geloso, Nicky Granovsky, Brady Kallas, Stephen Lightfoot, Cooper McLay, Buddy Myers, Sonny Myers, Jason Silberman, Teddy Snyder, Ben Syufy, Cale Tippett, Jack Wirth.

Schedule: Saturday at Tiburon, 10:30 a.m.; Sunday vs. San Francisco American at Joe Wagner Field, 5 p.m.; Monday vs. San Francisco National at Joe Wagner Field, 5:30 p.m.; June 29 vs. Novato South at Joe Wagner Field, 5:30 p.m.; July 5 vs. Novato American at Joe Wagner Field, 5:30 p.m.; July 6 vs. Dixie-Terra Linda at Joe Wagner Field, 5:30 p.m.

Note: Single-elimination quarterfinals begin July 9.

Coach Steve Lightfoot's comments: "We have a dedicated group of talented ballplayers and are looking forward to playing teams from other leagues in District 3."

9-10-Year-Old All-Stars

Roster: Alex Aguerro, Marco Castillo, Josh Cohen, Ryan Jensen, Kyle Johnson, Joe Lewis, Chance Martin, Scott Matthews, Justin Neustaetter, Brennan Paganini, Danny Ryan, Dean Watson, Jacob Zimmerman.

Schedule: Saturday at Mill Valley, 1 p.m.; Sunday at Ross Valley, 10 a.m.; Tuesday at San Rafael, 5:30 p.m.; June 30 vs. San Francisco American at Joe Wagner Field, 5:30 p.m.; July 6 at West Marin, 5:30 p.m.; July 7 at Novato North, 5:30 p.m.

Note: Single-elimination quarterfinals begin July 9.

Coach Victor Castillo's comments: "The team has an excellent attitude and is ready to play its first game.  On the team, we have four returning players from last year's team (Marco Castillo, Josh Cohen, Chance Martin-Farrell and Jacob Zimmerman).  All four are great leaders and amazing baseball players."