SALINAS VALLEY — Little League players from South Monterey County have been playing in the District 9 All-Star Tournaments taking place at various local parks.
King City was the only South County team in the 9-10-11 tournament and finished with a .500 record with a 10-9 loss to American on June 20 in Greenfield. In the next game, King City defeated Manzanita, 11-1, at Atlantic.
King City got back to winning in the next games, beating Hartnell by 5-4 on June 25 at Hartnell. In their final game, King City lost 11-1 to Ferrasci on June 26 at Ferrasci.
In the 8-9-10 division, South County was represented by Gonzales, Greenfield and Soledad. In the opening games on June 20, Greenfield lost 23-0 to Hollister at National, and Soledad defeated Gonzales by 11-9 at Greenfield.
On June 23, Soledad lost 12-8 to Hollister at Gonzales, and Gonzales eliminated Greenfield by 15-0 at Greenfield. Then, Gonzales beat National, 12-5, at American on June 25 and played their last game of the tournament on June 27, falling to Hollister by a 16-3 score. Soledad fell 21-0 to Hartnell on June 24 at Hartnell.
Gonzales, King City and Soledad competed in the 10-11-12 Major division.
On June 20, Soledad opened the tournament with a 1-0 pitching gem against National. Soledad went on a roll after that win, beating Hollister in a 6-5 thriller on June 22 at Atlantic, followed by a 8-0 shutout of Atlantic on June 24 at Ferrasci. In their fourth game, Soledad downed King City 6-2 on June 27.
Gonzales lost 8-7 to King City at Manzanita on June 20 and then bounced back with a 4-3 victory over National at Soledad on June 23. On June 25, Gonzales was eliminated from the tournament, falling 14-1 to Atlantic in Greenfield.
After the win over Gonzales on the 20th, King City beat Continental 8-7 on June 24. With a 6-2 loss against Soledad, King City then ended the tournament with a 14-1 loss to Hollister.
On July 2, Soledad claimed the District 9 title after a 12-0 loss to Hollister and then winning 5-3 against Hollister in the title-clinching game. Soledad was unbeaten until the loss to Hollister but was able to win the final contest.
