The Sweetwater Little League Team won its third straight elimination game Tuesday 11-3 over Bowling Green, Kentucky.
The 5 p.m. game in Williamsport, Pennsylvania,was an elimination game, meaning the seventh graders from Chula Vista and Bonita must win to advance.
Staked to a 3-0 lead, thanks to a couple wild pitches, the boys from Bonita stayed on the offensive.
Levi Mendez crushed a two-run homer in the second inning to push the lead to 5-0.
Pitcher Dante Schmid struck out the side in the bottom of the second to set the tone on the mound.
But the offense wasn't done. Antonio Andrade led off the 5th inning with a solo shot and Sweetwater Valley tacked on a few more runs in the late innings to put the game out of reach.
The Southern California sluggers dominated Kentucky, single-handedly knocking them out of the tournament. They outscored Kentucky by a combined 25-5 in their two wins. As NBC7's Derek Togerson explains, the team has a good chance heading into the elimination rounds.
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The West Regional champs captured a decisive victory over Rhode Island on Monday night, helped largely in part by a huge third inning that included a grand slam home run by Jacob Baptista.
The South Bay players lost their previous game against Texas Sunday 8 - 4 to fall into the loser's bracket. It was the first loss for the Sweetwater Valley Little League All-Stars in the last 18 games they've played.
The boys play next on Thursday at 5 p.m. in the semifinals. The team they will play the losers of Wednesday's Pennsylvania vs. Texas game.
