The Encinitas Little League made history Monday by earning a spot in the semi-finals for the West Championship.
Fans celebrated a win by the boys last night against Pacifica Little League in San Benardino. The team won 9-to-7 Monday night, clinching a spot in Friday's semifinals.
Monday’s action was not only part of a double header, but also one for the history books.
“Just to make it this far is exceptional. To be in this venue is incredible,” said Little League Coach Ken MacDonald.
MacDonald has been coaching in Little League for the last 5 years and worked with Chaz Gagne, coach of the All-Star team.
“It's truly historic. It's been 55 years and these kids are a special group of kids,” MacDonald said. “It's amazing."
The next game against Nevada will be Wednesday but it shouldn’t affect the team’s appearance in semi-finals on Thursday.
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Clarence Haseyama was wearing a team jersey and hat as he watched his grandson play.
“Very proud, very proud,” Haseyama said of his grandson, adding that he believes his success may be attributed to the blood line of male baseball players in the family.
The roster for the Encinitas All-Stars includes Austin Machado, Ethan Workinger, Finlay Lumsden, Izuru Sakata, John Kraus, Kai Haseyama, Luke Berardi, Nicholas Sando, Nikola Ortega, Peter Gagne, Ryan Martinez, Shane Telfer, Spencer Jones and Wyley Sharp.
All pool play is being live streamed on ESPN3.
