Maidu falls short of dream, loses to Alpine in state final

It's always a sad deal when teams fall short of their goals, and it was no different for the Maidu Little League Major All-Stars on July 24. Last year, the team made it to the Little League NorCal State championship game before losing and the team was back this year to win it all. However, Maidu lost to Alpine again, 4-2, in the championship game in Petaluma. It was a crushing defeat that ended their season earlier than they wanted to, as the boys wanted to go to San Bernardino to play in the West Region tournament with the chance to qualify for the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. "They were crushed," Maidu Manager Justin Bovolick said. "They know they probably left it out on the field. They had it in their hands and let the opportunity slip through their fingers. Our message to them was that sometimes, the better team doesn't win and the team that wins is the team that deserves to win. They didn't make very many mistakes and they capitalized on every single one of ours. We told them it wasn't just yesterday's outcome that they needed to think about, it was the body of work the last three years." Maidu led 2-1 and was six outs away from winning and forcing a second game against Alpine. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Sawyer Bovolick hit a home run to put Maidu in front 2-1. However, in the top of the fifth inning, Alpine tied the score on a Maidu error, a double and two walks, and won by adding two more runs in the sixth inning. Two singles, two walks and another single was all she wrote for Maidu. Maidu only managed two hits in the game, both by Bovolick, and they drew just one walk, as Alpine's pitcher was exceptional with 13 strikeouts. Maidu pitchers Jaxon Cruz, Lucas Jacob, Preston Ortega and Keith Abicht did well. Cruz started and struck out 11 in 3 2/3 innings. For two straight seasons, Maidu reached the state championship game; how many teams can say that? Two years ago, the team made it to the section championship game. Six players played on all three all-star teams: Sawyer Bovolick, Carter McIlnay, Luke Wittig, Ortega, Dominic Passifione and Jacob. "The biggest thing is these boys have learned a lot of different things that have made them grow as human beings that will lead them to be productive adults," Bovolick said. "They're journey is just beginning."