Curtis Ceniceros hit the ball less than two feet. When he reached first base safely, his Vineyard Little League all-star team advanced to the next level of tournament play at a site less than five miles away.

Not all journeys can be measured in distance.

Jordan Dresner scored from third base on a throwing error following Ceniceros' spinning bunt in the bottom of the sixth inning to give Vineyard a 1-0 victory over Temecula Valley North in the Southern California championship game at Carl Karper field in San Bernardino.

The win capped a long climb through the loser's bracket for Vineyard, which needed wins in six consecutive elimination games following a 6-1 loss to Cajon de Oro Little League in their divisional tournament opener.

After winning the first Southern California championship tournament held in San Bernardino in 31 years, Vineyard advanced to the West Region tournament at Al Houghton Stadium on the city's northern edge.

"After our first loss, people were telling us we would have to win six straight to reach the regionals," said Vineyard manager Richard Reyes prior to the championship game. "Our approach with the kids (has been) 'we play tomorrow'."

Vineyard's one-game-at-a-time approach narrowed to one-batter-at-a-time during a well-pitched championship game. Dresner and Temecula's Tony Calhoun employed different styles, but both threw three-hitters and neither allowed an earned run. Calhoun, a six-foot tall flamethrower, relied on power, and finished with ten strikeouts in five-plus innings of work. By contrast, Dresner mixed up his pitches' speed and location. He struck out only four, but induced twelve ground ball outs in a complete game effort.

"When he's on, the other team looks like they are taking offensive swings against him," said Richard Reyes of Dresner, who extended his shutout streak to fifteen consecutive innings in the championship game. "He gets a lot of ground balls and he has a good defense behind him."

Dresner saved two of his strikeouts for when he needed them most. After Dresner retired the first Temecula batter in the top of the sixth inning, Carlos Herrera singled, and sped to third on an overthrow following Bradley Salgado's infield single. But Dresner escaped the threat, striking out Temecula's fourth- and fifth-place hitters to keep the game scoreless.

Dresner then sparked the rally that led to the game's only run. The Vineyard pitcher drew a one-out walk and moved to third on a throwing error. He hesitated initially on Ceniceros' bunt before racing home with the deciding run.

"That's baseball," said Temecula manager Bob Craig of the deciding play. "If we just play catch, I think we could have got the runner coming in. We just didn't execute."

Dresner's effort gave Vineyard two consecutive shutout victories over Temecula Valley North. Twenty-four hours earlier, Tommy Reyes scattered three hits, struck out ten, and did not allow a ball out of the infield in a 6-0 Vineyard win.

"Both of their pitchers had control of both their pitches, fastball and curve," said Craig at the conclusion of the tournament. "That says a lot for them. Usually the curve is a waste pitch, but they threw it for strikes."

"He was on," said Richard Reyes of Tommy Reyes' performance. "All of his pitches felt comfortable, and he was in control."

Vineyard was also in control from the start, grabbing a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Elijah Briseno drew a leadoff walk before Michael Rodriguez lined a pitch over the left field fence. They added to the lead when ninth-place hitter Jordan Adams launched a two-out solo home run to center in the second inning, and added two more in the third on a pair of walks, two wild pitches, and Ceniceros' RBI single.

The sweep gave Vineyard its first-ever divisional title, something that seemed unlikely one inning into the tournament. Cajon de Oro scored all six of its runs in the bottom of the first inning of their opening-round win, and Vineyard spent the rest of the tournament making up for the poor start. CDO chased Rodriguez, the Vineyard starter, after six of the first seven batters reached safely, and ninth-place hitter Drew Forehand broke the game open against Dresner with a two-out, bases-loaded triple. Although Vineyard eventually outhit Cajon de Oro 7-6 for the game, CDO pitcher Trevor Franks kept Vineyard's offense at bay, stranding four runners in scoring position.

"One bad inning -- it's tough, but that's baseball," said Richard Reyes. "We had as many hits as they did, but we couldn't string ours together.

"We told our kids they're going to have to do it the hard way now, one game at a time. They've bounced back before."

Vineyard had previously won the District 21 tournament with three consecutive victories after a loss to Rancho Cucamonga's Citrus Little League, and then rebounded from a 5-2 loss to Riverside's Magnolia Center National Little League to defeat the same team in a rematch in the Section 7 finals.

Vineyard struggled initially after their opening game loss, and needed a three-run rally in the top of the sixth inning to oust LaVerne National 4-2. Pinch-hitter Kevin Shaw delivered a bases-loaded single that tied the game, and Artie Solis slapped a one-hopper through the legs of a drawn-in LaVerne second baseman to drive home two more. Reliever Steve Roule pitched a scoreless sixth inning to preserve the win.

"This is probably the best tournament in the country," observed LaVerne manager Greg Gavalinch. "There are no easy games at this level."

Tommy Reyes and Dresner then extended Vineyard's season with strong pitching performances. Tommy Reyes raised his international tournament record to 5-1, striking out ten and scattering five hits in a 3-1 win over Crescenta Valley. The next night, Dresner allowed only three hits and struck out nine as Vineyard eliminated Saddleback 10-0. Vineyard scored five times in the top of the first inning, with Solis and Roule both contributing two-run singles. All ten of Vineyard's hits in the game were singles.

The win earned Vineyard a rematch with Cajon de Oro, which fell to Temecula Valley North in the winner's bracket final. CDO ran short of pitchers due to injuries and Little League Baseball's revamped pitching rules, and Herrera made the District 41 champions pay with a three-run homer in the top of the first inning that sparked a 6-1 win. Craig elected to remove Calhoun from the mound after only one inning, and seldom-used reliever Mike Worthen made the move pay off by allowing only four hits and an unearned run the rest of the way.

"We were looking at the big picture," said Craig of his decision to change pitchers. Worthen had previously thrown only three innings in the international tournament, but Craig wanted to preserve his top pitcher's arm.

"Tony has thrown a lot of innings to help get us here," said Craig.

The next night, Cajon de Oro grabbed an early lead on first inning RBI singles from Matt Morris and Frank, but Tommy Reyes erased the advantage by launching a three-run homer in the fifth. CDO tied the game in the bottom of the inning, but Tommy Reyes (3-for-4 on the day) reached base and scored on a passed ball in the seventh inning. Solis, the Vineyard starter, threw five shutout innings after his rough start, and Roule pitched a scoreless seventh inning to earn the save.

Vineyard then swept Temecula Valley North to become the first San Bernardino area league to reach the region tournament since the San-Ri Little League won the Southern California championship in 1974. Like San-Ri, Vineyard reached the region championship game, but fell to Chandler National (Arizona) Little League by a 2-0 score.