Navigating the road to Little League Baseball's Southern California divisional tournament is a difficult feat, given the size of the field -- 447 leagues competed for eight berths in 2005 -- as well as the Southland's deep well of youth baseball talent. The division's winner is usually crowned by a narrow margin, as eight of the nine SoCal championship games immediately prior to the 2005 international tournament were decided in extra innings, or by two runs or less.

Against this backdrop, it was not surprising that Rancho Buena Vista Little League and Imperial Beach Little League were scoreless through six innings when they met in the 2005 Southern California championship game at Corona National Little League's Promenade Community Park. But they stayed scoreless through seven innings, then eight. When the game finally ended, ten innings, 328 pitches, and a total of three hours and fourteen minutes after the first pitch, the two juggernauts had played the second-longest championship game in Southern California history.

And Rancho Buena Vista became the last Southern California team standing.

Relief pitcher Reed Reznicek escaped a bases loaded, one out threat in the bottom of the tenth inning, and Rancho Buena Vista held on to edge Imperial Beach, 2-1, and win its first-ever Southern California championship. Rancho Buena Vista moved on to the West Region tournament in San Bernardino, California, before ultimately advancing to the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Rancho Buena Vista had finally drawn first blood in the ninth inning, when Nathan Lewis delivered a one-out double into center field and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Imperial Beach answered on the first pitch in the bottom of the inning, when Slater Putland drove a home run over the right center field fence.

In the tenth, RBV's Johnny Dee drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on Ryan Gura's groundout. Ninth place hitter Josh Gomez then lined a single into center field that scored a sliding Dee with the deciding run.

Lewis, the Rancho Buena Vista starting pitcher, held Imperial Beach to three hits while striking out eleven batters during the game's first six innings. The left-hander retired the last nine hitters he faced, and stymied the only Imperial Beach rally in the game's opening frames by inducing an inning-ending double play in the third inning.

"Lewis has been doing that all year for us," said Rancho Buena Vista manager Marty Miller. "But give credit to Imperial Beach. Their pitcher was great, and he came to play."

Toby Talampas, the Imperial Beach starter, struck out fourteen batters and allowed only four hits. Talampas walked five batters, and heightened the game's drama by stranding nine baserunners during his six innings of work. Rancho Buena Vista, which left fifteen runners on base during the game, stranded seven in a three inning stretch between the third and fifth innings. Talampas recorded an inning ending strikeout to leave two runners on base in the third, then escaped a bases loaded, no out threat in the fourth by sandwiching a pair of strikeouts around a play where a batter was called out for stepping on the plate. In the fifth, Rancho Buena Vista advanced runners to second and third with one out before Talampas quelled the threat with a strikeout and a groundout.

Rancho Buena Vista loaded the bases again with one out in the seventh, but reliever Cruz Canonico registered a pair of strikeouts to end the inning.

Imperial Beach mounted its own threat in the tenth inning when Talampas reached on an error and Eric Chavez singled to center field. After a strikeout, Andrew Gomez reached on a bunt single that loaded the bases. But Reznicek, who took over for Lewis in the seventh inning, induced a ground ball that resulted in a force at the plate, then fanned Putland, who'd taken a Reznicek pitch deep in the previous inning, to seal the victory.

"They are a great team," said Miller of the District 42 champions. "It's a shame one of us had to lose this game."

Rancho Buena Vista opened the tournament with a mercy rule-shortened, 10-0 victory over Claremont Little League. The District 28 champions held a 1-0 lead through two innings, and broke the game open with an eight run rally in the bottom of the third. Gomez was hit by a pitch and Lewis drew a walk to start the inning, then pitcher Kalen Pimentel drove a new Claremont pitcher's first offering over the right center field fence for a three-run home run. When Royce Copeland sent the next pitch well beyond the center field fence for another home run, Rancho Buena Vista was on their way to the win.

"You hope to have one of those (innings) every game," said Miller. "I thought (Rancho Buena Vista's players) might be a little tight, but once they loosened up, they really settled in."

Pimentel, who later tied a Little League World Series record with an eighteen strikeout performance during pool competition in South Williamsport, struck out seven batters and threw a complete game to earn the first of his two victories at the divisional.

The next evening, things were a bit tighter, as the District 28 champions trailed homestanding Corona National 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning and were one strike away from defeat before rallying for the win. Pimentel fouled off a pair of full count pitches before driving a bases loaded, two-run single into left field to reverse the deficit and give Rancho Buena Vista a 4-3 victory.

Corona National had grabbed an early 3-0 lead on RBI singles from Bryan Gangawere and Bubba Schlarmann. Rancho Buena Vista narrowed the deficit with solo home runs from Reznicek in the fourth inning and Copeland in the fifth.

Two days later, Rancho Buena Vista again used the long ball, when three home runs propelled the team into the championship game with a 6-0 victory over Aliso Viejo Little League.

Pimentel opened the scoring with a two-out solo home run in the top of the first inning, then Lewis added a three-run shot in the third and Reznicek hit a solo home run in the fourth.

"Those home runs we got were huge," said Miller. "Pitching keeps you in games, but hitting wins them."

Pimental more than kept Rancho Buena Vista in the game, allowing only two hits and striking out twelve batters against a league that had finished second in the 2004 divisional tournament.

Imperial Beach, which had dropped into the bottom bracket when Aliso Viejo's Tyler Harrison slammed three home runs in his team's 13-3 victory earlier in the tournament, claimed the other title game berth by recording three consecutive wins. The San Diego County team eliminated Long Beach Little League, 16-3, then Putland tossed a four-hitter and struck out ten batters in a 4-0 win over Corona National. The next evening, Imperial Beach avenged its earlier defeat with a four inning, 12-2 victory over Aliso Viejo. Josh Anderson hit two of Imperial Beach's five home runs in the game, and threw three hitless innings before Talampas closed out the win.

Twenty-four hours later, Rancho Buena Vista survived the marathon title game, and moved on to San Bernardino.

"(This win) is going to make us a lot stronger," said Miller of the tournament's final game. "Now we know that we can persevere and not fall apart. It gives us more mental fortitude because we can suck it up."

It was a lesson that applied to the rough-and-tumble divisional as a whole. Rancho Buena Vista won all twenty of its games prior to the Little League World Series, and the only contests settled by less than three runs were the one-run decisions over Corona National and Imperial Beach. When Rancho Buena Vista later trailed Northern California's Tracy National Little League by a 2-0 score midway through the West Region championship game, the SoCal champions had an opportunity to apply the lessons learned: a pair of Reznicek home runs pulled the Southern California champions into the lead, and Rancho Buena Vista's 7-2 victory sent the team on its way to South Williamsport.

That journey took the team over 2,200 miles from its home field in Northern San Diego County. The first 66 miles of the journey -- the road from Vista to San Bernardino, choked with traffic, just like any other Southern California freeway -- proved the toughest to navigate.

Follow Rancho Buena Vista at the West Region Tournament -- Click here to view results.

Linescores:

Championship Game (Batter-by-Batter recap)	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10		R	H	E
Rancho Buena Vista	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1		2	8	2
Imperial Beach	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0		1	7	1

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2005 Southern California District Champions and Sectional Tournament Results:

District Champions in Section 1	District Champions in Section 2
D13 - Moorpark D50 - Arroyo Grande Valley Youth D63 - Saticoy (Ventura) D65 - Santa Maria Northside Section 1 Tournament Host - Moorpark (District 13) At Chapparal Middle School Tournament Results: 1 - Moorpark 12, Santa Maria Northside 8 2 - Arroyo Grande Valley Youth 8, Saticoy 6 3 - Moorpark 5, Arroyo Grande Valley Youth 2 4 - Santa Maria Northside 4, Saticoy 2 (elim.) 5 - Arroyo Grande Valley Youth 3, Santa Maria Northside 2 (elim.) 6 - Arroyo Grande Valley Youth 7, Moorpark 1 7 - Moorpark 3, Arroyo Grande Valley Youth 0 (TITLE) (No-hitter)	D16 - Crescenta Valley (Montrose) D17 - San Marino National D18 - South Pasadena D40 - Woodland Hills Sunrise D51 - Quartz Hill Section 2 Tournament Host - Crecenta Valley (Montrose) (District 16) At Montrose Community Park Tournament Results: 1 - Quartz Hill 8, San Marino National 1 2 - South Pasadena 9, Crescenta Valley 6 3 - Quartz Hill 2, Woodland Hills Sunrise 1 4 - Crescenta Valley 12, San Marino National 5 (elim.) 5 - Woodland Hills Sunrise 10, Crescenta Valley 2 (elim.) 6 - South Pasadena 14, Quartz Hill 12 7 - Quartz Hill 1, Woodland Hills Sunrise 0 (elim.) 8 - Quartz Hill 3, South Pasadena 2 9 - South Pasadena 11, Quartz Hill 10 (TITLE)
District Champions in Section 3	District Champions in Section 4
D25 - North Venice D27 - Torrance D36 - El Segundo D37 - Hollypark (Hawthorne) D38 - Long Beach Section 3 Tournament Host - West Torrance (District 27) At Entradero Park Tournament Results: 1 - Long Beach 12, North Venice 1 (4 innings) 2 - Hollypark 4, El Segundo 3 3 - Long Beach 1, Torrance 0 4 - Long Beach 11, Hollypark 0 5 - El Segundo 13, North Venice 0 (elim.) 6 - Torrance 11, El Segundo 2 (elim.) 7 - Torrance 6, Hollypark 1 (elim.) 8 - Long Beach 7, Torrance 3 (TITLE)	D28 - Rancho Buena Vista (Vista) D31 - Carmel Mountain Ranch D32 - Clairemont Mesa D33 - La Mesa National Section 4 Tournament Host - University City (San Diego) (District 32) At Standley Park Tournament Results: 1 - Rancho Buena Vista 15, Clairemont Mesa 1 (4 innings) 2 - La Mesa National 11, Carmel Mountain Ranch 0 (4 innings) 3 - Rancho Buena Vista 5, La Mesa National 0 4 - Carmel Mountain Ranch 9, Clairemont Mesa 2 (elim.) 5 - Carmel Mountain Ranch 11, La Mesa National 1 (elim.) 6 - Rancho Buena Vista 6, Carmel Mountain Ranch 0 (TITLE)
District Champions in Section 5	District Champions in Section 6
D29 - East La Mirada D30 - North Sunrise (Orange) D46 - West Garden Grove D55 - Aliso Viejo D62 - Robinwood (Huntington Beach) D68 - South Mission Viejo Section 5 Tournament Host - Tustin Eastern (District 30) At Phillips Field; Utt Middle School Tournament Results: 1 - North Sunrise 13, West Garden Grove 3 (4 innings) 2 - South Mission Viejo 7, Robinwood 3 3 - East La Mirada 7, North Sunrise 5 4 - Aliso Viejo 4, South Mission Viejo 1 5 - South Mission Viejo 7, West Garden Grove 3 (elim.) 6 - North Sunrise 10, Robinwood 7 (elim.) 7 - Aliso Viejo 18, East La Mirada 0 (4 innings) (no-hitter) 8 - North Sunrise 4, South Mission Viejo 2 (elim.) 9 - North Sunrise 8, East La Mirada 5 (elim.) 10 - Aliso Viejo 6, North Sunrise 0 (TITLE)	D19 - West Covina American D20 - Claremont D23 - Upland Foothill D56 - East Yorba Linda D60 - Diamond Bar American Section 6 Tournament Host - West Yorba Linda (District 56) At Valley View Sports Complex Tournament Results: 1 - Claremont 12, Diamond Bar American 0 (4 innings) 2 - Upland Foothill 7, West Covina American 2 3 - Claremont 5, East Yorba Linda 4 4 - West Covina American 12, Diamond Bar American 2 (4 innings; elim.) 5 - Claremont 7, Upland Foothill 6 (8 innings) 6 - West Covina American 6, East Yorba Linda 3 (elim.) 7 - West Covina American 4, Upland Foothill 1 (elim.) 8 - Claremont 7, West Covina American 0 (TITLE)
District Champions in Section 7	District Champions in Section 8
D21 - Alta Loma D24 - Corona National D43 - Civitan (San Bernardino) D49 - East Barstow D58 - Yucaipa Valley American Section 7 Tournament Host - Corona National (District 24) At Promenade Community Park Tournament Results: 1 - Civitan 6, Yucaipa Valley American 3 2 - Alta Loma 10, East Barstow 0 (4 innings) 3 - Yucaipa Valley American 13, East Barstow 1 (4 innings; elim.) 4 - Corona National 8, Civitan 2 5 - Yucaipa Valley American 9, Civitan 6 (elim.) 6 - Corona National 4, Alta Loma 2 7 - Alta Loma 1, Yucaipa Valley American 0 (elim.) 8 - Corona National 12, Alta Loma 9 (TITLE)	D22 - Calexico D41 - Santana National (Santee) D42 - Imperial Beach D66 - Southeastern (San Diego) Section 8 Tournament Host - Valley de Oro (Spring Valley) (District 66) At Monte Vista High School Tournament Results: 1 - Imperial Beach 6, Santana National 0 2 - Calexico 4, Southeastern 0 3 - Santana National 5, Southeastern 0 (elim.) 4 - Imperial Beach 10, Calexico 0 5 - Santana National 11, Calexico 1 (elim.) 6 - Imperial Beach 1, Santana National 0 (TITLE)

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