Four innings into the Southern California championship series, Sweetwater Valley Little League was on track for its lowest offensive output of the international tournament. The District 42 champions had come into the game against Manhattan Little League averaging over 15 runs per game, but through four innings, had managed just three runs and found themselves in a tie game after Manhattan Beach pushed across a run in the bottom of the fourth inning.

That's when Sweetwater Valley found another gear.

The San Diego-area league slammed three home runs in the fifth inning, and added another one in the sixth to topple Manhattan Beach, 9-6 in the series' first meeting. The next day, Sweetwater Valley continued the offensive barrage, and overpowered Manhattan Beach, 18-5, to win the Southern California championship.

With the wins, Sweetwater Valley advanced to the West Region tournament, where they swept past four opponents en route to a third place finish in the United States bracket at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Sweetwater Valley put an emphasis on offensive firepower throughout the international tournament. The team hit a combined .510 as a team against Southern California opponents -- the team's hitters combined for a 183-for-359 mark with a collective 57 home runs -- and scored in double-digits nine times in twelve games.

"We have been having older kids come down and throw batting practice for the last month and a half," explained Sweetwater Valley manager Ward Lannom. "They pipe the ball in the mid- to high-70s, which is over-preparing our players for what they might see. This takes the intimidation away."

Two of Sweetwater Valley's home runs came off the bat of Nate Nankil in the first meeting with Manhattan Beach. Nankil's two-run homer keyed a three-run first inning rally that gave Sweetwater Valley an early edge, and the right-hander completed his team's scoring with a solo shot in the sixth inning. Nankil kept Manhattan Beach's offense largely in check throughout the contest, surrendering three runs over five innings of work before Walker Lannom closed out the game in the sixth inning.

"It was a big deal," said Ward Lannom of his team's Game 1 win. "Because they threw their number one pitcher, and we still (have) both Dante (Schmid) and Antonio (Andrade) available for Sunday."

Manhattan Beach grabbed an early lead when the teams met again the next evening, as Kyle Karros scored on Kalani Rusher's single and Jonah Storey scored on an error. But Sweetwater Valley soon answered, clawing one run back on Jake Baptista's leadoff home run in the top of the second inning, and then taking command with an eight run fourth. In the fifth inning, Baptista and Levi Mendez each drilled two-run home runs to extend Sweetwater Valley's advantage.

Schmid pitched into the fourth inning to earn the victory, before handing the ball over to Andrade, who pitched the final two innings.

Both Sweetwater Valley and Manhattan Beach needed extra innings in their respective sub-divisional finals before winning and advancing to the SoCal championship series. Manhattan Beach needed an extra game and extra innings to subdue Sherman Oaks Southern Little League in the North sub-divisional, while Sweetwater Valley was forced to rally past Ocean View Little League in the South sub-divisional.

In the North, Manhattan Beach dropped Sherman Oaks to the elimination bracket with a 10-2 victory in the winner's bracket final. But Sherman Oaks edged Metropolitan/Pioneer Little League, 5-4, to earn a championship series rematch, then road a pair of home runs from Dylan Ross to a 9-3 win over Manhattan Beach that forced the series to a final game.

Manhattan Beach took an early lead in the championship game, but Sherman Oaks rallied to tie the game 5-5 in the third on a two-run homer by Ross, then did the same in the fourth when Ben Chasek's two-run shot leveled the score at 7-7. Manhattan Beach pushed across four runs in the top of the seventh, then weathered back-to-back solo shots by Chasek and Jackson Lapiner to lead off the seventh before closing out the series.

Sweetwater Valley, meanwhile, opened the sub-divisional with a 12-5 win over Orangecrest Little League -- Andrade homered twice in the game, while Isaac Artelejo and Schmid each added solo shots -- and then moved past Encinitas Little League, 6-2, in the winner's bracket final. Mendez homered in the first inning before adding a two-run double in the fourth and a run-scoring double in the sixth.

Ocean View, which had lost earlier in the tournament to Encinitas, emerged from the elimination bracket to face Sweetwater Valley in the championship game, and the Huntington Beach league grabbed a 4-2 advantage in the early innings against Sweetwater Valley. Micah Blake delivered a two-run homer that tied the game, 2-2, and Tristan Kennedy added a seeing-eye single in the third that pulled his team in front. Ryan Charles then scored on a wild pitch to give Ocean View a two-run lead.

Sweetwater Valley responded in the fourth, when Schmid and Andrade each delivered run-scoring singles to pull Sweetwater Valley level at 4-4. Neither team scored again until the seventh, when Sweetwater Valley scored three times after the inning's first two batters were retired. Baptista was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a wild pitch, then Schmid lined a full count pitch up the middle for a run-scoring single. After Ari Armas walked, Nick Maldonado punched a hit through the right side to score a pair of runs.

Andrade, who relieved Schmid in the fourth inning, struck out the side in the bottom of the sixth inning to force extra innings and then added two more punchouts in the seventh to seal the win.

"My guts played their hearts out and left it all on the field," said Ocean View manager Scott Pantel. "To win District 62, Section 10, and find yourself in the championship game of the Southern California sub-divisional doesn't happen by accident."

"We're now going to focus on Saturday's game (against Manhattan Beach)," said Ward Lannom after his team survived Ocean View's push. "But our ultimate goal, of course, is to reach Williamsport."

Sweetwater Valley was able to realize its goal. The Southern California champions survived a furious sixth inning rally by Waipio Little League (Waipahu, Hawaii) in the West Region championship game, and secured a 12-10 win to earn a trip to the Little League World Series. Sweetwater Valley won three of its five games at South Williamsport, and eventually finished third in the United States bracket.

Getting there required running the gauntlet in Southern California. Sweetwater Valley scored ten or more or more runs in each of its four games at the region tournament, which they had also done in their first eight games at the start of the international tournament. But in the final stretch of the sub-divisional and divisional, Sweetwater Valley reached this mark just once in its last four games, and faced stern tests from Ocean View and Manhattan Beach.

Pantel, the Ocean View manager, recognized what his team needed to do to reach that level of competition.

"You have to be a talented squad of committed ballplayers to go that deep (with) the nucleus of youth baseball here in Southern California," said Pantel after his team was eliminated.

The same description could safely be applied to virtually any team still in the hunt during the final stages of play in Southern California.