Chandler National (Arizona) Little League has built an impressive legacy of success in recent years. Little League World Series qualifier in 2003. State tournament semifinalist in 2004. State champion and West Region semifinalist in 2005. And a district runner-up finish in 2006 that is best put in context by pointing out that Chandler National's two losses were by a combined three runs against a team that eventually reached the Little League World Series.

But rather than dwell on the past -- or potential future destinations -- Chandler National's coaching staff tried to keep the league's 2007 all-star team focused on the here and now.

"They have questions about Williamsport," said manager Jeff Parrish on the eve of the West Region championship game in San Bernardino, California.

"We tell them they haven't earned the right to talk about Williamsport yet."

And the Arizona braintrust backed up that philosophy: even though the team would travel directly from San Bernardino to Central Pennsylvania if it were to prevail in the region tournament, the team's coaches pointedly did not pack for Williamsport.

That meant they had a bit of shopping to do after their plane touched down.

Chandler National turned five well-timed hits into a 7-3 victory over Solana Beach (Southern California) Little League in the West Region championship game at Al Houghton Stadium. The victory -- Chandler's 20th in 21 international tournament games -- lifted the Arizona champions into the Little League World Series.

Chandler National struck quickly in the title game, grabbing a 2-0 lead two batters into the game. Seth Fretheim reached when Solana Beach's left fielder mishandled his sinking line drive, and Cody Bellinger followed with an opposite field home run to left. But Solana Beach -- which proved its mettle with fourteen consecutive win-or-go-home victories along the tournament trail -- was unfazed by the early salvo.

"Even when we were down 2-0 in that first inning, we knew that two runs weren't going to be enough to win the game," said Solana Beach coach John Peabody after the game.

Not surprisingly, the Southern California team answered with Caleb Kreeger's two-run homer in the second, and dialed up the pressure with threats in each of the next two innings.

"We tried not to panic," said Parrish. "We weren't comfortable, but we kept trying to make some switches or do anything we could to add some more runs."

Chandler National pitcher Skyler Palermo evaded trouble in the bottom of the third -- he registered a pair of strikeouts after issuing two one-out walks -- then reasserted his team's advantage with a leadoff home run in the fourth.

After Solana Beach stranded two more baserunners in the bottom of the inning, Chandler took control in the fifth. Boston Whitlow was hit by a pitch, then Fretheim drew a walk. Bellinger followed with a two-run double, and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Palermo capped the inning with a solo shot over the left center field fence.

"That was big for us," said Peabody of Arizona's four-run rally. "If we had gotten out of that inning down only two or three runs, we might have had a chance. But down five runs was just too much."

"We expect that from Skyler," said Parrish of his pitcher's power display. "He does it all. And Cody really gave us a huge lift."

Solana Beach continued to push, scoring once and advancing a runner into scoring position in the bottom of the inning, but Fretheim relieved Palermo and put a hard-stop to further rallies. A lineout and strikeout ended the threat, and Fretheim struck out the side in the sixth.

"Hammer got it done tonight," said Parrish of his title game closer.

Chandler National had overwhelmed five District 13 round-robin opponents by a 90-1 margin to open the international tournament, and later won state tournament games by 24-5 and 29-0 margins. But as the Arizona champions advanced deeper into the tournament, their typical margin of victory narrowed. The Arizona winners needed extra innings in their very first West Region game, and none of their games in San Bernardino ended early due to the mercy rule.

"As you progress, the teams get tougher," observed Parrish as his team prepared for the championship game. "We haven't scored 25 runs on anyone here."

Chandler tallied just six runs in their opener at San Bernardino, but four came in the seventh inning as the Arizona team pushed past Moreland District Little League (San Jose, California), 6-2. The next morning, Chandler flexed its muscles with an eight run rally before taking the field on defense in a 16-5 win over Snow Canyon Little League (Santa Clara, Utah). The first six Arizona batters all reached base safely, and Chandler National sent 13 batters to the plate in the inning. James Ziegler delivering a three-run double and Bellinger added a two-run double in his second plate appearance of the inning.

Utah kept it close, however, slicing the Arizona lead to four runs and and advancing runners to second and third in the second inning. But Chandler reliever Edgar Galiz came in to induce a groundout, and then held Snow Canyon to just one run over the remainder of the game. Fretheim and Luke Parrish both homered as part of a four-run sixth to help Chandler pull away late.

"We had a great start and then struggled a little in the middle innings," said Jeff Parrish. "But we made some adjustments and finished fine."

Despite the strong finish -- and the fact that Arizona sported an unblemished record two games into the tournament -- their coaching staff wasn't satisfied.

"We played okay the first couple of games," said Jeff Parrish. "We can play much better, and we have in the past, so we need to find that level again."

A key test came three days later, when Chandler overpowered Green Valley Little League (Las Vegas, Nevada) by a 13-6 margin. Green Valley had opened the tournament with three consecutive shutouts, including a noteworthy 8-0 win over Solana Beach. Nevada's pitchers had held opponents to a .077 batting average to that point in the tournament, but Chandler pounded out 14 hits and settled matters early by slamming three of its four home runs during a nine run second inning rally.

Jake McCann's infield single drove in the inning's first run, then Palermo drove a towering three-run homer to left. Fretheim and Parrish each added two-run homers later in the inning.

Jeff Parrish downplayed the output against what had been to that point an overpowering Green Valley pitching staff.

"We knew they hadn't been scored on, said the Arizona manager. "We also knew they were going to advance (to the semifinals) and they were going to save some arms. And we saved some, too."

Chandler National wrapped up pool competition the next day with a 7-4 win over Waipio Little League (Waipahu, Hawaii), then wound up facing the same team again the next day in the semifinal round. The Arizona team was somewhat lethargic in the first meeting -- the late morning start came just hours after the Nevada game didn't wrap up until 10:30 p.m.-- but came out strong in the more critical semifinal matchup. Chandler reaped the benefits of three home runs, and advanced past the Hawaiias with an 8-1 victory. Luke Parrish drove an opposite field two-run homer to open the scoring in the first, and scored again in the third on Pechloff's two-run shot to center. Fretheim later added his fourth homer of the tournament, a two-run blast with two outs in the fifth.

Pechloff also earned the win, holding Waipio to three hits in 5-1/3 innings of work. The right-hander struggled with his control in the fourth, issuing walks to three of the first four batters he faced and throwing four wild pitches in the inning, but Waipio was able to convert the opportunity into just one run. Pechloff then registered six consecutive strikeouts before Dalton Crum entered and retired the only two batters he faced.

Solana Beach awaited Chandler National, having reached the title game by edging Green Valley in the other semifinal, 3-2. The California team carried a 3-1 advantage into the final inning, then continued their tournament-long penchant for living on the edge when Alec Hutt's homer narrowed the lead and Green Valley loaded the bases with nobody out. Solana Beach pitcher Evan Schreiber induced a comebacker that resulted in a 1-2-3 double play, and the Californians caught a huge break when the next Nevada batter beat out an infield dribbler but was called out for sliding head-first into first base.

"We had the bases loaded and nobody out," said Green Valley manager Greg Morris of his team's last-gasp rally. "You would think we'd have a chance to score a few runs, but their pitcher did a good job and got that groundball."

Green Valley had scored once in the first, then Solana Beach elbowed its way into the lead in the third. Chad Thurston fought through a 13-pitch at bat before reaching on an error, then Matty Kirkpatrick knotted the score with an RBI single. Jackson Balla -- who sported a half-inch knot below his ear after being hit by a pitch in the previous inning -- followed with a two-run homer over the right field fence that pulled Solana Beach into the lead.

"I've coached that kid for four years, and it didn't surprise me at all," said Michael Thurston of his catcher's eighth international tournament home run. "He's one tough kid."

Balla's homer in some ways encapsulated his team's tournament run -- Solana Beach was frequently knocked down, but kept coming up swinging. The streetfighting approach helped steer the team to the cusp of the Little League World Series.

"This has been incredible," said Michael Thurston of his team's tournament run. "It is something nobody will ever forget."

Nor would Chandler National soon forget their journey -- or its ultimate destination.

"I'm just kind of shocked right now," said Jeff Parrish after Fretheim closed out the region championship game. "It feels real good."

Good enough to start entertaining questions about a small town on the banks of the Susquehanna River. Chandler National's players had more than earned the right to ask.

Linescores:

Pool Play Game 1	1	2	3	4	5	6	7		R	H	E
Green Valley (Nevada)	2	3	9	1					15	9	0
Snow Canyon (Utah)	0	0	0	0					0	2	3
Pool Play Game 2
Chandler National (Arizona)	0	0	2	0	0	0	4		6	6	1
Moreland District (NoCal)	0	0	2	0	0	0	0		2	2	1
Pool Play Game 3
Solana Beach (SoCal)	0	0	1	0	2	0			3	5	1
Waipio (Hawaii)	0	0	0	0	1	1			2	7	2
Pool Play Game 4
Chandler National (Arizona)	8	0	1	3	0	4			16	14	1
Snow Canyon (Utah)	0	4	0	0	0	1			5	8	3
Pool Play Game 5
Waipio (Hawaii)	0	1	5	0	2	2	4		14	14	2
Moreland District (NoCal)	0	0	4	2	0	4	1		11	11	1
Pool Play Game 6
Green Valley (Nevada)	0	0	0	1	6	1			8	6	0
Solana Beach (SoCal)	0	0	0	0	0	0			0	1	3
Pool Play Game 7
Green Valley (Nevada)	0	0	0	0	0	1			1	4	0
Waipio (Hawaii)	0	0	0	0	0	0			0	1	0
Pool Play Game 8
Snow Canyon (Utah)	1	0	1	1	0				3	5	2
Moreland District (NoCal)	1	4	5	0	3				13	14	0
Pool Play Game 9
Solana Beach (SoCal)	1	3	11	2					17	13	0
Snow Canyon (Utah)	0	0	0	0					0	1	3
Pool Play Game 10
Chandler National (Arizona)	0	9	0	2	1	1			13	14	0
Green Valley (Nevada)	1	0	1	0	2	2			6	9	2
Pool Play Game 11
Chandler National (Arizona)	0	0	4	3	0	0			7	7	1
Waipio (Hawaii)	1	1	0	1	1	0			4	8	2
Pool Play Game 12
Solana Beach (SoCal)	2	1	1	0	4	1			9	11	0
Moreland District (NoCal)	0	0	0	1	2	0			3	8	0
Semifinal Round
Green Valley (Nevada)	1	0	0	0	0	1			2	3	1
Solana Beach (SoCal)	0	0	3	0	0	x			3	5	2
Semifinal Round
Waipio (Hawaii)	0	0	0	1	0	0			1	3	1
Chandler National (Arizona)	2	0	3	1	2	x			8	6	0
Championship Game
Chandler National (Arizona)	2	0	0	1	4	0			7	5	1
Solana Beach (SoCal)	0	2	0	0	1	0			3	4	1

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