August 6, 2008 > Albany Little League wins title Albany Little League wins title By Biff Jones California Division 2 (NorCal) Little League tournament action for Minor 10-11 year olds was played last week, July 26 to August 2, at Vallejo Mill Elementary School in Fremont, home of Niles-Centerville Little League. Albany from the North Bay came away the winner of the double elimination tournament. After receiving a first round bye, Albany defeated Danville, winner of Section 3 which included teams from Fremont, Newark, Union City and Hayward, by a score of 13-9 in second round action. That put Albany into the winners' bracket semi-finals. Meanwhile in first round action, Saratoga from the South Bay (the section which includes Milpitas Little Leagues), defeated West Redding from Northern California, 5-4, while Morada of Stockton and the San Joaquin area, triumphed over Tri-City Little League of Rocklin (Sacramento area), 6-2. Winners Bracket action continued with Saratoga beating Morada, 8-4. Albany then took an 11-5 semi-final win over Saratoga to put Albany into the championship game. Except for Albany, all the other teams, with a second loss, would be eliminated in Losers Bracket play of the Divisional Tournament. First to be eliminated was West Redding with an 11-3 loss to Tri-City. Then Danville defeated Tri-City, 7-2, before Danville lost to Morada, 5-3. Morada and Saratoga would now face off with the winner taking on Albany in the championship game. Again, Saratoga would prevail as they defeated Morada for a second time, 9-2, and now had to beat Albany twice to win the Championship. However, Saratoga would not force a "what if" game as they succumbed to Albany once again in a hard fought loss, 2-1, last Saturday, August 2, at Vallejo Mill. Congratulations to all the teams and especially to Albany LL, 2008 NorCal Little League Minor 10-11 year old champions. Special thanks to Reggie Torres, President of California District 14 Little League for his input for the 2008 season.