Here's how to watch Sandpoint's players in the District 1 Little League Tournament
For several Sandpoint players, managers and coaches, the road to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania begins today, as the District 1 Little League Tournament begins.
The three-week tournament in Canfield Sports Complex in Coeur d’Alene hosts six leagues from District 1 that will compete to be the one team that advances to the State Tournament and beyond.
The baseball community of Sandpoint is encouraged to support our All Star teams in person, but fans can also follow along online through tourneymachine.com, then searching for “Idaho D1” to find the schedule of games and results.
The All Star Tournament, as it is commonly known, showcases the top talent as each league fields the most competitive team they can.
After two weeks of pool play the top two teams from each division will advance to a best of three District Championship series. The division Champions will then compete for the State title against a team from District 2, which is made up of communities from all of Southern Idaho.
The team that wins State will advance to a regional tournament in San Bernardino, CA which is one stop away from the LLWS.
It’s an exciting tournament series at all levels that showcases the unbridled joy a kid experiences after making a play or getting hit, to the agony of how quickly a lead can disappear when the jitters of a big game hit.
John Aexel is managing the Majors level (12U) team along with returning coaches Travis Tyler and Dustin Reichart. While coaching the Minors team last year in All Star play, Aexel’s team was one out away from advancing to the District Championship game — a feat only accomplished two other times in Sandpoint Little League’s 35-year history.
Managing the Minors team (10U) this year is Ricky Klontz along with fellow first-year coaches Robert Bogadi and Scott Schriber.
All coaches, players and their families invest heavily with their time and practice starting months earlier and those efforts culminates now with this tournament.
The first game for the Minors team will be this Saturday against Lewiston at 9:00 a.m. at the Canfield Sports Complex in Coeur d’Alene.
The Majors team will also be in action against Lewiston on Saturday at noon at Canfield as well, so fans can catch a double-header of Sandpoint baseball.
Both teams will playing at the same times on Sunday as well at Canfield.
Can 2019 be the third time in Little League World Series history a team from Idaho advances all the way to the LLWS? Stop by and cheer on our players from Sandpoint as they compete to be that team.