Dogged determination and discipline Saturday, July 12, at the PacWest Fields transformed into a delightful doubleheader for the comeback kids of West Seattle.
 

After an opening round 7-3 loss to South Highline National in the 2009 District 7 Little League Majors (ages 11-12) tournament, the West Seattle All-Stars regrouped to win six consecutive games including Saturday's 19-1 four-inning destruction of the Nationals and a provisional championship rematch that West Seattle won in a 5-0 whitewashing of South Highline National.

West Seattle's next appointment is at the state tournament on July 25 at 2:30 p.m. versus the District 3 champion. Play will be held at Art Mikelson Field in Port Orchard.

"We came out flat against good pitching from Highline in our first game," explained West Seattle manager John Mackenzie. "Then, we got on a roll. The players got more serious in practice. Basically, we just got back into our routine of batting practice before each game."

Following the loss to SHN, West Seattle flattened Southwest,12-1, Rainier, 22-7, South Highline American,15-2 and PacWest,19-2, en route to championship Saturday. 
  Even the long shadows of the low flying airplanes landing at the SeaTac airport failed to conceal the massacre on the mound that West Seattle dealt out in the morning match up.
 

McNeil Fulmore opened the game with  a single before two outs found Izac Bauer available to drill a run-scoring triple. A dropped infield pop up scored an unearned run for a 2-0 West Seattle lead.
  West Seattle was just warming up for a second inning demolition job. Two consecutive singles and a fielder's choice ground ball preceded a Fulmore RBI single.

Cameron Slader joined the fray with a run-scoring single and a 4-0 lead. Marco Calderon's two-run double expanded the score to 6-0. Up stepped David Meehan to deliver two more runs home on a powerful single before advancing to second base on the throw from the outfield.
 

Without letting up, the West Siders continued to blast away nearly at will on any pitcher that was placed in front of them. Kevin Simmons later singled in another run. An outfield miscue on his single made the score 10-0 before a wild throw allowed another run home. Fulmore singled home yet one more and Slader launched a two-run homer as the domination reached 14-0 after 17 batters and 11 hits had transpired.
 

In the third inning West Seattle's Alex Coats hammered a two run homer. Calderon's double forone run made the score 17-0 before Izac Bauer's two-run double completed the scoring. By the end of this at bat, West Seattle had amassed a total of five more runs on four hits.
  South Highline scored its only run in the bottom of the third inning.

With two outs, Caleb Swift quickly hit a ground-rule double. Canon Westland singled the run home.
  Right handed hurler Alex Coats pitched a complete game two-hitter for West Seattle.
  In the noon provisional final, precision pitching paced both teams. Over the first three innings West Seattle pitcher Cody Jones and South Highline hurler Jeremy Hoefer matched goose eggs on the scoreboard.
 

This tense pitching matchup was finally broken up by West Seattle in the top of the fourth inning. Meehan led off with a swinging bunt single. Later in the inning, Sam Cook reached base on an infield error ahead of Jones's walk that loaded the bases.

At this point, left-handed hitting Cameron Wong teed off on a pitch and launched it deep into the right field corner for a game-breaking three-run triple.

"I was a liitle nervous," related Wong. "I just waited for my pitch and drove a fast ball. It was a momentum builder for us."

Marco Calderon blasted a solo homer to lead off the West Seattle fifth inning to extend the advantage. Meehan's double set up Cook for an RBI single to end the rally.

South Highline threatened to tighten the game situation in the home half of the fifth. Sam Maitland singled with one out before Hoefer's two-out single.  Robert Jones walked to load the bases, but relief hurler Calderon retired the next batter to close out the uprising. Calderon set down SHN in order in the sixth inning to end his mound duty.

"I thought I better throw strikes with my fast ball," said Calderon who allowed three hits over the last two shut out innings.

Despite continually working with runners on base, Cody Jones pitched the first four innings of scoreless ball while giving up three hits.

"My pitching wasn't so good because of my injured finger," said Jones. "The result turned out okay."

One of the leaders of West Seattle's powerful hitting arsenal talked about his preparation.

"I think about singles," he declared. "If you think singles, something else better will happen."

West Seattle's District 7 championship player roster includes McNeil Fulmore, Cameron Slader, Marco Calderon, Izac Bauer, David Meehan, Alex Mackenzie, Kevin Simmons, Alex Coats, Cameron Wong, Sam Cook, Andre Moore, Cody Jones and Griffin Bills. Manager Mackenzie is assisted by coaches Steve Meehan, John Coats and Troy Fulmore. Harvey Bauer is the league president.