Local Baseball Team Advances To Next Round

Marco Arduini had never been a baseball all-star before.  Now the 11-year-old Newark boy is looking forward to playing in his second little league all-star tournament this month.

 “I’m pretty excited,” Marco said. “We’ll be facing other cities, so I won’t know the other players very well.”

Marco is on of two all-star teams from Newark American Little League that won their districts tournaments and has moved on to the next level of play.

Newark’s 10- and 11-year-old team plays Sunday at Marshall Park in Fremont against another district winner in the Bay Area. The 9- and 10-year-olds play noon Saturday in San Ramon.

Little League is made up of three levels, with the highest being the “majors,” which is primarily for 12-year-olds. The middle level is for 10- and 11-year-olds, and the lowest level is for 9- and 10-year-olds.

Each level fields an all-star team to play in summer tournaments. The first tournament that each Newark team played in was against other local all-star teams.

Two of Newark’s top 11-year-old players were selected for the majors all-star team. Despite the loss of those two players, head coach Ed Thometz said the team has found success through well-balanced approach that includes strong defense and pitching, as well as timely hitting.

“No one really carries the attitude of ‘I’m the number one,’” Thometz said. “I think that’s what gets it done for us.”

Al Letona, who coaches the 9- and 10-year-old team, said he told his players they accomplished their main goal of winning the district tournament, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to let up—especially now since they will be facing

“I tell them to have fun, play hard, give me 110 percent,” Letona said. “If they do that, we should do well.”