A Bay Area team is headed to North Carolina to play in the Little League Softball World Series. Anthony Flores reports.
A Bay Area team is headed to North Carolina to play in the Little League Softball World Series.
The Almaden Lightning held its final practice Monday before heading across the country for a chance to bring a national championship back to the South Bay.
"To be able to represent for our region, not just California, but for the whole region, it's special," said John Drake, Almaden Lightning softball coach. "I usually don't wear red, but I've been wearing this hat since I got it because it just means so much."
The hat Drake is referring to reads "West Region."
The 12-and-under all stars from San Jose won the region last week beating Southern California 2-1 in the championship game.
Drake's daughter, Jayda, got the final strikeout to send the team to the World Series tournament.
"I was really nervous because anything could go wrong," Jayda said.
It was a moment Coach Drake won't forget.
"It just mean so much to see her out there and when she got that last strikeout, I don't know if you could see, but I just went out right to her because it was just a special moment," he said.
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The victory also avenged an opening round loss to Southern California, but maybe the most exciting thing for players is being able to tell their friends they played a game on national television.
"I told them I was on ESPN and they were like, 'Wow, that's super cool!' I know when I get back to school I have to answer a lot of questions," player Kira Gutierrez said.
The team held two to three practices a week to prepare for the championship run. Drake said good defense and timely hitting have been big keys to their success, but the strength of the team is their never give up attitude.
"Our goal is to try and shock some people," Drake said. "So that's what we're looking to try and do."
The first game in the double-elimination World Series tournament is on Monday, Aug. 7.
