Fans Shake, Rattle and Team Rolls

In a hotel room in downtown Williamsport, Pa., Monday, parents and supporters of the South Mission Viejo Little League constructed the team’s trademark soda-can noisemakers. The annoying rattle they produce can be unsettling for opponents and has become a soundtrack for the team’s march to the Little League World Series.

But when they showed up at the gates of Lamade Stadium Monday evening, they were turned back by security officials because Little League rules prohibit beverage cans--even empty ones filled with pennies--from being brought into the stadium.

Not to be left out, supporters quickly dug through trash cans to find empty plastic water bottles and put the pennies in. While not as loud as the homemade shakers, they did the trick.

Little League President Stephen D. Keener apologized later, saying he saw nothing wrong with the devices. However, he won’t overrule his security personnel, who he said were just doing their job by enforcing a rule intended primarily to stop fans from bringing beer to the ballpark.

“It really doesn’t make any difference, we’ll just have to make do,” said Judy White, mother of Mission Viejo pitcher-outfielder Ashton White.

Every year at the Little League World Series, one team develops a signature item or behavior that becomes a fan favorite. In 1992 and 1993, for example, it was fuzzy-haired, wild-eyed troll dolls of Long Beach Little League.

This year the pennies-in-a-can, which got national TV exposure at the Western Region final, appear to have that appeal. A few Dyer fans were spotted shaking similar devices during the 1-0 loss to Pottsville, Pa., Monday.

According to Claudia Nieves, mother of Mission Viejo outfielder Andrew Nieves, they tried three different models of the homemade noisemakers before settling on the best one.

“We had a three-penny, a seven-penny and a 10-penny.” she said. “We decided the seven-penny was the best.”

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Mission Viejo is better known for youth soccer than youth baseball. The city was, after all, the site of the U.S. training center for the World Cup, and when baseball isn’t being played at South Mission Viejo’s home park near Lake Mission Viejo, the grounds are covered with soccer fields.

Several South Mission Viejo Little Leaguers play soccer too.

But when Adam Sorgi’s club soccer coach asked him to quit baseball this year and concentrate on soccer, Ed Sorgi, Adam’s father, was quick to respond. “I told him, ‘No way,’ ” Sorgi said. “They say he is good enough to be a pro someday [in soccer] and they have called a couple of times and asked us when Adam is going to get back to soccer practice. But there is no way. They just don’t understand.”

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South Mission Viejo is the sixth consecutive team from Southern California to advance to the Little League World Series and the fourth from Orange County. The others were Northwood of Irvine (1987), Cypress (1990) and Yorba Hills of Yorba Linda (1995). No county team has won the World Series title; however, Northwood reached the championship game, where it was defeated by Taiwan, 21-1.

Cypress did not advance out of its bracket under the old single-elimination format, which was dropped in favor of pool play in 1991.

Yorba Hills advanced to the U.S. championship game, where it lost to Spring, Texas, 5-2.

The last team from Southern California to win the World Series title was Long Beach in 1992 and ’93.

In the 1992 series, Long Beach was defeated by a team from the Philippines, but the Filipinos were disqualified for using over-aged ballplayers. Long Beach defeated Panama, 3-2, to win the title the next year.

The only other Southern California teams to win the World Series since it began in 1947 were Granada Hills Northern (1963) and El Cajon Northern (1961).

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The last time a team from Pennsylvania won a championship here was in 1960, when the American Little League of Levittown, Pa., won the state’s fourth title. That’s why there is so much excitement over the Railway Park team from Pottsville, located only 59 miles from Williamsport. Railway Park is the 26th team from the host state to advance to the WorldSeries.

One of the largest daytime crowds in the history of the series was on hand Monday for Pottsville’s game against Dyer, according to Little League officials, and even more spectators are expected Wednesday night when Pottsville plays South Mission Viejo.

Notes

More than 7,000 teams on six continents opened the playoff format nearly two months ago that eventually led to the eight teams in the Little League World Series. . . . Today’s game between South Mission Viejo and Dyer, Ind. is scheduled to be carried live on ESPN2 at 11 a.m. . . . They’re still talking about South Mission Viejo’s 2-1 victory over Sunnyvale National Friday in the Western Region final. For one thing, nobody can remember the last time a home run wasn’t hit in a Western Region championship game. The last time a Northern California team defeated a Southern California rival to advance to the series was in 1979, when Campbell defeated Goleta South, 11-3.