Submitted photo – The Del Norte players and coaches celebrate their recent state championship win.

If it’s true what they say about defenses winning championships, then the Del Norte All-Stars are in good shape as they look to qualify for the 2024 Junior Little League World Series.

The Del Norte players recently secured an Oregon state championship to qualify for the upcoming West Regional tournament, which will include the state champs from all over the West Coast.

And they achieved it with some stellar defense and some strong pitching.

“Our defense was outstanding. Our pitching was outstanding,” head coach Dave Walker said. “We just played lights out defense and pitched lights out.”

The Del Norte All-Stars won all three of their games at the state tournament, which was held recently in Madras, Oregon.

And in addition to their standout defense and pitching, the players also scored plenty of runs.

They got the better of Mountain View 15-8 and followed that with a 12-2 win over Baker.

In the state championship game, they defeated Baker a second time, 10-1, to advance to the West Regional tournament, which will be held in Bend, Oregon, from July 24 to Aug. 1. 

The winner of that tournament will advance to the Little League Junior World Series, which will be held in Taylor, Michigan, in early August.

The team has set up a GoFundMe page to help with the travel expenses, which can be accessed here, and the players will also hold a bake sale at the Safeway in Crescent City on Saturday, which begins at 8 a.m. and will run until they sell out.

The team pitching staff includes Hoyt Walker, Michael Mavris, Mason Webster, Alex Gonzalez, Taylor Shrewsberry, Elijah Crespo and Jaxon Sharp.

Adrian Alvarado, Bruno DeSolenni, Jerimiah Griffin, Lucas Lopez and Aidyn Nelson round out the 12-player roster, all of whom made big contributions on the way to the state championship.“Everybody made plays everywhere,” Dave Walker said.

In addition to their standout defense the team camaraderie is also something that has impressed the coaches.

“It’s a pretty tight group that has played together for a while,” Dave Walker said. 

It’s also a resilient group of players that don’t get rattled.

“They never get down,” the head coach added. “They’re always positive. From the first pitch to the last pitch they give maximum effort.”

The players ands coaches — including assistant coaches Bradley Sharp and Tom Griffin — have been working hard for much of the summer preparing for their games, and that hard work obviously paid off for them at Mavras.

Now they’ll be hoping to carry that momentum into the big tournament in Bend, where they could face off against the McKinleyville Junior All-Stars, who will begin playin for a NorCal State championship in Rocklin this weekend.

But no matter who they face, the Del Norte players and coaches will be hoping to keep their season going for as long as possible.

“The goal is to be in Taylor, Michigan, for the fourth of August for the World Series,” Dave Walker said.