KEVIN JOHNSON

Casey Santos-Ocampo was the winning pitcher as the Greater Naples 9-10 year-old All-Stars clinched the Section 6 title with a 4-2 win against Venice National on Saturday afternoon at Three Oaks Park in San Carlos Park.

KEVIN JOHNSON

After beating Venice National, 4-2, Greater Naples takes a victory lap with the Section 6 banner Saturday at Three Oaks Park in San Carlos. Greater Naples advances to the 9-10 year-old state tournament thanks to its 3-0 record at Sectionals.

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ESTERO — To win their league's first ever sectional championship, the Greater Naples 9- and 10-year-old all-stars would have to work extra hard.

With two rival crowds cheering against it and ominous storm clouds rolling in, the final inning of the Section 6 all-star tournament couldn't have been more turbulent for Greater Naples. The all-stars didn't flinch, though, forcing Venice National's would-be tying run into a game-ending and title-clinching double play.

Greater Naples beat Venice, 4-2, to finish the Section 6 round robin tournament 3-0. As the only team of the four district champs to finish undefeated, Naples moves on to Saturday's 9-10 state tournament in Freeport.

A loss would have tied Naples with Venice and South Fort Myers with 2-1 records. South Fort Myers would have won the tie-breaker with a higher runs per inning average. The South Fort Myers players and fans, fully aware of that fact, lined the fences after their 10-3 victory over Bonita Springs to root for Venice.

After walking Venice's first batter of the sixth inning, however, Naples relief pitcher Johnny D'Amelio got Jake Connell to ground into the decisive double play. The win was the first sectional championship in the 50-year history of Greater Naples Little League.

"I just tried to tune it out and let it go,'' 10-year-old D'Amelio said of the crowd noise. "I didn't know if we'd get both outs (on the double play), but I was hoping we would.''

Naples opened the sectional with a 2-0 victory over District 9 champ South Fort Myers. In Saturday's first game, Naples won 11-5 over Bonita Springs, the District 18 winner.

Starter Casey Santos-Ocampo limited Venice to four hits in four innings. D'Amelio didn't allow a hit in two innings of relief and earned the save.

Naples had just four hits of its own in the final game. The all-stars scored three runs in the second inning and added an insurance run in the sixth. Bryce Morrow went 2-for-2 with a double, two runs and an RBI. B.J. Minarcin and Will Collins also scored, while D'Amelio, Billy Zeliff and Chris Riley each had an RBI.

After being shutout in its first game of the sectional, South Fort Myers' offense came back in full force Saturday. The team scored 21 runs in 10 innings, including an 11-1 win over Venice in four innings. If it had any of that offense Friday against Greater Naples, it would be South Fort Myers making the trip to Freeport.

"We came out a little flat (Friday), but I give all the credit to Naples,'' South manager Mike Trombley said. "They're a good team with good pitching. (Saturday), though, we couldn't have played better ball.''

Bonita Springs dropped all three of their games in the sectional tournament. After Venice beat Bonita Springs 7-2 on Friday, the team lost twice Saturday to finish 1-2.

Eight sectional winners from across the state will meet in Freeport for the 9-10 All-State State Finals starting Saturday. Two pools of four teams will play each other, with the top two teams from each pool advancing to the semifinals. The state championship game is July 21.