The Goleta Valley South LL 12U All-Stars had their strong summer season come to an end at the Southern California State Tournament last week in Aliso Viejo.
The GVSLL All-Stars ended the year with District 63 and Section 1 tournament championships.
In the SoCal State tournament opener, GVSLL suffered a 6-0 loss at the hands of Sweetwater Valley LL, the eventual champions of the SoCal State tournament.
Ben Hause turned in a solid outing on the mound for GVSLL, but the offense struggled to get anything going in the defeat.
GVSLL then closed out its season with a back-and-forth 7-5 loss to Vineyard LL, the same team that eliminated GVSLL last summer.
After Vineyard plated the first run of the game, GVSLL answered back in the second inning thanks to a pair of defensive miscues and an RBI single by Quincy Niksto to take a 2-1 lead.
GVSLL stayed hot in the bottom of the third, as Calvin Firestone belted a three-run home run over the left-field wall to score Nathan Diaz and Brooks Caldwell and extend the advantage to 5-1.
Vineyard chipped away at the deficit with a run in the fourth and fifth innings to make it a 5-3 game heading into the sixth and final frame.
In the top of the sixth, the game turned on its head when Vineyard loaded the bases and connected on a two-out grand slam to take its first lead of the day at 7-5.
A pair of GVSLL baserunners reached in the bottom of the sixth, but Vineyard secured the win and stranded the game-tying run on base.
The duo of Caldwell and Dylan Corlett led the way with three hits apiece across the two games, while Niksto and Firestone each had two hits.
The 2026 GVSLL 12U All-Star Team includes: Liam Anderson, Brooks Caldwell, Dylan Corlett, Nathan Diaz, Calvin Firestone, Benn Hause, Jase Hooper, Brandon Muñoz, Quincy Niksto, Ethan Sierra, Walker Torres and Cade Venegas.
The team is managed by Bryan Corlett, with assistant coaches Daniel Hooper and Raymond Torres.
