Washington Nationals of Northern Little League Baseball Team Win City Championship

Last week during the San Angelo City Baseball Championship, the underdogs came out on top and won the championship game. The Washington Nationals of Northern Little League of San Angelo proved that being the underdog does not define the ability of their team.  

The City Tournament was single elimination. The tournament began Tuesday, May 31, and was intended to be a three-day long tournament, but due to rain, the second day was held on June 1, and the championship day was held on June 3.

The tournament consisted of 36 minor league baseball teams. The Washington Nationals played three games during the tournament.

In the first game, the team faced the Lake View Marlins and won 11 to 1. The second game was against the Southern Mariners where they won 9 to 5. For the championship game, the Washington Nationals defeated the Wall Hooks 7 to 2.

It has been nine years since a Northern team has won the City Championship. Coach Junior Monsivais had this to say about the tournament and victory, “[The kids] were super excited. They couldn’t believe it. It was unreal to them that they had won out of all the teams.”

Coach Monsivais also said, “My kids did great! [They] were a little nervous going in because we had never been there before, and it had been a long time since we’ve had the chance to be there.”

The Washington Nationals consisted of 12 kids ranging from the ages of 8 to 10. Coach Monsivais said, “[This team] is an amazing group of kids and have surpassed anything that I thought they could do. They grew so much in such a short period of time and accomplished more than I thought they would.”

The ending record for the season for the Washington Nationals was 14 wins, 3 losses and 1 tie. This year was Coach Monsivais first year as head coach. Kids have already asked him if he will be returning to coach the team next year. He didn’t tell them no, but for now, Monsivais is waiting to see what comes next.