Summerlin South eyes berth in Little League World Series

Summerlin South Little League coach TJ Fechser doesn’t own a crystal ball and spends little time trying to predict the future.

He’s pretty good at evaluating the present, however, and that ability has been a key to his team’s success this summer.

Representing District 4, his squad defeated Carson Valley 14-3 on Sunday to win the Nevada state finals and advance to the Mountain Region tournament from Saturday to Aug. 8 at San Bernardino, California.

Summerlin South will open the seven-day, modified double-elimination event against Colorado at 9 a.m. Sunday. The winner will advance to the Little League World Series from Aug. 13 to 24 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

But there has been little discussion about regional championships or Little League World Series appearances. Just one win at a time.

“We’re only looking at Colorado right now,” Fechser said. “Once you get out of the friendly confines of Las Vegas, there’s not much information out there about the other (regional) teams. We don’t know who they played, and they don’t know who we played.”

The one thing Fechser knows for sure is that he has a good team, buoyed by solid defense.

“I find that defense is paramount,” he said. “It’s exciting to watch hits, but I love the unsung heroes of the big defensive plays. We spend 80 percent of every practice working on defense.”

Fechser particularly praised catcher Dusty Greusel, who holds down the battery and has a firm grasp of each pitcher’s capabilities.

Summerlin South enters the tournament with a deep pitching staff. Cache Malan, Garrett Gallegos, Ethan Robertson and Luke D’Ambrosio should see the most time on the mound, but several others are capable of posting strong innings of spot work.

Fechser’s players also can hit. Ten of the 12 have homered, and the players pride themselves on situational batting.

“I have ninjas and barbarians,” the coach said. “The athletic, skilled hitters get on base for the big boys and then the barbarians come up. There are no easy outs.”

Fechser refuses to accept all the coaching credit, noting the value of assistant coaches Americo Miranda and Tony D’Ambrosio as hidden keys to the team’s success.

“We work so well together, and we all know our roles,” said Fechser, a standout player for The Meadows High School in the late 1990s.

The regional also will feature representatives from Montana, Utah and Wyoming. If Summerlin South wins the tournament, it would be the second consecutive Nevada team to qualify for the World Series. Paseo Verde reached the semifinals last year.

Contact Jeff Wollard at jwollard@reviewjournal.com.