Rohnert Park Cal Ripken 9-year-olds headed to regionals

Aiming to win one game in the Northern California tournament, the Rohnert Park Cal Ripken 9-year-old All-Stars outperformed its expectations to advance to the regional finals.

"It was a big turnaround this year," said manager Keith McCoy. "We're deeper. All the kids improved dramatically."

The Rohnert Park squad was runner-up in the Northern California tournament, good enough to qualify for the Pacific Southwest 9 Cal Ripken Regional Tournament. Play begins Monday in Riverton, Utah.

"Our main goal was to win one game at state and improve," McCoy said.

Ten teams from four states play in the tournament running through July 26. The regional is the final level of play for the 9-year-old age group in Cal Ripken Baseball.

"It's a big deal to bring them all together and mash it up like this," McCoy said.