DP All-Stars were hits of the summer

The core of the Dos Pueblos Little League district- and sectional-champion Junior All-Stars team won a state championship four years ago as 10 year olds.

Every Little League team is special.

But there was something unique about this particular group of ballplayers from the Dos Pueblos Little League.

As an all-star team, the players developed great chemistry and a winning formula when they were just 9 years old, and it continued on as they grew older and moved up in divisions.

For the last five years, Brody Curtis, Daniel Dzierski, Brian Cho, Joshua Tedeschi, Nolan Soto, Alex Amaro, James Savage, Robert Gulvin, Isaac Rodriguez, Dylan Rohde, and Drake Gilliland have been DPLL’s Boys of Summer.

Counting this season, they won 11 pennants, including a state championship.

The DP All-Stars’ amazing run of postseason successes came to an end last week at the Junior Division state subdivisional tournament in Ontario. Despite the loss, they leave a legacy for future DP All-Star teams to match and improve on.

The core of the DP Junior All-Stars started playing together when the players were in the minors division.

“I knew this was a special group when the kids were 9 years old,” said manager Dan Rohde, whose son Dylan was part of the group. “We won District 63 and took second in the sectional 9/10 division.”

Rohde kept the team together for the next summer all-star season and it took off.

“With all the kids coming back as 10 year olds, I knew we had a chance to make a good run,” he said. “As 10 year olds, we made it all the way to the State Tournament. We lost our first game and came back and won six games in six days, three in extra innings, to claim the state title.

“We were very deep in pitching,” he added. “That’s why we survived the long come back, which had never been done before.”

The success continued at the 11-12 majors level as the DP Stars captured district and section pennants both years.

Then it carried over to the Juniors Division (ages 13-14).

“This year as Juniors, again we won district and sectionals and lost at the state level,” Rohde said. “It’s very difficult to come out of Southern California on top. The competition draws from a much larger area than ours.”

“We would like to thank our many fans and local support we have received over the years,” assistant coach Mike Dzierski said. “We are sorry it is our final run and didn’t reach our lofty goal of a Western Regional appearance.”

Unless a Senior Division is revived in town, the boys played their last Little League game together. They can stay together as a club team, and many of them figure to reunite on the same high school team.

Most of the boys are going to Dos Pueblos. Three of them already have made an impact playing for the Chargers: Dylan Rohde was named the Most Valuable Player of the junior varsity as a freshman; Nolan Soto was the freshman team MVP and Daniel Dzierski was voted the best defensive player on the frosh squad.

Dan Rohde, who’s been managing DP All-Star teams since the late 1980s, acknowledged the tremendous support he’s received from various coaches in the league.

“I have been blessed with lots of help throughout the years,” he said. “This year my assistant coach was Mike Dzierski and, in the past and present, coaches Wally Curtis, Stan Soto, Jeff Lemp, Dave Cabral and Kirkman Gardiner all have contributed greatly.”

Above all, Rohde has enjoyed working with the boys and watching them develop not only as ballplayers but as responsible young men.

“It has been a very awesome experience coaching and watching these kids become young adults,” he said. “I have spent many days living out of a suitcase with these boys throughout the years.

“Like I always told the kids: Thank you for the journey and many memories. I will cherish them forever.”