Our annual Opening Day celebration, on Saturday, March 2nd, once again came off as a day to remember for our kids and families.

From the T-Ball games first thing in the morning, to our Opening Ceremonies, to a great BBQ lunch from Outback Restaurant, plus wall-to-wall baseball all morning and afternoon, it was a day that will be remembered fondly in Hilltoppers history.

The day dawned bright, sunny and warm, seemingly perfect weather to welcome KUSI TV meteorologist Dave Scott and the KUSI Morning News. Dave did a great job, as always, hanging out with our kids, showing off our beautiful ballfields and complex, and making the day special for everyone involved.

Our Opening Ceremonies were highlighted by the appearance of San Diego Padres President Tom Garfinkel, along with the Swinging Friar mascot and members of the Pad Squad. It was a great opportunity for us to thank the Padres for their generosity in once again supplying our Rookie, Farm and Minors division players with over 200 beautiful Padres uniforms, and it was an honor to have them at our fields as we commemorated our 15th season with our Little Padres Park, another generous initiative of the Padres for Little Leagues around San Diego.

We were also pleased to recognize our Western Region Director Jim Gerstenslager, who was attending his final Opening Day as a Regional Director, and Elizabeth Ballard, principal of Cadman Elementary School, our wonderful community partner. We also honored the two key volunteers from Clairemont Hilltoppers in the building of our Little Padres Park, Dave Bermudes and Dave Pursel, who also stayed and umpired our very first Intermediate Division game, played on that field later in the day.

Many thanks to Outback Steakhouse, who once again provided us with a wonderful BBQ lunch, which doubled as a fundraiser for our league. Thanks to Daniel Pursel, who ran our sound during ceremonies again this year. Thanks also to the many board members, parents and other volunteers who staffed the snack bar (which had a record-setting day), prepped our beautiful fields, umpired games, got teams ready to play on Opening Day, and cheered and supported the best group of Little Leaguers around… the kids of Clairemont Hilltoppers!

 

Our fifth annual Uniform and Exchange Day is set for Saturday, February 4 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. at our fields.

We invite everyone to look through your closets, under your beds and in your garages for items that are still in good condition but that your kids have outgrown. Things like bats, gloves, cleats, uniform pants, belts, etc. If they're still in good condition, we would love to have them.

You can bring your items to Team Assignment Day, Saturday at 10 a.m., and we will sort them and organize them and make them available for people to choose from. Then, before running out to buy a brand new pair of cleats or your new team's color of pants, swing by the park at 1 p.m. and see if we can fill your need.

This event has been a success for the last four seasons, and we hope to grow it even larger this year. Once you find out what team you're on, come over to look through our selection and see if you can find some "gently used" items for this year. You are welcome to any reasonable number of items, and are not required to donate in order to take something home.

See you there!

 

 

Don't Miss
Our Annual
Fundraiser Dinner!

Once again this year, we will be holding our annual Fundraiser Dinner at Fast Times Restaurant, 3065 Clairemont Dr. (in the remodeled Sprouts shopping center). This year's dinner is from 6-9 p.m. on Saturday, March 16.

Every year over 100 Hilltopper parents, coaches, friends and alumni come out for this fun evening of good food, good people, good music and great prizes. With lots of raffles, and silent and live auctions, everyone in attendance has the chance to go home with a prize. This year's dinner will also feature last year's hoit addition – Team Baskets, as all of the teams in our league compete to see whose basket goes for top dollar, winning a team pizza party for the child's ballclub. Raffle and auction items are sure to include dinner certificates, sporting events, household items, sports memorabilia, and some special Hilltopper prizes.

All of the proceeds from this evening go straight to our league, so invite your friends, relatives and neighbors. Tickets are on sale now, and will be available at Opening Day on March 2. Space is limited, however, so don't procrastinate. For more information, you can contact Fundraiser Dinner chair Michelle Jennings at 858-336-1595 or dubdub98@yahoo.com.

 

The Clairemont Hilltoppers' 9-10 All-Star team was the last of our league's teams to be eliminated in All-Star play, finishing with an excellent fourth-place showing in their tournament after falling to eventual runner-up Scripps Ranch National. Their final victory, a dramatic last-inning nail-biter, 6-5 over Presidio on July 8, will be the one that all the parents and players remember. This came the day after a 14-5 win over Clairemont Mesa, and marked their fourth consecutive win in the tourney. On Thursday, July 5 they won their second consecutive game, 3-1 over Rancho Penasquitos Central. After running into a tough Coronado team in their first round game on Saturday, June 30, they bounced back on Monday, July 2 against Mission Bay, prevailing in a wild one, 7-6. Their games were played at Mira Mesa Little League. Elsewhere, our remaining teams also completed All-Star play. Our 10-11-year-old team ran into a buzzsaw in their first game, losing to Point Loma. Their next contest in the tournament, played at Rancho Penasquitos, saw them eliminated on Tuesday, July 3 against Coronado. Our 11-12 team had a barnburner of a first game in their tournament, hosted by our league at Cadman Park. Jumping off to an early lead against a scrappy Presidio team, the game went back and forth before Presidio tied the game at 8-8 in the bottom of the sixth inning, then pulled out a 9-8 decision in the 7th inning. The Hilltoppers then were eliminated on July 3, when Rancho Penasquitos North toppled them 7-4. CHLL battled back hard in the late innings, even bringing the winning run to the plate in the last frame. In the Juniors division tournament, being played at Mira Mesa, our team was eliminated on Saturday, July 8, falling in a heartbreaker to Coronado 8-7. A dramatic four-run rally in the top of the 7th inning was not quite enough, as Coronado came back eke out the win in the bottom half. The Juniors had rallied from an early 3-1 deficit to pull out a dramatic 11-8 victory victory over Mission Bay in their first game. They once again battled from behind repeatedly in their second game against Peninsula, finally falling 8-5, but not before they brought the winning run to the plate in the last inning. In their third game against Scripps Ranch on July 5, they received lots of early offense and went on to win 10-0. Thanks to all who supported our teams during tournament play. If you missed this exciting part of the season, be sure to plan for the first two weeks of July next year to catch some truly exciting Little League baseball.

Closing Day...
Our Final Big Bash!

Closing Day was held on Saturday, June 3, featuring a great day of championship games, ceremonies, a big BBQ, our annual elections, and lots of other fun.

The day began with our Farm Championship at 9 a.m. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., we had one of the most spectacular sets of jumpers for the kids that we have ever had. Our annual elections were held from 11 a.m, to 1 p.m.,  and then our Closing Ceremonies at noon, with trophies and/or medals to all of the league’s players, our special Spirit of Hilltoppers awards, other special awards, and lots of great raffle prizes.

Many thanks to Spice & Soul Restaurant for the great BBQ, and congratulations to our Home Run Derby contestants and winners among our Minors and Intermediate players. It's been a great season, and we want to be sure to thank all of the volunteers who made this so much fun for our kids. We will look back and remember fondly the year we had, and realize that Fall Ball signups in August will be here before we know it!