Bike Connection finished its 2025 season with a 12-11 victory over Hengehold to claim the Palo Alto Little League City Championship on May 17.
Bike Connection (managed by Alex Ross) entered the tournament as one of the favorites, and they swept through the tournament winning three straight games for the title.
On the other hand, most gave the Gene Gordon-managed Hengehold team little chance—they were suffering through a seven-game losing streak entering tournament play. After a 13-3 defeat to this same Bike Connection team in the second round, Hengehold then won three straight elimination games to set up the rematch with Bike Connection.
Unlike the earlier encounter, when Bike Connection broke open a tight game with a ten-run fourth inning, the championship game was a back-and-forth affair that was not settled until the last out, when the Hengehold batter grounded out with the tying runner on second base.
Bike Connection grabbed an early lead with two runs in the bottom of the first. Hengehold answered with four runs in the second and two more in the third to take a 6-2 lead going into the bottom of the third.
Bike Connection then exploded for six runs in the bottom of the third with Alonso Ontiveros Herrera, Charlie Reiss, and Tony Ara all delivering big hits. The Hengehold pitchers were plagued by wildness throughout the game and issued five walks in Bike Connection’s six-run inning.
Hengehold, however, did not fold! They responded with four runs in the top of the fourth to retake the lead 10-8; the big blow was Rain Wan’s two-out single that knocked in the two. Bike Connection then showed why they were one of the tournament favorites; with only one hit, they scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth to retake the lead and added an insurance run in the fifth on a clutch two-out single by Jack Jusko, making the score 12-10.
The insurance run proved crucial!
With Eric Tian on the mound for Bike Connection, Ian Nilsen led off the top of the sixth with a double and Karam Dhillon knocked him home with another double (Dhillon’s fourth hit of the day). But with the tying run in scoring position, Tian bore down and got the last two batters to secure the championship for Bike Connection.
Throughout the season, Bike Connection was noted for its ability to stage comebacks and the depth of its roster. Bike Connection used five pitchers in the championship game, and Ontiveros Herrera, Wyatt Fletcher, and Yuya Muraoka all had multiple hit games for winners.
The offensive stars for Hengehold were Dhillon and Nilsen, who collectively had seven hits and scored six runs.
When asked if he was surprised by the post-season success of Hengehold, Gordon said, “We experiment in the regular season, kids play different positions, and we use lots of pitchers. We are prepared for the tournament. This year we came up a bit short—we’ll see you next spring.”
The members of the Bike Connection team are Elijah Alcheck, Gabriel Ara, Tony Ara, Wyatt Fletcher, Jack Jusko, Jaewoo Koh, Marcus Lanzman, Yuya Muraoka, Alonso Ontiveros Herrera, Charlie Reiss, Eric Tian, and Jeffrey Tian. The team was managed by Ales Ross and the assistant coaches were Jacob Gulman, Anish Narayanaswamy, and Candelario Ontiveros.
Coach Ross summed it up: "This was a special team that always worked hard in practice and on game day. They played the right way, and I’m so happy they got to end their season with a big win and great memories.”