LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL: Sherman Oaks falls in 10-under if-necessary final

A valiant effort by the Sherman Oaks 10-under baseball all-star team forced an if-necessary final in the North sub-divisional of the Southern California state tournament Thursday in Goleta.

But Sherman Oaks' bid to reach the best-of-three championship series Saturday at El Cerrito Sports Park in Corona came up short with a 9-3 setback to Tustin Eastern.

Sherman Oaks (10-2) rebounded from a 4-3 defeat Monday against Tustin Eastern (11-1) to win back-to-back games, including a 4-3 triumph Wednesday over the Section 5 champions, but ran out of steam playing its fifth game in as many days.

Tustin Eastern will face South sub-divisional champ Rancho San Diego (14-1) -- a 10-0 winner Thursday over Carmel Mountain Ranch (11-2) -- at 3 p.m. Saturday in the first game of the championship series.