San Jose baseball team advances closer to Little League World Series

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Some young baseball players in San Jose are about to get their shot at stardom.

The Cambrian Park Little League all-star team have already made local history and could earn a spot on the national stage.

"This is the farthest that any Cambrian Park team has gone in our 60 years of playing baseball," said the team's manager Chris Bandanza.

By all accounts, it was unexpected.

"You never really expect to win 14-straight All-Star Games," Bandanza said.

But they're not done yet.

"We just need to win four-straight games and we can be there," said Mick Bandanza, the team's catcher.

If that happens, the team will head to Williamsport, Penn., home of the Little League's biggest matchup.

The Bay Area's no stranger to Little League glory. In 2012, Petaluma went to the Little League World Series and returned home to a heroes parade.

For Cambrian Park, it'll take hard work to get there. They have to win the regional finals in San Bernardino. These won't be your average young players.

"The pitching is much stronger, the kids throw strikes," Bandanza said said.

But then, there's nothing average about Cambrian Park.

"I play pitcher and third base," said teammate Griffin Allen.

He's also hit more than a few game-winning home runs. Now, the rules of Little League are different.

"For us, a game is six innings," said Tyler Danelen, the team's pitcher and center-fielder.

The field is smaller and they hit with metal bats, but some things are just like the Big Leagues. There are superstitions.

"Lucky socks," Danelen added.

"I wear the same bracelets," Allen said.

And the most important rule of all.

"There's no trick, just to hit the ball hard and get on base," Allen added.

The Little League post-season is expensive, so in true Silicon Valley fashion they've started a fundraising campaign online. Anything leftover will go to scholarships for next year.