Three Bay Area youth baseball teams still have hopes of reaching the Little League World Series as they compete in the Northern California regional tournament starting this weekend in Chico.

Mill Valley Little League, San Ramon Valley Little League and Los Gatos Little League will face four other teams in the double-elimination NorCal tournament, which begins Saturday for the 12-and-under division.

The winner must then win the West Region tournament in San Bernardino in early August to earn a spot in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The international tournament brings together some of the best youth baseball teams from around the world.

Mill Valley won its section tournament in Concord on Tuesday, while San Ramon Valley claimed its title the same day in Castro Valley. Los Gatos won its section tournament Wednesday in Aptos.

The NorCal tournament begins Saturday in Chico.

The Little League Intermediate 50/70 World Series for 13-and-under players begins Aug. 2 in Livermore.

Bollinger Canyon Little League of San Ramon has already qualified for the tournament and will compete against five other U.S. teams and six international teams at Max Baer Park in Livermore.

Dan McMenamin is the managing editor at Bay City News, directing daily news coverage of the 12-county greater Bay Area. He has worked for BCN since 2008 and has been managing editor since 2014 after previously serving as BCN’s San Francisco bureau reporter. A UC Davis graduate, he came to BCN after working for a newspaper and nonprofit in the Davis area. He handles staffing, including coaching of our interns, day-to-day coverage decisions and management of the newswire.