August 16, 2009

Wik leads U.S. West champs over Philippines

Northern California third baseman Marc Wik’s fielder’s choice grounder in the top of the sixth inning brought in the tying run and an error on the play by the Philippines shortstop allowed the go-ahead run to score as the U.S. West champs from Niles-Centerville L.L., in Fremont, Calif., opened their World Series with a 4-1 win over the Asia-Pacific champion, Illam Central L.L., Makati City.

Wik did an encore in the seventh, driving in two insurance runs with a double to left-center field to cap the comeback by the team from Fremont, Calif.

“I was a little anxious at the plate,” Wik said. “My Dad told me to relax a little, be patient and look for a pitch I can handle. And he threw it where I could hit it and I poked it.”

For the Philippines, it was a disappointing end to a promising showing, as the error in the sixth and another in the seventh set the stage for Northern California’s runs. The Philippines, making its second consecutive trip to Bangor, opened the scoring in the first inning with a one-out sacrifice fly. But California starting pitcher Jack Veronin got a caught-looking strikeout to end the inning after giving up a single that loaded the bases.

From then on, the Philippines never came close to scoring again. California manager Perry Romero took Veronin off the mound after Veronin induced a lead-off ground out in the second. In Veronin’s place, Billy Nevin pitched six innings of three-hit, shutout ball without walking anyone. California’s infield turned two double plays, both involving the slick fielding Wik.

“Today we got tested,” Northern California manager Perry Romero said. “The Filipino kids were really outstanding.”

New Jersey takes advantage of free bases in 11-6 win over Italy

New Jersey scored in every inning in holding off and eventually pulling away from a scrappy Italian team as the U.S. East champion from South Vineland L.L., in Vineland, N.J., defeated the Europe-Middle East-Africa champ 11-6.

New Jersey took advantage of two hit batsmen in the first inning to take a quick 2-0 lead, which the boys from the East added to with two more runs in the second inning, also on the heels of two hit batsmen. Italy starting pitcher Gabriele Orso was responsible for all four hit batsmen in only two innings of work before he was lifted for Gabriele Volpi in the third inning.

“We only had five or six hits, but just like Coach Negron said, it’s our first World Series win, it’s a win,” New Jersey outfielder Joe Arce said. “It’s not how we wanted it, but we’ll take it.”

Down 4-0 entering the top of the third, Italy strung together three consecutive, two-out singles to pull within one, 4-3. But New Jersey tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the inning, taking advantage of a lead-off walk by Nick Montana, who eventually scored on a ground out by Chris Lopez.

Italy tried to keep up with a run of its own in the fourth when Francesco Olivieri led off with a walk and later scored on a single to left field by Federico Ugrin. New Jersey kept the pressure on, though, scoring two more times in the fifth in a rally that began with two outs and nobody on base.

After getting the first two batters of the inning to hit the ball into the air to shortstop Marco Gheno, Volpi proceeded to walk the next two batters before giving up a double to left-center by Arce that brought in Chris Lopez and Ray Reyes.

“Coach gave me the hit-away sign for the first pitch, and I was just looking for a fastball down the middle and I got it and I didn’t miss it,” Arce said.

Italy’s pitchers gave up only five hits, but they walked nine batters, six of whom went on to score. All four of the batters Orso hit scored as well. New Jersey stole eight bases, with Joe Arce and Vaughn Watson stealing two apiece to lead the way.

Aruba scores early, then keeps Wisconsin at bay

After four innings of a steady hitting attack by Latin America representative Aruba, it seemed as though U.S. Central champion Wisconsin would succumb via the 10-run rule. Aruba was ahead 8-0 and needed only two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to put the game away. But then Aruba starting pitcher Shurman Marlin, who hadn’t yielded a hit through four innings, walked a batter, delivered a wild pitch, and gave up Wisconsin’s first hit and run of the game, a double by Nate Thill with one out in the top of the fifth inning that scored Thomas O’Keefe, who had walked to begin the inning.

The rally by West Madison L.L., from Madison, Wis., was a bit late, though, as Aruba held on for an 8-4 win.

After Marlin got the second out of the inning on a ground out, Aruba manager Gregory Manuel took him out and put Shakir Arrindell on the mound. Marlin had thrown 74 pitches, only 40 for strikes, but he had given up only one hit.

“This was my first time playing in the World Series,” Marlin said. “I was a bit nervous.” He said his two-seam fastball was his best pitch for the night.

Arrindell was wild from the beginning. He walked Abe Lenoch on four straight pitches and hit Chris Anderson with a 1-2 pitch to load the bases. Wisconsin cleanup hitter Zach Addamo then had two strikes on him before being hit to bring in Wisconsin’s second run.

The bases still loaded, Sean Blythe hit the first pitch he saw to right field to score Lenoch and Anderson. Aruba right fielder Franco Wouters then threw home to stop Addamo from scoring. Addamo tried to get back to third but was thrown out on another throw, by catcher Signarf Loopstok, to end the rally and the inning. Addamo pleaded that he was safe to third-base umpire Thomas Hall, but Hall quickly went to the outfield before Addamo threw his helmet to the ground.

Cedrik Sint Jago, Aruba’s starting right fielder, was 2-for-2 with a walk and two runs batted in.

“We stopped concentrating,” Sint Jago said, referring to Wisconsin’s late-innings rally. “We thought that we were going to win, and we stopped playing and stopped focusing.”

Aruba came back in the bottom of the fifth, putting two runners on with two outs, but Wisconsin reliever Austin Rice got Loopstok to fly out to center to strand runners at second and third. Rice relieved starter Gary King with two outs in the fourth after Rice gave up all eight Aruba runs on nine hits and four walks.

Wisconsin loaded the bases in the sixth on two singles and a walk but couldn’t score, as Arrindell struck Lenoch out looking on three straight pitches to end the threat. Aruba loaded the bases itself in the bottom of the sixth on two singles and a hit batsman, but the inning ended when home plate umpire Robert Detert called Dari Quandus out on interference after Quandus pushed a loose ball back to Wisconsin catcher Lenoch with his foot after taking a pitch.

Xander Bogaerts took to the mound for the seventh inning and retired the side in order to preserve the win, the Latin America region’s eighth straight over U.S. Central representatives.

“We’re a batting team, so that’s nothing that’s not normal for us,” Bogaerts said of his team’s quick 8-0 lead. “So whoever has the intention of coming to get us, they have to have good pitching, or else be prepared for the bullpen.”

For Aruba, Bogaerts was 3-for-3 with two runs batted in. Jiandido Tromp, Lynell Koolman, Cedrick Sint Jago each had two hits. Sint Jago also had two RBIs.

Maine District 3 opens series with nail-biting 1-0 win over Canada

Host gets one hit, but it was a big one

Jack Stacey drew a two-out walk in the first inning and then scored on a double to left-center field by starting pitcher Joe Stanevicz to give Maine District 3 host Bangor the only run of the game as the host defeated Cornwall Little League from Cornwall, Ontario, in the 2009 series opener.

Stanevicz’s double turned out to be the only hit the host would get, as Canada starting pitcher Jay Flannigan pitched 5 1/3 innings of 1-hit, 1-run ball. Josh Filion relieved Flannigan in the sixth inning when Flannigan reached his pitch-count limit.

Stanevicz’s pitching wasn’t too shabby, either, as he gave up only four hits in the complete game win. He did walk four batters, however, but Canada just could not get anybody home as it stranded 10 runners on base.

Canada had threatened in the top of the first inning when James Amelotte hit a double to left-center to lead off the game. After advancing to third on a single by Dylan Prendergast, Amelotte tried to score on a Flannigan grounder to short, but Maine shortstop Nicholas Cota threw him out at the plate. Canada went on to put at least one runner on base in the remaining six innings. Stanevicz stranded four runners at third base, getting Aarron Seguin to hit a liner back to him with Prendergast on third to end the first, getting Cam Shaw to strike out to end the third inning with Dylan Casselman on third, and getting consecutive groundouts from Prendergast and Flannigan to end the fifth. In the seventh, Stanevicz got Flannigan to groundout to end the game with Nolan St. Denis on the corner.

“I don’t really get rattled at all, so when guys got on base I just had to keep pitching the way I did the rest of the game,” Stanevicz said.

Stanevicz threw 96 pitches, with 61 being strikes. He hit one batter and threw two wild pitches.

Prendergast had two of Canada’s four hits off Stanevicz, as he went 2-for-4 batting in the third spot in the order.

Maine District 3 photo copyright and courtesy Monty Rand.

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