August 22, 2009

Texas East captures world title over N. California

Texas East’s Cole Lankford went 4-for-4 with a solo home run and four runs batted in to lead the U.S. Southwest champ, from West University L.L., Houston, Texas, to a 9-7 win over Northern California in today’s Senior League Baseball World Series championship game.

The visiting team, Texas East opened the game with four consecutive hits sandwiched around a hit batsman to take a quick 3-0 lead in front of a crowd of about 1,200 at Mansfield Stadium and countless more watching on ESPNU. Lead-off hitter John Williamson hit the first pitch he saw from Billy Nevin down the right field line for a double. Travis Gauntt followed with an RBI single and took second base on the late throw to the plate. Lankford drove Gauntt home with a single down the right field line.

Michael Resnick, who entered the game with seven hits – four of them home runs – was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second as Nevin tried to settle down. A Ryan Farney single to left-center field loaded the bases with still nobody out.

Nevin got a grounder off the bat of Matt Luna, but the U.S. West champ, from Niles-Centerville L.L., Fremont, Calif., couldn’t complete the double play after forcing Farney out at second. Lankford scored on the play. Nevin did get Davis Atkins to ground into a double play, though, to end the inning.

Nevin settled down in the second inning, retiring the side in order, but he gave up a third-inning lead-off homer to Lankford to right field that extended Texas East’s lead to 4-0.

“I just got lucky on the pitch,” Lankford said.. “First-pitch fastball. It seemed to come together. I knew he was doing that. Everyone knew. I got lucky on the fastball and got it out of there.”

“Cole’s an unbelievable hitter,” Texas East manager Trey Cornelius said. “He hit the entire time leading up to this tournament. He hit fine here. But today he showed you what he is capable of. He is capable of staying in there and driving the baseball, and he did it.”

Five consecutive Texas East were put out after Lankford’s home run, but Nevin again ran into trouble in the fourth inning, as Texas East connected for three straight hits with two outs in the inning to score three more runs. Suddenly, there were thoughts around the stadium that Texas East would make quick work of Northern California via the 10-run rule. It was only 4 o’clock and the game 52 minutes old heading into the bottom of the fourth.

Until that point, Texas East starting pitcher Kevin Roy had given up only a single, to Nevin leading off the bottom of the second.

On the second time through the lineup against Roy, the Northern California hitters adjusted and came out swinging hard, beginning with a lead-off single by Cody Lebon to center field. Casey Jennings then hit a 1-2 pitch high over the left field wall for a home run estimated at 350 feet.

Nevin followed with a walk on a 3-2 pitch. After Bryce Fryan flied out to right, Texas East shortstop Evan Fichter misplayed the throw back into the infield for an error that allowed Nevin to race safely to second.

A Pierce Romero single put Nevin at third and Justin Dhanda, who had reached on a fielder’s choice, at second to load the bases. Back-to-back singles by Matt Knight and pinch-hitter Jack Veronin pushed two more runs across the plate for the U.S. West champ, making it 7-5. A Mac Wik sacrifice fly to left then trimmed Texas East’s seven-run lead down to only one run, energizing the Northern California contingent on the first-base side of the grandstand at Mansfield.

“Usually the second time around we always seem to hit better, it seems like,” Northern California manager Perry Romero said. “So getting down seven was hard, but I thought we could still get back. These kids have big hearts. They fought their way back, and shoot, next thing I know, 7-6 – anybody’s ball game.”

“It’s amazing how the game of baseball works, how quickly a game can turn around,” Texas East’s Farney said. “When we were 14, we lost a game with three outs to go in the state championship, so I had some flashbacks to that. But we were all telling each other not to bring that back, to keep staying strong.”

Despite Northern California’s six-run rally that cut his team’s lead to only one run, Cornelius said he stuck with Roy through the fourth inning because Roy was still pitching well.

“Balls take funny hops, you get in-between hops, you get dinged and dunged to death,” Cornelius said. “That happened against New Jersey. Kevin started that game and he didn’t pitch bad at all. He just got dinged and dunged to death. That happens sometimes. That happened in that one inning. That’s why I had no issue throwing him right back out there. It wasn’t like he was getting hit. He was doing his job.”

In the sixth, Texas East answered two of Northern California’s runs, getting two-out RBI singles from Lankford and Farney. The runs proved to be the difference in the game, as Northern California tried to mount another rally beginning with a Wik triple to deep center field to start the inning. After a strikeout to Lebon, Jennings drove Wik in with a single to make it 9-7 and bring the tying run to the plate in Nevin. Nevin walked on four straight pitches, bringing the winning run to the plate in Fryan.

Texas East reliever Stewart Cartwright delivered three straight balls to the big Fryan and came back with two strikes to fill the count. He got Fryan to swing big at a 3-2 pitch, the result being a harmless fly ball to left fielder Williamson. Jennings at second and Nevin at first with two outs, Dhanda popped out to second baseman Farney for the final out of the game.

“I was nervous,” Cornelius said. “But Stewart’s been battling a little arm soreness. And for a kid to go 3-0 on a guy he had to get out and to come back and get that guy out says tons about his internal make-up.”

Key to Northern California’s ability to stay in the game against Texas East was its pitching staff’s ability to neutralize Michael Resnick, Texas East’s top slugger, who entered the game with a series record four home runs and a slugging percentage of 1.833. Resnick went 0-2, with a hit-by-pitch and a walk.

“We know he had a tough time with the breaking ball outside, so that’s what we tried to do,” Romero said.

But even with Resnick out of the equation, Northern California had its hands full.

“These boys, they’ve played together for so long and they came so close one time before,” Cornelius said. “And for them to come together in their last year to be able to play Little League at West U. and really come together as a team and to do this is an unbelievable accomplishment.”

As the Texas East players celebrated with their families in right field, Romero and his coaching staff gathered his team between first base and the dugout and thanked their players for a nevertheless successful tournament season.

“We’re just happy to be here,” Romero told reporters afterward. “We’re down a little bit right now, but teenagers, they’re real resilient. I bet by the time we get on the plane tonight I think everybody’s going to be OK. We have so many great memories to go home with. That’s the important thing.”

Championship presentation
Texas East post-game comments
Northern California post-game comments

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