August 18, 2010

South Vineland becomes first semifinal qualifier, topping host Bangor 10-5

South Vineland (N.J.) Little League became the first team to clinch a semifinal berth, improving to 3-0 after defeating host Bangor, Maine, 10-5 in Wednesday before an estimated 1,700 fans at Shawn T. Mansfield Stadium.

With the win, South Vineland improves to 3-0 and clinches first place in Pool A and will play the Pool B runner-up on Friday at 11:30 a.m. The league had failed to advance to the semifinal round in the league’s three previous appearances in a Bangor World Series (2002, 2003, and 2009). In each of those previous appearances, the league had finished with a 2-2 record.

South Vineland scored three times in the top of the first to take a 3-0 lead, highlighted by Eli Carter’s two-run single, but Bangor (2-1) responded with four runs in the third to take a 4-3 lead, thanks to Anthony Capuano’s two-run single and Josiah Hartley’s two-run double.

South Vineland took the lead for good with a three-run fourth inning rally, taking advantage of two Bangor errors to take a 6-4 lead. It added one run in each of the fifth and sixth innings and two more in the seventh to secure the semifinal berth.

South Vineland was led at the plate by Carter (two singles, three RBIs), Carlos Lebron (two singles), Trevon Potts (two singles) and Vaughn Watson (two singles). The U.S. East champ’s final pool play game is at 8 p.m. on Thursday against Lazio, Italy, the Europe-Middle East-Africa region champion.

Dylan Morris singled twice and Nic Cota tripled for Maine District 3 champ Bangor, which fell to 2-1 with the loss.

Bangor and defending champion West University (Houston, Texas) will play for Pool A’s other playoff berth in a 5 p.m. game on Thursday. The winner moves on while the loser will end its 2010 World Series participation.

West University staves off Canada comeback to set showdown with host Bangor

West University improved to 2-1 with a 7-5 win over East Park Little League of Alberta, Canada, in a Pool A late game Wednesday to remain in the playoff hunt.

Andrew Dunlap’s two-run double in the third inning to give the U.S. Southwest regional champs a 2-0 lead. West University then added one run in the third, three in the fourth and one more in the fifth to eke out the win.

Derek Brown (three singles), Stewart Cartwright (two singles) and Luke Cone (double, single, two RBIs) paced the West University offense.

Pete Quenneville and Dalen Mimeault each hit run-scoring singles to highlight a three-run fourth for East Park, which fell to 0-4 despite a spirited effort.

A moment of silence was held before the start of the game in honor of 2009 West University assistant coach Scott Everett Zornes, 26, who died in a car crash early Sunday morning in Bibb County, Alabama.

Holmes County bounces back to overwhelm Saipan

Holmes County, Ohio’s hitters found their batting shoes and kept their playoff hopes alive with a convincing 14-4 win over Saipan Little League of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in the day’s second game, improving to 2-1 in the tournament.

The U.S. Central regional champion scored nine runs in the top of the first and never looked back, aided by a 18-hit offensive attack keyed by Richie Mast (four singles, one RBI), Ryan Troyer (three singles, three RBIs) and Luke Burch (three singles).

Starting pitcher Grant Troyer went the distance for Holmes County, scattering eight hits over five innings and allowing four runs (one earned).

Harry Nakamura’s two-run double highlighted a four-run fourth-inning for Saipan, while Diego Camacho added an RBI single for the Asia-Pacific regional champions, eliminated from semifinal contention at 0-3.

Saipan will conclude its 2010 World Series with a 1 p.m. game against West University, Texas, on Thursday.

Holmes County revived its postseason hopes with the win and must defeat Manhattan Beach, Calif. (3-0) in a 10 a.m. game on Thursday to force a three-way tie for first place in Pool B, which could invoke the runs allowed per innings pitched tiebreaker to determine which two teams will advance to Friday’s semifinals.

Aruba overtakes Palm Bay, 7-3

Aruba South rallied from a 2-0 first inning deficit to defeat Palm Bay East (Fla.) LL 7-3 in a Pool B game to close pool play with a 3-1 record.

The Latin America champions will have to wait until after the Holmes County, Ohio-Manhattan Beach, Calif. game Thursday to see if they will advance to Friday’s semifinals.

Jandido Tromp’s fourth-inning triple scored teammate Milton Croes to tie the game at 2-2 and crossed home plate when the relay throw was dropped, giving the Arubans a 3-2 advantage.

Aruba South scored three more insurance runs in the seventh, highlighted by RBI singles by Shon Doinkeirk and Richiel Matos.

Abraham Tavares allowed three runs (two earned) in five innings of work for Aruba South.

Palm Bay East took a 2-0 in the first, the third straight game the U.S. Southeast champ has scored the first run during pool play. Jimmy Tilde doubled home teammate Andrew Guzman, who singled and stole second, to open the scoring. Tilde then scored on Matt Rose’s double to increase the advantage to 2-0.

Chandler Lawson scored an unearned run in the fifth to cut the lead to 3-2, but Palm Bay was unable to push across the tying run in the fifth and sixth innings despite having runners in scoring position in both innings.

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