August 21, 2010

Aruba wins the 50th Senior League World Series title, 8-1

Duinkerk’s arm, bat prove too much for Bangor, ending host’s surreal ride

Maine District 3 shortstop Nic Cota tags out Aruba's Joes Luis Gonzales on a stolen base attempt in the fifth inning.

By Chris DeBeck

Assistant Information Director

The bat and right arm of Aruba South’s Shawn Duinkerk proved to be too much for Bangor to overcome in the championship game of the 2010 Senior League World Series.

Duinkerk hit a two-run double in the top of the first inning, highlighting a three-run rally that staked his team to a 3-0 lead, then needed just 78 pitches in a complete-game pitching gem as the Latin America champion earned its first Senior League World Series championship with an 8-1 win over Maine District 3 representative Bangor East/West in front of an estimated 2,000 fans at Shawn T. Mansfield Stadium.

Aruba's Chadwick Tromp hits his two-run home run to put the game away.

On the mound, Duinkerk needed just 78 pitches (51 strikes) to complete a four-hit outing, walking just two and striking out five while allowing just one earned run in seven innings of work to lead Aruba South to the championship.

At the plate, Duinkerk had a pair of singles and drove in three runs, the last RBI coming on a fielder’s choice in the seventh during a five-run rally that salted the game away.

For good measure, Duinkerk also stole a base, Aruba South’s record 29th theft in a Mansfield Stadium Senior League World Series, obliterating the mark set by South Vineland, N.J. (20) in the 2009 series. Aruba South also stole 10 bases in its opening game against Saipan Little League to set a single-game record.

Juan Carlos Moncion followed Duinkerk’s fielder’s choice with a two-run double to right in the seventh to give the Arubans a 6-1 lead, then scored ahead of Chadwick Tromp’s two-run homer to left center that capped the scoring.

Jiandido Tromp’s sacrifice fly in the top of the first brought home teammate Jermain Manuel (double) to open the scoring for Aruba South, who finished the World Series with a 5-1 overall record.

Bangor finally broke through in the fifth, as Dylan Morris walked, advanced to second on a Josiah Hartley single, went to third on a Nic Cota single and scored on Cody Savage’s fielder’s choice to cut the lead to 3-1. Bangor would get no closer.

Hartley singled twice to lead the Bangor offense, while Luke Hetterman and Seth Freudenberger each singled for the Maine District 3 champions, who finished with a 4-2 World Series record, the best record ever for a Maine District 3 representative since the series began its Bangor run in 2002. In fact, no Maine District 3 team had ever even won more than a game before this year.

The Bangor all-stars, a combination of Bangor East and West Little League programs, concluded its playoff run with an 8-3 overall record, including memorable comeback wins over Brewer to win the Maine District 3 championship and late-inning rallies to defeat West University (Houston, Texas) L.L. 4-3 in the final pool play game to reach the World Series semifinals and Manhattan Beach, Calif., 9-3 in the semifinals.

For Aruba South, Saturday’s win completed a mission to atone for last year’s disappointing exit from the series, in which the team lost 7-6 in the semifinals to Niles-Centerville L.L., of Fremont, Calif.

Printer friendly version