August 20, 2010

A new day, a new hero for host Maine District 3

Bangor East/West scores another come-from-behind win to reach championship

By Chris DeBeck
Assistant Information Director

Aruba South Little League, of San Nicolas, Aruba, and Bangor East/West L.L., of Bangor, Maine, will each try to make history Saturday as they seek their first Senior League World Series championship, set for noon Saturday at Shawn T. Mansfield Stadium in Bangor.

The game will be televised live on ESPNU at noon Eastern Daylight-Saving Time and aired on Bangor radio station WZON (620 AM over the air or www.zoneradio.com online).

Bangor (4-1 in World Series play) rallied past U.S. West regional champion Manhattan Beach, Calif., 9-3 in the day’s second semifinal, using the same formula for a second straight day to advance to the title game.

As was the case in Bangor’s 4-3 win over West University, of Houston, Texas, in the finale of pool play Thursday, the Bangor all-stars fell behind to Manhattan Beach, then scored the game’s final nine runs.

Manhattan Beach started the scoring in the top of the first, courtesy of a Bret Collins RBI single and Ian McLouglin’s two-run single, to take a 3-0 lead.

Bangor scored two runs in the third to cut the lead to 3-2. Luke Hetterman singled home Curtis Worcester to get Bangor on the board, then scored on a wild pitch.

The score remained the same until the fifth, when Bangor touched Manhattan Beach reliever Carter Casady.

Adam King singled off Manhattan Beach starter Anthony Lombardo, then stole second off Casady. He moved to third on Christian Corneil’s single and both runners scored on Anthony Capuano’s 375-foot homer to right center, giving Bangor the lead for good at 5-3.

For good measure, Bangor added four more runs in the sixth, highlighted by Corneil’s two-run single, a safety squeeze off the bat of Curtis Worcester and Capuano’s run-scoring double.

Capuano was 3-for-3 with four RBIs to lead the Bangor offense, while Corneil singled twice and drove in two runs and King, Nic Cota and Seth Freudenberger each added two singles.

Worcester allowed seven hits in six innings of work on the mound, walking two and striking out five in a 100-pitch effort. Luke Hetterman pitched a scoreless seventh inning to preserve the win.

Collins finished with two singles and an RBI for Manhattan Beach, which finished 4-1 in the World Series and suffered its first loss in 2010 tournament play.

Aruba South tops South Vineland with strong pitching

Aruba South reached the finals with a 3-2 win over South Vineland L.L., of Vineland, N.J., in the first of Friday’s semifinals.

In the opening game, Ray Patric Didder’s RBI single in the top of the seventh scored Jose Luis Gonzales to break a 2-2 tie, allowing Richinell Matosto get the win in relief. Matosto held South Vineland at bay, retiring the last seven batters he faced, to help send the Latin America regional champion to the final.

Aruba South opened the scoring in the first inning, with Mitchell Martes singling home Jermain Manuel, then added another run in the fourth when Gonzales stole home as part of a double steal to take a 2-0 lead.

South Vineland tied the game at 2-2 in the fifth, with RBI singles by Christian Adorno and Andrew Biggs highlighting a four-hit, two-run rally.

Aruba South, now 4-1 in World Series play, was sparked by Martes, who singled twice, scored a run and stole two bases, while Tovine Potts’s three singles paced South Vineland, which finished the series 4-1.