Little League Insider: July 2013

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

2013 Mid-Atlantic Region Preview

Check out my 2012 Mid-Atlantic Preview and see how right and wrong I tend to be. There's usually 4-5 teams that I hit the nail on the head and one that I miss completely on. Last year, it was Delaware. I didn't expect their pitching depth to go past their ace.

Read about this year's New England Region Preview to see how the other teams in Bristol, CT look.

Tournament History: In the 12 years of the Mid-Atlantic region, Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland have each won three championships. New Jersey has gone to Williamsport twice since the split with New England, and Delaware has its lone trip to the LLWS in 2003 with Naamans Little League. Nobody from the District of Columbia has ever advanced to a regional final.

2013 Team Pedigree: Newark National (DE) is making its third straight trip to the Mid-Atlantic region tournament. For the second consecutive season, at least one player is back from the previous year. This time it’s big man Nate Hardcastle. Capitol City (DC) is a regular in Bristol, CT but has only reached the regional tournament once since 2008.

The remaining four teams in the Mid-Atlantic tournament have won their state championship for the first time in league history. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (NY) is from the Albany region which hasn’t sent a representative to Bristol since Colonie in 2004. Lionville’s (PA) section hasn’t represented the state of Pennsylvania since the last time District 27 won a state championship back in 2003. That team was Lower Perkiomen. East Greenwich (NJ) is ALSO from an area of its state that doesn’t win often. Section 4 in New Jersey hasn’t sent a team to the regional since 1991 before this year. Berlin (MD) isn't traditionally strong and hasn't won a state title previously, but this group has been built for this run at the regional title.

Interestingly, only East Greenwich (NJ) has tasted defeat so far this tournament. Each of the other five champions are all unbeaten. In the pitch-count era, that's very surprising and unusual.

Team Previews (Tournament Records in Parentheses)

Capitol City, DC (7-0): After a short hiatus, Capitol City is back. District of Columbia’s traditional power ran through the DC Tournament fairly easily especially in pool play and its semifinal game. In the championship against rival Northwest Washington, Capitol City used a momentum-boosting home run from Sofia Ohanian to break open a tight game in the middle innings before winning comfortably. Capitol City relies on great team defense, strong pitching, and its timely hitting. Always an underdog in Bristol, Cap City will try and change some opinions about D.C. Little League as a whole.

Newark National, DE (6-0): Newark needed just six games to get through Delaware this year. That’s the beauty of double elimination when you stay in the winners’ bracket. This is the third trip in a row for Newark National and they’ve had a lot of success in Bristol. Newark is 7-1 in pool play during the last two years. In 2011, Newark made the semifinals. Last year, they lost a 1-0 decision to Par-Troy East (NJ) in the regional final. Could a third time be the charm? Nate Hardcastle is the name on everyone’s tongue because he played last year and has dominated the state of Delaware with his mid-70s fastball and monster home run power. Joey Davis might be the hottest player in the tournament though with four home runs in his last two games.

Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, NY (13-0): Burnt Hills enters the regional tournament out of nowhere, at least according to this downstate New York blogger. While BHBL has never won a state title before, this team has had plenty of success with sectional championships as 10s and 11s. They rolled through districts and sectionals and took home the state championship with very good pitching and timely hitting from players like Jack Wyatt, Evan Bowers, and Derek Haughey. Hunter Valley is a top pitcher.

East Greenwich, NJ (12-1): East Greenwich is one of the unlikeliest state champions from New Jersey in a while. It doesn’t mean the boys from South Jersey can’t play ball. East Greenwich’s defense was superb in its state championship victory over Toms River East especially at shortstop with Josh Crowding and in right field with Hunter Kelly. Shawn Dougherty and Sean Szestowicki supply the offense at the top of the order. On the mound, East Greenwich tends to give a different look often. They maximize their abilities by throwing a couple pitchers per game and sometimes as many as four or five... all on purpose. They like to give you a different look every now and then and keep their staff available and fresh.

Berlin, MD (10-0): Berlin’s trip to Bristol has been years in the making. Berlin is the only team in the Mid-Atlantic region to win state titles as 10s, 11s, and now 12s. The team is led by Tristan McDonough who has an overpowering fastball and big bat. Hayden Snelsire doesn’t get the same publicity but tossed five shutout innings in the winners’ bracket final against Conococheague to send Berlin to the state final. Along with McDonough, Wes Powell and Matt Kinsey have big power. Others including Snelsire and Jack Rosenberg can hit it out of the park as well.

Lionville, PA (11-0): Lionville’s offense has been a juggernaut all tournament long and averaged 14 runs per game. When you have a dominant pitcher like Michael Rodriguez on the staff, you don’t even need that much. Joe Janick carries the team’s best stick, to the point that he was the winning run and still intentionally walked in the state semifinals. It’s probably an inadvisable move in the regional since Connor Kalten his behind him and hit a game-winning double. The next night, he blasted a home run of his own.

Projected Records

Pennsylvania 3-1

Delaware 3-1

Maryland 2-2

New York 2-2

Washington D.C. 1-3

New Jersey 1-3

Semifinals: Pennsylvania over New York 7-4, Delaware over Maryland 3-1.

Final: Pennsylvania over Delaware 9-3

You can hear more of my thoughts on the entire East Region tournament by listening to Little League Insider Radio: Episode 2.

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East Greenwich Proves Best, Wins NJ State Title

Read about East Greenwich's previous games: NJ State Tournament Preview, East Greenwich Steals Victory, and Shocking Results in New Jersey

East Greenwich was not supposed to win the New Jersey state title if you believed... well me. Coming from South Jersey, the Section 4 champion is instantly the underdog once you get to the state final four. Nobody from Section 4 has won the state championship at the Little League majors level since South Vineland in 1991. That's a streak of 21 years.

The streak is over.

Even as the unbeaten team in the state championship game against Toms River East American, it felt like East Greenwich was an underdog. From the first inning, they didn't play like it. Five first-inning hits including RBI doubles from Hunter Kelly and Jonathon Burlingame pushed East Greenwich to a 4-2 victory. Josh Crowding added an RBI single in the decisive first inning as well. Before anyone at Wallingford Little League could get a Philly Cheesesteak from the concession stand, it was 4-0 East Greenwich.

Toms River was immediately forced into survival mode and went to its most effective starting pitcher in the last couple weeks, Dougie Pombo. The right-hander allowed just four more hits to East Greenwich and struck out six batters in 5 1/3 innings of relief, but the offense couldn't make the difference.

East Greenwich's defense helped its pitching-by-committee efforts with stellar defensive plays from the word go. Burlingame orchestrated two fantastic double plays and Miller and Shawn Dougherty took away sure-fire hits while roaming the outfield.

Toms River loaded the bases in the fourth but couldn't push a run across after a single by Maximus Rivas with two men on base. Finally in the fifth, TRE made its move. Pombo led off with a line drive home run to left field which sent the players and fans from the shore into frenzied chants of "Battle Sword," the nickname for Pombo's bat.

In the sixth inning, Jonny Munson led off with a double. He eventually scored on a Rivas grounder, but a Burlingame double play on the ball took a lot of wind out of Toms River's sails. TRE still didn't go away though. Nick Silvia and Pombo both singled with two outs. Danny Clemente ripped a line drive to right field, but it was caught and East Greenwich celebrated.

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Here's the rebroadcast of Little League Insider Radio: Episode 2

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Monday, July 29, 2013

Little League Insider Radio: Episode 2

On episode 2 of Little League Insider Radio, John Malone discussed some of the great games in New Jersey and Connecticut that he saw in the past week. Capitol City Little League assistant coach Brice Plebani of Washington D.C. called in to talk about his family lineage at the Eastern Regional as well as this year's team. The guys also took calls from fans in Maryland and Maine and talked about some national news around the country as the state tournaments begin to wind down.

Next week's show is going to be right in the heart of the regional tournaments. We'll be live in Bristol, CT for the Eastern Region tournament as well as taking calls from around the country as we head towards the Little League World Series.

You can play the show right here on this page, or download it from the bottom right corner of the link.

Without further ado...

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Why Are There Still State Tournament Games Left? (July 28, 2013)

For some reason, there's still state tournament games to be played around the country. Why am I making a big deal out of that? Because the regionals start on Friday. Nobody should have to to regionals on short pitching rest. It's ridiculous. There's plenty of time all summer to leave four days off between tournaments. New Jersey could be in big trouble if they go to an "if" game. Illinois is guaranteed to go to at least Tuesday. Makes no sense. Here's what happened out there today.

Delaware

Newark National won its third straight state title. Having 11-year olds on uber-successful teams pays series dividends the following year. Newark National relied a lot of Matt Theodorakis and Clayton Hansen, who both played in the Mid-Atlantic regional tournament the year before. This year, it's Nate Hardcastle. The 6-foot tall Hardcastle was barely a bit player last year with NNLL but that experience coupled with obvious talent and athletic gifts has turned him into a force this year. He hit a monster home run and pitched four shutout innings in a mercy rule-shortened 12-0 victory over Millsboro. Joey Davis added a pair of home runs to give him four in his last two games. Eric Ludman also hit one out in the victory. Hardcastle gets his fastball into the mid-70s. If he doesn't pitch in the tournament opener, there's a good chance we see him against another fireballer from Maryland.

Connecticut

Westport won its first-ever state championship with another dominant pitching performance from one of its two aces. Harry Azadian struck out 11 batters in 4.2 innings in a 9-1 victory over Coginchaug. Coginchaug came into the state finals with a reputation for bashing home runs but Westport's dominant duo of Chad Knight and Azadian kept them more than in check. The two stars struck out 26 batters in 10 1/3 innings combined. The duo also hit back-to-back home runs in the first inning to effectively put the game out of reach. Matt Brown hit a home run off the bench and leadoff man Chris Drbal blasted a homer in the victory as well.

Florida

The state championship game is set after semifinal victories by Sarasota American and Martin County North. Sarasota American withstood a menacing Northwest Leon lineup to pull out an 8-5 victory. Sarasota scored four runs in the second inning without recording a hit. Max Cohen pitched 5 2/3 innings to earn the victory. Martin County North took down defending state champion Plant City in their semifinal behind a grand slam from Dominick Thompson. He also pitched five innings allowing just two runs in the 8-4 victory. The two teams will play for the state title this morning.

Massachusetts

Newton SouthEast and Hanover each won their final game in pool play to set up a state championship game with each other on Monday night. Newton beat a tough Peabody Western team 5-3 behind some nifty pitching from Jackson Danford. Brandon Lee blasted a two-run home run in the victory. Newton will face Hanover, a 10-0 winner over Holden, in the state title game. Newton SouthEast beat Hanover 3-2 in their first meeting. Based on reading articles about these teams, I'm guessing Hanover is the team to beat.

Wyoming

In Wyoming, the district runner-up gets new life and advances to the state tournament in addition to the champion. For Cody LL, it paid off. The district runners-up advanced to the state championship game and beat their own district champions, Riverton, in the final, 13-11. It's the second straight state championship for Cody. Cody jumped out to 7-0 and 12-2 leads before Riverton battled all the way back behind its potent lineup, but it wasn't enough.

Montana

Big Sky Little League shocked the Little League world when it advanced to the United States championship game in 2011 and even had a 1-0 victory over eventual LLWS champions, Ocean View LL of Huntington Beach, California. Now the boys from Billings are back. Big Sky beat Mount Sentinel Little League of Missoula 9-0 in game 2 of the best-of-three series to win the title. Big Sky won game 1 13-4.

New York

Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Little League won the first state title in league history with an impressive 5-1 victory over South Shore American Little League of Staten Island. Burnt Hills opened the tournament with a 4-2 win over SSA and then beat Pearl River 5-4 in the winners bracket final. Burnt Hills trailed Pearl River 3-0 before Jack Wyatt launched a three-run home run to tie the game before BHBL picked up the victory.

Northern California

Soooo watch out for Belmont-Redwood Shores. BRS lost 2-0 to Santa Cruz American's Javier Felix in the winner's bracket final earlier this week, but forced SCA to burn Felix for the remainder of the tournament. BRS, on the other hand, saved its pitching. That strategy proved to work as Nicholas Lopez and Sean Lee tossed 12 innings combined, allowed zero runs, just two hits, and struck out a ridiculous 29 batters in a 2-0 victory yesterday and a 9-0 victory in the "if" game on Sunday. Lee's fastball was being clocked at 74 MPH on Sunday.

Southern California

Maybe there's something in the water in Chula Vista. Back in 2009, Park View LL of Chula Vista made headlines with its ridiculous offensive numbers. Now, Eastlake LL is making its own noise with a dominant offense. Eastlake has only scored less than 10 runs in a game three times throughout the tournament (including its last two against a highly-touted Sherman Oaks Southern team).

State Champions List

WEST
Arizona- Chandler National South LL
Hawaii- Central East Maui LL
Nevada- Mountain Ridge LL (North Las Vegas)
Utah- Dixie LL (St. George)
Northern California- Belmont-Redwood Shores LL
Southern California- Eastlake LL (Chula Vista)

NORTHWEST
Washington- Eastlake LL
Idaho- Coeur d'Alene LL
Alaska- Abbott-O-Rabbit LL (Anchorage)
Oregon- Lake Oswego LL
Wyoming- Big Sky LL (Billings)

MIDWEST
Iowa- Urbandale LL
Nebraska- Kearney LL
Kansas- Girard LL
Minnesota- Coon Rapids/Andover American LL
North/South Dakota- Timberline LL (Rapid City)
Missouri- Webb City LL

GREAT LAKES
Indiana- Hagerstown LL
Kentucky- Knox County LL (Barboursville)
Michigan- Grosse Pointe Woods Shores LL
Wisconsin- Burlington LL
Ohio- Hamilton West Side LL
Illinois-

SOUTHWEST
New Mexico- Fairacres LL (Las Cruces)
Colorado- North Boulder LL
Texas West- Universal LL (Corpus Christi)
Texas East- Pearland Maroon LL
Louisiana- Bossier National LL
Arkanas- Malvern LL
Oklahoma- Tulsa LL
Mississippi- Ocean Springs LL

SOUTHEAST
Georgia- Columbus Northern LL
North Carolina- Myers Park/Trinity LL (Charlotte)
South Carolina- Northwood LL
Alabama- Jackson LL
West Virginia- Barboursville LL
Virginia- Tuckahoe American LL
Tennessee- South Nashville LL
Florida- Martin County North LL

MID-ATLANTIC
District of Columbia- Capitol City LL
Maryland- Berlin LL
Pennsylvania- Lionville LL
Delaware- Newark National LL
New York- Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake LL
New Jersey- East Greenwich LL

NEW ENGLAND
Rhode Island- Lincoln LL
New Hampshire- Rye LL
Vermont- South Burlington LL
Maine- Saco LL
Connecticut- Westport LL
Massachusetts- Newton SouthEast

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Sunday, July 28, 2013

Only a Few Days Left! Saturday's Roundup (July 27, 2013)

We're getting down to the nitty gritty in terms of available days left for these "Roundup" articles. Soon, we'll be into in-depth regional previews, full daily recaps from the East Region, and news and notes from around the country.

Northern California

Belmont Redwood Shores forced an "if" game with a 2-0 victory and no-hitter against previously-unbeaten Santa Cruz American. Nicholas Lopez took it to SCA all-day with an array of breaking balls and a good fastball. He struck out 12. BRS elected to intentionally walk Javier Felix twice during the victory. Sean Lee, who took a 2-0 loss to Santa Cruz in the winners bracket final, will take the mound for Belmont Redwood Shores. Felix was dominant in that game but isn't eligible for the "if" game.

Southern California

Chula Vista Eastlake took the SoCal Best-of-three series by the horns with a 6-3 victory and saved its number one pitcher who threw just 35 pitches. The six runs scored by Eastlake were the fewest of the tournament so far, but the boys from outside San Diego are in a great position now with their offense and a pitching advantage.

Oregon

Lake Oswego, who went undefeated in pool play, survived one of the weirdest state tournament formats after beating the eighth seed Klamath Falls in the state championship game, 7-0. Klamath Falls had upset previously unbeaten Pendleton, and then fourth seed Hermiston in the semifinals, but finally ran out of magic against Lake Oswego. LOLL shut out Sprague 3-0 earlier in the day before the victory over KLAFF.

Iowa

Speaking of weird state tournament results, Urbandale Little League won the Iowa state championship game after a seven-game round robin in which four teams all finished 5-2. Due to runs against, Urbandale and Appanoose County advanced. The remaining 5-2 teams just went home. With eight teams, it seems like a general double elimination state tournament would work, but maybe that's just me.

Tennessee

South Nashville has battled all the way back after an opening round loss in the Tennessee state tournament. SNLL knocked winners bracket champion Spring Hill with a 10-3 victory. The two squads will come back and play for all the marbles on Sunday. South Nashville lost 4-3 on the first day to West Knox LL but has won six straight games including a come-from-behind victory over West Knox. It will take a seventh to win a state title and give District 7 a sweep. Rival Goodlettsville won the state championships at the 10s and 11s level last week.

Connecticut

Westport took Game 1 of the Best-of-3 championship series against Coginchaug with an 8-2 victory. Pitcher Chad Knight allowed two unearned runs in the first inning before mowing down Coginchaug's vaunted offense with 14 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. Max Popken had a two-run home run and Chris Drbal had a two-run double. Read about the game in its entirety HERE.

New York

South Shore American pitched its ace, Nick Scala, on the opening day of the tournament and gambled. SSA won that game 13-0, but lost its next game 4-2 to get dropped to the first round of the losers bracket. The gamble failed. No matter. South Shore has shut out three straight opponents since then and now gets a rematch with Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake in the state championship with, you guessed it, Nick Scala on the hill. As for the offense, it's been coming from a different group of players each day. In the 4-0 win over Massapequa, it was Nick Anderson.

New Jersey

East Greenwich will try to become the first team from South Jersey to win the state championship since South Vineland in 1991. Toms River East American will be the team trying to keep the streak alive. To do it the 1998 Little League World Series champions will need back-to-back wins. Watch for big games from EG's Shawn Dougherty and TRE's Dougie Pombo.

State Champions List

WEST
Arizona- Chandler National South LL
Hawaii- Central East Maui LL
Nevada- Mountain Ridge LL (North Las Vegas)
Utah- Dixie LL (St. George)
Northern California-
Southern California-

NORTHWEST
Washington- Eastlake LL
Idaho- Coeur d'Alene LL
Alaska- Abbott-O-Rabbit LL (Anchorage)
Oregon- Lake Oswego LL
Wyoming- Big Sky LL (Billings)

MIDWEST
Iowa- Urbandale LL
Nebraska- Kearney LL
Kansas- Girard LL
Minnesota- Coon Rapids/Andover American LL
North/South Dakota- Timberline LL (Rapid City)
Missouri-

GREAT LAKES
Indiana- Hagerstown LL
Kentucky- Knox County LL (Barboursville)
Michigan- Grosse Pointe Woods Shores LL
Wisconsin- Burlington LL
Ohio-
Illinois-

SOUTHWEST
New Mexico- Fairacres LL (Las Cruces)
Colorado- North Boulder LL
Texas West- Universal LL (Corpus Christi)
Texas East- Pearland Maroon LL
Louisiana- Bossier National LL
Arkanas- Malvern LL
Oklahoma- Tulsa LL
Mississippi- Ocean Springs LL

SOUTHEAST
Georgia- Columbus Northern LL
North Carolina- Myers Park/Trinity LL (Charlotte)
South Carolina- Northwood LL
Alabama- Jackson LL
West Virginia- Barboursville LL
Virginia- Tuckahoe American LL
Tennessee-
Florida-

MID-ATLANTIC
District of Columbia- Capitol City LL
Maryland- Berlin LL
Pennsylvania- Lionville LL
Delaware-
New York-
New Jersey-

NEW ENGLAND
Rhode Island- Lincoln LL
New Hampshire- Rye LL
Vermont- South Burlington LL
Maine- Saco LL
Connecticut-
Massachusetts-

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Saturday, July 27, 2013

Westport Comes From Behind, Takes Game 1 Over Coginchaug

Written by John Malone, editor

It took Westport an inning to play the type of baseball it's used to playing, but once the initial miscues were out of its system, typical Westport was back.

After a bloop single, two-base error, and a big hit, Westport found itself in a 2-0 hole. Starting pitcher Chad Knight never buckled and dominated Coginchaug for 5 2/3 innings. The hard-throwing and crafty righty struck out an incredible 14 batters giving up no earned runs and allowing five hits (only two of which left the infield).

Knight used a dipping slider to get the Coginchaug hitters waving at pitches most of the day. Coupled with his great fastball, it was pretty academic that Westport wouldn't allow another run after the first inning.

It wasn't until Coginchaug's defense slipped in the fourth inning that Westport was able to take control of the game. A leadoff singly by Charlie Roof and a pair of errors cut the deficit to one run. Chris Drbal came through with an opposite field double to score two more runs to give Westport the lead for good. Max Popken lasted a two-run home run in the next at-bat to increase the lead to 5-2.

In the fifth inning, Westport loaded the bases with two infield singles and a beautiful bunt single by Ricky Offenberg before Charlie Rogers ripped one off the first baseman to score two more. A passed ball allowed the final run to come across.

In the sixth inning, Harry Azadian came on after Knight reached his pitch count on his first walk of the day. It took Azadian three pitches to strike out the 15th Coginchaug batter and give Westport a 1-0 lead in the series. Game 2 is at Southington South LL on Sunday.

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Little League Insider Radio is Back on Sunday!

Episode 1 of Little League Insider Radio was extremely successful. We'd like Episode 2 to blow it out of the water. The show is in a weird time since state championship games will be played later in the day or Monday for many states, but regionals will begin before our next show. So, we'd like to hear calls from different regions of the country.

We'll be broadcasting each Sunday through the Little League World Series championship game from 1pm-2pm Eastern Time. The show will be live at Emmett's Castle in Pearl River, NY and can be heard on WFAS 1230AM News/Talk radio out of Westchester, NY. Call into the show for questions, comments, or to tell us about the best team in your area at (914) 693-5700.

It will be a nationally focused show with a lean towards the East coast because that's what we know the best. Once the world series hits, we'll be all national, all the time.

You can listen LIVE online HERE and HERE. If you have the iHeart Radio app, you can listen there as well. The show will also be recorded for download right here on the Little League Insider Blog.

If you have ideas for the show, don't hesitate to let us know. You can contact us nearly 1000 ways now. The show has the potential for a lot of interactivity. We will have live guests, phone interviews, and you will be able to call-in with questions, comments, and updates from your area of the country.

We don't have as many interviews lined up right now for this weekend's show, so we have a chance to talk about anything you want in the country. Make sure you call in!

CALL-IN Number: (914) 693-5700

If you missed episode 1, here it is:

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Shocking Results in New Jersey, East Greenwich Sitting Pretty

Written by Kyle Stackpole, contributing writer

East Greenwich 14, Toms River East American 4

In the first round of the NJ State Tournament, both East Greenwich and Toms River East American found themselves escaping from brutal situations late in their respective games. TREA had to score two runs in the sixth to force extra innings before winning 8-4 against Wayne National and if it weren’t for two errors by Nutley East, East Greenwich would have been playing for their lives today. Each team had their own reasons to be grateful of the opportunity presented to them. Only one team was able to take advantage of it.

When Shawn Dougherty stepped into the batter’s box in the top of the first, no one could have imagined the type of game he would have. He started it off with a solo bomb to put East Greenwich up 1-0.

East Greenwich extended their lead in the second. After an RBI single by Michael Mackley, Dougherty did some more damage with a two-run single up the middle. With four runs across in the first two innings, East Greenwich was sitting pretty.

Toms River East American responded in the bottom half though. With two outs and two men on, ninth-hitter Maximus Rivas ripped a double to cut the East Greenwich lead in half.

East Greenwich began to break it open soon after. RBI singles by Ryan Mihlebach, Austin Crothers, Jonathon Burlingame, and Sean Szesto gave East Greenwich an 8-2 lead. Already two-for-two on the day, Shawn Dougherty came back up to the plate. As usual, he delivered with a triple and two runs batted in. East Greenwich was in double digits and TREA was in a heap of trouble.

Going 3-for-3 with five RBI and two runs scored would have been an outstanding day for any average ball player. For Shawn Dougherty, he felt that his performance needed to be enhanced even further. With the score 11-2 in the top of the fifth, Dougherty hit his second home run of the game, making the score an astonishing 14-2. He ended the day going 4-for-4 with eight RBI and three runs scored.

If Dougherty was the main reason for East Greenwich’s success, Sean Szesto could not have been far behind. Sean Szesto went four innings on the mound, allowing five hits and two runs to hold a devastating Toms River East offense at bay.

With the win, East Greenwich will play Sunday night in the state final. Toms River East American will play tomorrow against Nutley East. The winner will play in the final and the loser will go home.

Nutley East shocked Wayne National 14-1 in a mercy-rule shortened victory in the losers' bracket.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I expected two blowouts today. I did not expect either one to be in the direction it was. Wayne I can explain. They folded up shop and were finished. East Greenwich? Well maybe they just played to their potential on Friday, something they didn't do on Thursday. Toms River is the most talented team in the field still... we'll see if they can battle back with three straight wins.

Friday, July 26, 2013

East Greenwich steals victory from Nutley East in the Sixth

Written by Kyle Stackpole, contributing writer

After a wild extra inning contest between Wayne National and Toms River East American in the first game, Nutley East and East Greenwich finished off the night. Going into the game, not many knew what to expect. What started as a boring game turned into a finish I have personally never seen before.

East Greenwich 4, Nutley East 3

As with any tournament, it is imperative to start on the right foot. With that being said, both squads had their aces on the mound. Josh O’Neill pitched for Nutley East and Josh Crowding took the mound for East Greenwich.

Through the first three innings, neither team could put a run across. East Greenwich flirted with one in the third, but Josh O’Neil was able to sneak out of a no-out bases loaded jam.

Nutley East finally struck first in the top of the fourth. Louis Conca drew a bases loaded walk to score Jeremy Kraft and give his team a 1-0 lead. Nutley added another run in the inning on an RBI single by leadoff hitter Peter Lopez.

With a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth, Nutley East decided to pull Josh O’Neil after 66 pitches. Danny Caraballo came in to throw a scoreless inning and keep the Nutley East lead at 2-0.

Nutley East added an insurance run in the fifth when Louis Conca came up big again with a single and a run batted in. Instead of facing a two-run deficit, East Greenwich was now in a three-run hole.

However, East Greenwich was able to get that run back in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI single by starting pitcher Josh Crowding. Heading into the sixth, Nutley East still held a 3-1 lead.

After a scoreless top of the sixth, East Greenwich had their last licks. Facing Peter Lopez, East Greenwich received back-to-back singles by Michael Mackey and Ethan Gill. The edge shifted back to Nutley East after getting two quick outs via a fielder’s choice and a pop up to first. At this point, Nutley East brought in their fourth pitcher of the day: AJ Lotito.

Lotito walked his first two batters, the second of which forced a runner home. With the score now 3-2, Ryan Mihlebach came to the plate with the bases still loaded. After a fantastic battle, Mihlebach hit a hard ground ball to second base. The combination of a bad hop and a misjudge sent the ball past the second basemen and into right-center field tying the game 3-3.

Next to the plate came Josh Crowding. With a 1-2 count, Crowding popped one up to second base. The second basemen got under it but closed his glove too early, causing the ball to pop out and fall onto the grass. A run came home and in the blink of an eye, East Greenwich stole the game along with the hearts of the players from Nutley East.

East Greenwich now faces Toms River East American in the winners bracket final on Friday night. Nutley East must regroup to face a tough Wayne National side.

Thursday's Trip Around the Bases (July 25, 2013)

I saw the first round of the New Jersey state final four today and it was a wild day. The two tournament favorites played a game that lived up to the hype and went extra innings. The second game felt like it went on forever. Some more state champions were crowned around the country and the rest will finish up over the weekend. Here we go.

Indiana

Hagerstown went unbeaten on the way to the Indiana state semifinals and pulled out two victories on Thursday to take home the first state championship in league history. In fact, Hagerstown hadn't won a district title since back in 1998. In the semifinal, Hagerstown dispatched Jeffersonville 12-5 before facing Fort Wayne's Don Ayers Little League in the championship. Don Ayers upended previously unbeaten Dyer in the other semifinal.

Hagerstown trailed heading into the sixth inning before forcing extra innings. Don Ayers took a 6-4 lead in the top of the eighth, but Hagerstown responded with three runs and walked off with a 7-6 victory and a trip to Indianapolis for the Great Lakes regional.

Maryland

Berlin completed a feat that's extremely hard to do in any state. They won state championships as 10s, 11s, and 12s in the last three years. Today, Berlin capped it all off with a 5-1 victory over a tough Brunswick team. Smartly starting its #3 pitcher against Brunswick's ace (to set up a mismatch in a potential "if" game), Berlin was able to get it done in one. Brunswick jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a home run by Sam Watkins, but Berlin answered quickly in the third with three runs capped by a two-run double by Matt Kinsey. We Powell homered later in the inning to quickly put Berlin up 5-1. With a four-run lead, Berlin went to its star, Tristan McDonough. The big right hander used his blazing fast ball to shut Brunswick out over the final 3+ innings and took home the title.

Arkansas

Malvern won its first state championship since 1997 with a 14-2 victory over perennial favorite, White Hall. Jake Wright and Demia Timerson each homered. Logan Taylor pitched all four innings and struck out eight while allowing two earned runs.

New Jersey

Toms River East American moved a step closer to winning its first state championship since 1999 when the "Beast from the East" reached the United States championship game. TREA won the world title in 1998 behind Todd Frazier. This year's edition jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead after a pair of walks and back-to-back RBI singles by Gabe Driscoll and Matt Hartshorn. Wayne National quickly answered with two runs of its own with a double from Dominic Cancellieri and a two-run single by Jack Feit. A TRE error and an RBI from John Boscarino gave Wayne a 4-2 lead after two innings. TRE relief pitcher Dougie Pombo and Wayne starter Cancellieri each settled in and tossed shutouts for the next three innings. Cancellieri finished with 12 Ks in 4 2/3 innings allowing just one hit after the first inning. Pombo threw three innings of one-hit ball. Johnny Munson made Wayne pay for two errors with a two-run single to tie the game in the sixth inning. In the seventh, Nick Silvia started a rally with a ripped leadoff single. Then Pombo jacked one to deep right field to put Toms River East ahead. An RBI double by Hartshorn and an RBI walk by Maximus Rivas gave TRE the 8-4 victory.

Cancellieri threw the maximum 85 pitches in the game and is now out for the rest of the state tournament barring a rainout. It was a peculiar decision by the Wayne staff to say the least.

In the second game, East Greenwich came from three runs down to win the game 4-3 in the sixth against Nutley East. Walks and errors littered the game for both teams and two errors with two outs in the sixth inning allowed EG to tie the game and then win it. EG will face Toms River in the winners bracket. Wayne and Nutley East will play an elimination game. Read a detailed report from this game right HERE.

Maine

Saco won the state championship two years ago as 10s and again last year as 11s. Both times they came out of the losers bracket. Now as 12s, they're attempting to do it again after beating Portland Bayside 12-4 in the first championship game. The two teams will do it again on Friday in the "if" game. Michael Bourgault hit a three-run homer to give Saco a 4-1 lead that it never relinquished. Tommy Smith and Dan McLeer each homered as well in the victory.

Delaware

M-O-T Little League trounced Millsboro 13-3 in the first round of the state tournament and will now face two-time defending state champion Newark National in the winners bracket final. Hayden Trimarco drove in four runs and bashed a home run to lead MOT. C.J. Loper pitched a complete game and also drove a ball out of the yard.

State Champions List

Utah- Dixie LL (St. George)
Alabama- Jackson LL

Oklahoma- Tulsa LL
Idaho- Coeur d’Alene LL
Washington- Eastlake LL (Sammamish)
Mississippi- Ocean Springs LL
Nebraska- Kearney LL
Washington, D.C.- Capitol City LL
Texas West- Universal LL (Corpus Christi)
Louisiana- Bossier National LL
Texas East- Pearland Maroon LL
South Dakota- Rapid City Timberline
Nevada- Mountain Ridge LL (North Las Vegas)
Michigan Grosse Pointe Woods-Shores LL
Virginia- Tuckahoe American LL
New Hampshire- Rye LL
Vermont- South Burlington LL
Hawaii- Central East Maui LL
Kansas- Girard LL
Indiana- Hagerstown LL
Arkansas- Malvern LL
Maryland- Berlin LL
Colorado- North Boulder LL

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Around the Horn: Little League Insider Style (July 24, 2013)

I traveled up to Connecticut again today for the Section 2 championship "if" game between Coginchaug and South Windsor American. Coginchaug erupted offensively and took home the title 11-4. They were the 11-year old section champs last year as well. The game was played wayyyyy up in Harwinton which is basically the hills before the Berkshire Mountains. It's a long trip for most in the state, but wow it was a gorgeous complex. Great park, great setup, great field. The best thing about it though was the field dimensions...225 feet. The extra 20-25 feet really make an amazing difference in the game. There's triples, no cheap home runs, and outfielders have to make plays. I think in a perfect world, Little League is 50/70, with no leads, and stealing on the pitcher's release with 225-foot fences. That's where the game should truly go. Get rid of leads and pickoffs until 60/90, and get the 13s off the small field. That's my thoughts. Okay... on to the roundup.

Southern California

The SoCal championship series is set and it looks like it will be a dandy. Chula Vista Eastlake pounded their way to the southern sub-division championship almost like Chula Vista Park View did in 2009. Sherman Oaks Southern has been a winner with this group for a few years now and it shows with their ability to win tight games. They hit for amazing power, always battle back, and they have a great pitcher or two. I don't know if I'd ever pitch to Noah Taylor, and Ryan Dollard is crushing the ball right now including a walkoff two-run shot in the 7th inning to win the northern sub-divisional over Santa Maria Southside. I think I'm sticking with SOLL to win it, but Eastlake is scary at the plate.

Northern California

Santa Cruz American beat Belmont-Redwood Shores behind another magnificent performance from Javier Felix. The stud pitcher/hitter tossed a shutout giving up just two singles and striking out 11. He was also 3-for-3 with a home run in the 2-0 victory. Felix is spent for the rest both the championship game and if game, however. SCA will await an opponent.

Michigan

Grosse Pointe Woods-Shores hadn't won a state championship since back-to-back trips to the Central Regional back in 1978 and 1979. In '79, GPWS went all the way to Williamsport. Now, in 2013, they have another chance. GPWS blanked three straight opponents in the Michigan state tournament including a 1-0 victory in the state title game. Chad Lorkowski, a monster of a kid, pitched a one-hitter with 11 strikeouts. Joey Rheaume hit a solo home run for the deciding run.

Virginia

Tuckahoe American rolled through the entire Virginia state tournament with dominant pitching and powerful bats. Tuckahoe outscored six opponents 85-4 in the tournament including an 11-3 victory over highly-touted West Springfield American in the title game.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire's best-of-three championship series came down to the final game and Rye made the most of it. Rye blasted Salem 19-7 in the championship game behind home runs from Max Malila and Dylan Chase. Rye's hits 25 home runs in its 13 games on the road to the regionals.

Vermont

South Burlington took LLWS participant Fairfield American to the brink last year in the New England semifinals before falling in extra innings. That team returned six players including a lot of big stars this year as the heavy favorites in Vermont. After dropping a surprising 7-2 decision to Essex Town in the first championship game, SBLL left no doubt in the "if" game. Behind Ben Tate's two home runs, and Ethan Klesch's grand slam, South Burlington built an 11-0 lead before securing an 11-6 victory. SB is the first team to repeat as state champions since 1997.

Kentucky

The Kentucky semifinals are set after four teams went unbeaten during the first two games of pool play. Today's games will decide seeding in each pool. North Oldham and Knox County are potentially the favorites right now. Campbellsville and Morehead are right there.

New York

My two championship picks hit the skids today in the winner's bracket of the NYS tournament. South Shore American dropped a 4-2 decision to Burnt Hills who received a bye. Horseheads was beat up by Pearl River in the other winners bracket game, 12-5. Matt Russo, Brendan Tarsnane, and Sean Flaherty each had three hits in the win. Jack McKee earned the victory with four innings of one-run ball.

Pennsylvania

West Point knocked off powerhouse Keystone 7-5 to win the Western Pennsylvania pool. In the Eastern Pennsylvania pool, Lionville went a perfect 3-0 and Ridley took second at 2-1. Keystone and Lionville will play in one semifinal and West Point and Ridley will battle in the other. Keystone, the pre-tournament favorite, will likely have to contend with Lionville's Michael Rodriguez who sports a blazing fastball. West Point's Brayden Brose continues to shine at the plate with mammoth home runs.

State Champions List

Utah- Dixie LL (St. George)
Alabama- Jackson LL

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Tuesday's National Little League Roundup

Action continues across the country as we inch closer and closer to the regionals which start at the end of next week. I can't believe its this far into the tournament already. I saw yet another classic game, this time in Connecticut. I think my streak is up to four or five now across three states in the last five or six days.

Delaware

M-O-T Little League continued its District 1 dominance, but not in dominating fashion. After dropping an 8-7 decision to Camden-Wyoming on Monday, MOT needed another high-scoring affair to finally lock down the district title with a 9-8 win. John Fritz blasted two home runs for the champions and Luke Wooten pitched a solid four innings. MOT led 9-3 heading into the sixth when Camden-Wyoming stormed back. The 3-team state tournament begins on Thursday.

Ohio

Hamilton West Side, the four-time defending state champion, is going to need to take the harder road if it wants to be the five-time champion. New Albany Little League shocked West Side with a walk-off home run by Ben Smith. New Albany led 7-5 in the fifth inning when West Side's Caleb Owens blasted a grand slam to give the champs a 9-7 lead. In the sixth, Parker Thompson hit a two-run shot to tie the game, and then Smith ended it with another two-run home run. New Albany will await the losers bracket champion in the Ohio state championship game.

Connecticut
Westport, a big favorite in Connecticut due to its pitching strength, needed extra innings to take out a really tough Bristol Edgewood squad in the Section 1 championship game. You can read about that story HERE.

On the other side of the state, Coginchaug forced the "if" game in Section 2 with a 12-3 demolition of South Windsor American. Coginchaug blasted four home runs including two off the bat of T.J. Vallone. John John Jose struck out 10 in the victory for Coginchaug and threw the maximum amount of pitches making him ineligible for Game 1 in the CT state finals. South Windsor, who has relied on its starting pitching in the Section 2 tournament, will try and come back with a victory tomorrow.

South Dakota
Rapid City Timberline won the North Dakota/South Dakota state championship with a 3-1 victory over city rival Harney. It's Timberline's first trip to the regional since 1997. Timberline scored all three runs in the first inning and relied on starter Carter Stonecipher to pick up the win. Tyson Elliott recorded the save.

Maryland

Berlin, the state title favorite, moved into prime position after a 2-0 victory over Conococheague in the winners bracket final. Ryan Duncan had an RBI and Tristen McDonough scored a run. McDonough also closed the game out with an overpowering fastball. As in... hardest in the East region type fastball. Hayden Snelsire tossed five shutout innings for Berlin. Conococheague will face Brunswick in the losers bracket final.

Indiana

Hagerstown hasn't advanced to the Indiana state tournament in 15 years. Now, they're making the most of it. Hagerstown used four different pitchers to knock off Valpo American, 7-4, in the winner's bracket final of Pool A. Hagerstown now advances to the single elimination semifinals and will await the winner of Pool B's losers bracket. Dyer and Terre Haute North played in the winners bracket final on the other side.

Valpo American will face Jeff/GRC, a 9-1 winner over Elwood, in the quarterfinals. Jack Ellis struck out nine in the victory.

New York

In the first round of the state tournament, South Shore American blasted former 10-year old state champ, Massapequa Coast, 13-0. Horseheads also beat up on their opponent, Auburn, with an 8-0 victory.

Georgia

Columbus Northern and Warner Robins American each won their respective pools in the Georgia state tournament, setting up a potential collision course in the state championship game. Northern won the 2006 Little League World Series and WRALL won the whole thing in 2007. Austin Hicks jacked two home runs and picked up the win for Northern on Tuesday. Warner Robins hit four home runs today in another rout. They outscored their pool opponents 44-4 in four games.

Texas
Pearland Maroon knocked off Sweeny 9-6 to win the Texas East state championship and advance to the Southwest Regional.

State Champions List

Utah- Dixie LL (St. George)
Alabama- Jackson LL

Westport CT Shows its Mettle, Wins Section 1 Title in Extras

Written by John Malone, editor

Relying on its big arms for most of the District 2 and Section 1 tournament, Westport was getting desperate for some big hits late in its championship game against Bristol Edgewood. No matter what Westport mustered offensively, Edgewood always had an answer. Finally in the seventh inning, Westport got some breathing room off the bat of Charlie Roof.

Roof's single in the fourth allowed Westport to take a 3-2 lead, but it was his two-run two-out double in the seventh that won the game. A leadoff walk to Chris Drbal started the inning, but back-to-back strikeouts by Edgewood reliever, Shane Caron, put Westport in another tough spot. Harry Azadian and Matt Stone worked another pair of walks to load the bases for Roof.

"That's a really good team over there, they need to be proud of themselves. We battled too though," Westport manager Tim Roger said. "I told them before the game that I thought it would take four runs to win this game. It was a great battle."

In Westport's previous meeting with Edgewood Chad Knight tossed a no-hitter and completely shut down the big bats of ELL. Tonight, the ball went to Azadian who was great once again himself. Azadian allowed two runs on three hits in five innings. He only needed 58 pitches. With the state finals looming on Saturday and a 3-2 lead in the sixth, Roger lifted Azadian for Knight.

"With pitch count rules, you have to make plans and contingency plans and stick to them," Roger said. "If we could get Harry at 65 and only use chad for three outs, we would do that then."

Edgewood had other plans. After a walk, Stone made a great throw to second after a wild pitch and caught the runner stealing for the first out. Knight blew away the next batter for out number two. With a two-strike count, Edgewood's Cory Fradette blasted a home run 300 feet to right centerfield (I measured it!) to tie the game. A ground out got Westport out of the sixth without further damage, but the plans were thrown for a loop. Luckily for Westport, the offense came through in the seventh. Knight got the first out and was relieved by Max Popken who induced two more outs to pick up the save. (Editor's Note: I would make all the same pitching moves that Westport made.)

"Everything that could happen, did happen," Roger said. "It was back and forth. Every inning we scored a run, they came back with a run...except for the seventh."

Westport didn't commit an error in 16 chances in the field and shortstop Ricky Offenberg (who had an RBI single) was nothing short of magnificent with the glove.

Westport opened the game with a triple from Drbal (3-for-3, three runs, 3B, 2B) and an RBI from Popken. In the fourth, Tatin Llamas homered to right to give Westport a 2-1 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, the sky opened up and play was suspended for close to two hours. Both Azadian and Edgewood starter Noah Plantamuro weathered the storm, so to speak, and continued to be effective.

Edgewood will face the winner of South Windsor American and Coginchaug on Saturday in Game 1 of the state finals, a best two out of three affair. Westport will have its full pitching staff available.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

New Jersey State Tournament Preview

Written by Kyle Stackpole with contributions from John Malone

The New Jersey state tournament begins on Thursday in Wallington.

Coming into the tournament, the field seems to be wide open. Wayne National and Nutley East were 3-0 in their sectional tournaments but did not completely run away with their section titles. On the other hand, both Toms River East American and East Greenwich came through the losers’ bracket of their respective sections.

Section 1: Wayne National (District 2)
Recent History (2000-Current): District titles- 3, Section titles- 0

Wayne National went 3-0 during the Section 1 tournament, outscoring their opponents 28-11. Dominic Cancellieri was magnificent in the tournament, going 5-for-9 with three home runs. He is also the ace pitcher of the staff, tossing 4 2/3 innings of one run ball while striking out 10 in the championship game. On the offensive end, Wayne National can score. John Boscarino, Jarod Strus, Jack Feit and Ari Field all have home run potential every time they step to the plate. Pitching will determine how far this team can go.

Section 2: Nutley East (District 8)
Recent History (2000-Current): District titles- 1, Section titles- 0

Nutley East also went 3-0 during the Sectional Tournament and outscored their opponents 23-10. NELL is a well-rounded ball club without a true star. Seemingly everyone has come up in a big spot. A.J. Lotito, Aidan Okamoto-Wolf, and Danny Caraballo have all come through in the last few weeks and Peter Lopez has got it done on the mound.

Section 3: Toms River East American (District 18)

After winning the Little League World Series title in 1998 and losing in the United States championship game in 1999, Toms River East American has not advanced to the state tournament. After falling 12-8 to South Wall in the opener, TREA kept fighting. They put up 32 runs in their next two elimination games to reach the Section 3 final against Nottingham. After trailing 13-3 in the fourth inning, Toms River East American came all the way back to win the game 15-13, forcing the two teams to play again. In that game, TREA was finally kept in the ballpark, but came away with a hard-fought 5-4 victory. After scoring 79 runs in six games, Toms River East American is a serious threat to win the state crown. The first six hitters in the lineup all have legit home run power. Watch out if Nick Silvia gets hot at the top of the order.

Section 4: East Greenwich (District 15)

This is the first ever state tournament appearance for East Greenwich. After making it to the winner’s bracket final, East Greenwich fell to Haddonfield 13-6. From there, it was an uphill battle. After defeating Ocean City 12-2 in an elimination game, East Greenwich set up a rematch against Haddonfield in the sectional final. Two wins later, East Greenwich stole the crown and will be entering unchartered waters starting Wednesday in Wallington. East Greenwich has put up a ton of runs throughout the tournament so far. Shawn Dougherty was one of the big bats during the Section 4 final. He finished 4-for-5 with two home runs.

John Malone’s Prediction: Without knowing Nutley East and East Greenwich this is impossible, but history tells us that either Wayne National or Toms River East American is the favorite because they come from tougher sections. With that being said, TREA’s offense is really deep and has the potential to outhit anyone, but if Wayne National can maximize its pitching prowess then I give them the edge.

New York State Tournament Preview

The New York State Tournament begins on Tuesday with a 6-team double elimination bracket. Auburn opens against Horseheads with the winner facing Pearl River. South Shore American opens with Massapequa Coast with the winner facing Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake.

With the way 6-team tournaments are set up, if you play in the first round, you can't blow any of your pitching. It's not worth it. Winning a first round game, and then losing to the bye team sets you back at the beginning of the losers bracket. You have to win the first TWO games if you don't have the bye. The way to do that? Save your pitching for game two. Obviously, if you have the bye, you play to win every game. That's your Little League Insider strategy of the day.

Section 1: Auburn (District 5)
2000-Current History: District titles- 8, Section titles- 2

Auburn is 6-0 in the tournament so far and faced three straight elimination games in the Section 1 tournament because the Section 1 tournament is single-elimination. Don’t ask me why. Auburn last won a Section 1 title in 2010 and made the semifinals out of pool play. Unfortunately, there’s not much info out there right now on Auburn. They’re a big unknown this year.

Section 2: Horseheads (District 6)

2000-Current History: District titles- 6, Section titles- 1

Horseheads has completely rolled over everyone in its path to this point in the tournament except for New Hartford in the Section 2 championship game. Horseheads pulled out a 9-7 victory in that game and has outscored its 11 tournament opponents 138-15 on the road to the state tournament. Mike Limoncelli gets it done on the mound and at the plate. He leads the team in both categories. Eli Schooley tossed a six-inning perfect game during districts with 16 strikeouts. Adam Cook and Tony Burlingame and the rest of the lineup really hit the ball well. This team won the section championship as 10-year olds and finished third in the state.

Section 3: Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (District 12)

2000-Current History: District titles- 4, Section titles- 1

Burnt Hills is playing in its first 12-year old state tournament, but this particular team isn’t green. BHBL won the Section 3 title both as 11s and 10s. Hunter Valley struck out 12 batters in the sectional championship win over Colonie. Evan Bowers carries the big bat for Burnt Hills.

Section 4: Pearl River (District 18)
2000-Current History: District titles- 2, Section titles- 2

Pearl River won its second section title in three years with an epic 14-13 victory over New Rochelle Central. It was the fourth straight section championship for a team from District 18. In fact, D18 has cleaned up at every level since New York went to six sections. This group doesn't have dominant pitching, but they hit 1-12 and find ways to win all the time. Sean Flaherty and Jon Farley have the most power on the team, and PR isn’t afraid to leg out a few bunt singles.

Section 5: South Shore American (District 24)
2000-Current History: District titles- 7 (incl SSN), Section titles- 4, State titles- 1

South Shore is the most storied LL program in New York and one of the best in the Eastern Region. South Shore has been to the Little League World Series three times and won handfuls of state championships. They have experience and they expect to win. SSA is led by Nick Scala, a big right hander who strikes out about two batters per inning. Scala also has power in his bat. Thomas DiOrio and Mike Ciancio tend to come up with big time hits and South Shore truly relies on a great defense.

Section 6: Massapequa Coast (District 31)
2000-Current History: District titles- 9, Section titles- 4

Massapequa needed extra innings to pull out a Long Island championship, but winning is nothing new for Coast. This group won the Mid-Atlantic title as 10-year olds and took home the Long Island title last year as 11s. They are the first team to ever win three Long Island titles. Nick Collins and Matt Zanfardino are a solid 1-2 punch on the mound, and everyone seems to come through at the plate when necessary. It’s to be expected from a team that has played together for so long during the entire year.

Predictions

South Shore American wins the title over Horseheads with Massapequa Coast taking third.

Monday, July 22, 2013

The List Gets Longer...

Washington D.C.

Capitol City Little League won its first District of Columbia championship since 2010 with a 7-1 victory over rival Northwest Washington. NWLL had won two straight titles and three of the last four since Cap City’s run of 20 straight city titles. Sofia Ohanian broke the game open in the third with a two-out two-run blast to Cap City up for good. Isaac Frumkin had a pair of doubles and an RBI. Robert Reynolds picked up the win giving up just three hits over 4 2/3 innings. He struck out five. Cap City will look to advance to the regional semifinals for the first time since 2004.

Alaska

Sitka knocked off defending state champion Gastineau Channel 5-1 in the District 2 finals behind a masterful pitching performance from Bryan Joseph who struck out nine batters and induced eight ground ball outs in 5 2/3 innings. Sitka will now face Abbott-O-Rabbit LL from Anchorage in the Best-of-5 state championship series.
Florida

The state tournament is set in Florida as all eight sections are complete. The best teams nearly always advance through sections in Florida because of their great schedule. They play round robin with no championship game. If you’re unbeaten and you beat everyone else already, why should you have to beat them again in a single game, right? Right.

Plant City looks like a solid contender and is the defending state champion. Florida tends to be wide-open in the state finals, however.

Virginia

Virginia is down to its final four now with Tuckahoe American, Fairfax National, West Springfield American, and defending state champion Great Falls. Tuckahoe hasn’t allowed a run in four games now after mercy-ruling Lynchburg in the quarterfinals. Although, West Springfield has been a state champion with this group before.

Texas

Universal Little League of Corpus Christi needed to sweep a double header this morning against powerhouse Midland Northern and they did. Juan Sosa and Jacob Garza each hit home runs in an 11-1 rout during the first game. Garza struck out 14 batters in the second game to pull off the sweep with a 3-0 victory. It was the fourth straight elimination victory in three days.

Hawaii

Central East Maui sits in the driver’s seat for the Hawaii state championship after knocking off Waipio 3-1 in the winners’ bracket final over the weekend despite being outhit 4-3 in the game. Waipio led 1-0 before Rayven Ruiz tied it with a solo home run.

Mississippi

Ocean Springs Little League won its sixth state title in the last 10 years. OSLL is 8-0 in the tournament so far and won the best 2-out-of-3 series with Hattiesburg with a pair of mercy-rule victories. Mitch Murrell hit two home runs in the state title series to lead Ocean Springs. Mississippi is looking for its first trip to Williamsport since Hattiesburg went in 1977.

Northern California

Santa Cruz American jumped out to an 8-0 lead after two innings and held onto a 10-5 win. Javier Lopez blasted a pair of home runs in the victory. SCA will face Belmont Redwood Shores on Wednesday.

Nebraska

Kearney Little League is looking to defending its regional crown and got off to a great start by winning the Nebraska state championship. It’s the third straight trip to Indianapolis for the Midwest Region Tournament for Kearney. Keegan Thurston was dominant on the mound for KLL while striking out 12 in the 3-0 victory over Omaha Keystone.

State Champions List

Utah- Dixie LL (St. George)
Alabama- Jackson LL