Written by John Malone, editor
New Jersey
I made my way to neighboring New Jersey on Sunday four games in the Section 1
and Section 3 tournaments (read full recaps of the NJ Section 1 games HERE).
Wayne National showcased one of the top pitchers/athletes I’ve seen in the
early going this year in Dominic Cancellieri. I’m not going to say he’s Par-Troy
East’s Emil Matti (LINK) yet, but he’s that type of player. Wayne’s opponent, Lackawanna,
was very solid, and had good size throughout their lineup. They had the short
end of the stick pitching-wise to start the tournament, but definitely can make
a run.
Par-Troy East, the 2013 edition, isn’t the same team as last year’s
Mid-Atlantic champions…obviously. They’re still a team worthy of the state
tournament and could definitely win the Section 1 bracket. They have a tough
matchup with Washington Township on Monday. Tyler Grieco is like the hulk at
and behind the plate.
Next, I went to the shore to see Section 3 play and saw the potential New
Jersey state champions, Nottingham. One of the more storied Little Leagues in
the entire East region, Nottingham looks like it has all the pieces. They have
three or four great to good arms, big bats throughout the lineup, and solid
defense. They have “the look.” They pounded a scrappy Eatontown team 10-1 on
Sunday night. Eatontown has an excellent ace pitcher who exited the game with
49 pitches in the third inning trailing just 1-0. After his departure,
Nottingham smoked five straight hits to take a 7-0 lead.
Utah
Believe it or not, we have our first state champion already. Dixie Little
League of Saint George, UT annihilated the competition to win its first state
championship since 1997. Dixie made a great run in the regional that year. We’ll
have a post all about Dixie this week.
Connecticut
Watch out New England region, there’s potential for MAJOR crowds at the
regional tournament this year. Edgewood Little League of Bristol, Connecticut
dominated the District 5 championship and advances to the Section 1 tournament
this week in CT. If Edgewood can navigate its way to a state championship, we
could see record crowds every night in August.
New York
Sectionals have kicked off throughout the state. On Long Island, Massapequa
Coast continues to dominate pool play with a 3-0 record, outscoring opponents
28-1. They’re the lone unbeaten team on the island now. In New York City, Peter
Stuyvesant from the east side of Manhattan faces perennial-power South Shore
American of Staten Island in the winners’ bracket final. Pearl River is rolling
through its section in the northern suburbs and Burnt Hills and Saratoga
American are on a collision course in the capital region. In Central New York, Horseheads
continues to rout opponents. After beating District 6 foes 100-2 over six
games, Horseheads opened the Section 2 tournament with an 11-1 victory.
Pennsylvania
There’s been some dominance early on in the home of the Little League World
Series. Keystone continues to roll with another barrage of home runs. West
Point, perennially challenger, has two big victories, and DuBois hit seven home
runs today in a 21-1 victory. Lionville has also beat up its opponents in its respective
sectional tournament. The state finals will be a dandy in PA.
Southern California
The record for most home runs on Sunday most likely goes to Santa Maria
Southside. In SoCal’s Section 1 tournament, SMS hit ten bombs including a
walk-off to advance to the championship game in the winners’ bracket with an
18-16 victory in seven innings over Goletta Valley South. Let’s hope they have
pitching available.
Sherman Oaks has competed well as 10-year olds and 11-year olds and even took
home a state championship. Both times it faced Burbank in the Section 2 finals.
Today they met in the second round of the tournament and it was a barn burner.
Sherman Oaks came away with an 11-5 victory behind three home runs from Jake
Robbins. It was a back-and-forth affair for five innings before SOLL took a 6-5
lead and opened the game up late.
Northern California
Belmont Redwood Shores made a statement over always tough San Ramon in its
sectional opener and then continued that trend with a mercy-rule victory to
advance to the title game. I still have my eyes on Santa Cruz American who face
off with former district foes, Gilroy, on Monday.
Want to see your state tournament represented on Little League Insider? Send me
an email at: section1guycom@aol.com
LIKE us on Facebook: Little League Insider
Join the discussion: Little League World Series Discussion
Follow us on Twitter: @LittleLeaguePro
No comments:
Post a Comment