Well it's finally the weekend and state tournaments have kicked off around the country in full force now. In the East, section tournaments are still wrapping up and I was an ambitious traveler today. I took in a winners bracket game in Connecticut Section 1, then drove to the NJ Section 3 "if" game. I was not disappointed.
In Connecticut, I wanted to get a look at Westport, the team everyone is talking about. Despite playing a "lackadaisical" game according to their manager, I was still impressed. In the first round of sections, Chad Knight tossed a no-hitter over 5+ innings. Supposedly, Harry Azadian is even better. I happened to see Azadian today and the hype was real. He showed great control despite a 70-mph fastball and threw curveballs and sliders where he wanted them. He was perfect through 3+ innings before giving up a bloop single and being lifted for pitch count. I disagreed with the move, but Westport came away with a hard-fought 5-3 victory anyway. I thought Azadian should've thrown 65 not 50. Just my opinion.
As for the offense, its obviously better than the showing they had today. I'm going to give them a pass for the hitting, although some base running blunders cost them runs. Knight and Azadian both hit that's for sure and Offenberg, a great shortstop, hit a big momentum swinging home run. I think its a team that can win the state title now with its two aces and seriously compete for a regional championship. No pressure, Westport.
After the long trek to the Jersey Shore, I was ready for Toms River East American and Nottingham, two of the most storied Little League programs in New Jersey, the East, and in Toms River's case, the world. Nottingham has been a state title favorite since the districts and held a 13-3 lead in the fourth inning against Toms River East. TREA scored 12 runs in the inning though and knocked Nottingham off 15-13 setting up the "if" game. This one didn't disappoint either. Toms River worked Nottingham's hard-throwing ace deep into pitch counts, and had timely hits to score three runs in the third inning. Nottingham took a 4-3 lead in the fifth inning, but pitch count knocked the ace out of the game and TRE scored two runs in the bottom of the inning to retake the lead and eventually the section title.
Toms River East hasn't advanced to the state final four since 1999, the last time TREA went to the Little League World Series. "The Beast from the East" also went in 1995 and won the world title in 1998. Their crosstown rivals Toms River Little League advanced to the LLWS in 2009, however.
This version of Toms River East doesn't have that big-time pitcher like Casey Gaynor or a hitter like Todd Frazier, but the lineup all the way through to the bench can hit, and the first six batters all have one-swing home run pop.
We're not going to have a full national round up today because we'll do it tomorrow on the debut of Little League Insider Radio. This is a big undertaking, but should be really fun. It can be as diverse and fun as you guys make it. I encourage phone calls throughout the show. Tomorrow we will have the Utah state champions on the phone and one of the New York state tournament participants live on the broadcast from Emmett's Castle in Pearl River, NY. Make sure you tune in at 1 p.m. on Sunday at www.wfasam.com or WFAS 1230 AM on your iHeart Radio app.
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