On Tuesday, a pair of very strong teams were eliminated in one-run games. Panama came from behind to knock off Chinese Taipei and Eastlake, Washington exploded for six runs in one inning and held off a very tough South Nashville, Tennessee team.
That sets up a doubleheader on Wednesday night to lock up the first berths in the U.S. Championship game and the International Championship game.
Musashi Fuchu, Japan takes on Tijuana, Mexico at 4 p.m. EST in a great game. Japan doesn't seem dominant in any one part of the game but they do a little bit of everything. They play nice defense, have timely hitting, and solid pitching. Mexico, on the other hand, has outscored its two opponents 25-0 and has mashed a ton of home runs already. If their bats don't go cold, and history tells us that Japan finds ways to do that to you, then I think Mexico is the favorite.
On the U.S. side, it's really interesting. California is the favorite. I think Holman and Knight are probably comparable on the mound, but California definitely has more experience hitting A+ pitching. But, none of that may matter. Washington is a very good team. They're not an easy out. I still think that the California-Connecticut game doesn't mean that much because of the tournament format.
Right now, two wins gets you the U.S. championship banner. It doesn't matter if you win or lose tomorrow, you only need two total wins. Even Washington is just two total wins away. This game isn't important except that you have to play Washington again.
Another factor is the world title. Is that important to you or is the U.S. championship victory enough? If the world title matters to you, then 65 is your pitch limit on Wednesday. The strategy for both teams is going to be interesting.
I'm guessing California will go Holman for 65 since Mora is ineligible. That means a victory puts Mora as the U.S. championship game pitcher, and Holman is the world title game pitcher.
Connecticut has both their aces available tomorrow. My guess is they start Knight and go 50, then go to Azadian for 20 and evaluate... If they're winning the game? Azadian goes 50 or 65. If they're losing, then he comes out at 20 for Washington.
As for Washington? They don't have Dohlstrom or Matheson for Thursday, but they have multiple solid arms and scrappy bats. I'm sure they're hoping that Connecticut blows two pitchers tomorrow and then loses. A California loss means Mora on the mound against Washington.
Prediction Record: 1-2 (Overall 18-6)
Wednesday's Predictions: Mexico over Japan 6-3, California over Connecticut 5-1.
Note: Connecticut is unbeaten for the summer and I've predicted them to win every game until now.
What do you think the pitching strategy should be on Wednesday? Would you play to win on Saturday or is it world championship or bust? What do you think should be important for the American teams? Sound off in our discussion group on Facebook.
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