Little League Friday Recap (7/26)

Oregon

Bend North took home the Oregon state championship with a 14-4 victory over Gresham behind 5 strong innings on the mound by Drew Steelhammer. Bend North had a sixth-inning victory earlier in the tournament and Steelhammer has been responsible for a lot of big hits.

Massachusetts

Holden moved to 2-0 in the four-team round robin with a grand slam off the bat of Peter Field in a 4-2 victory over defending state champions, Newton SouthEast. It was his third homer in two games. He also pitched 5 1/3 innings to pick up the win. The 2-0 deficit was the first time Holden has trailed all summer. Newton SouthEast and Barnstable play on Sunday. The winner is in the state championship game with Holden.

Delaware

Newark National is just one win away from its fourth consecutive state championship and a shot at defending its Mid-Atlantic regional title after a 9-0 victory over Woodbridge in the winners bracket final of the state tournament. A.J. Blanchard tossed five innings of two-hit, scoreless ball and one of the four returning players from last year's LLWS team, Brett Callahan blasted a home run to give Newark National some breathing room and then a big fifth inning turned it into a rout.

Tennessee

Like Delaware, Tennessee is looking for a repeat champion from the region, and they took a step closer. South Nashville will defend its regional crown after knocking off Karns 4-1 in the state title game. Barrett Smith, Garrett Justice, and Robert Hassell (returning player). Blake Money (returning player) was excellent on the bump with 10 strikeouts and just three hits.

New Jersey

Toms River, the favorite coming into the Final Four, toughed out a big 4-2 victory in the winners bracket final against Ocean City/Upper Township. Phil Antoniotti tossed a complete game, giving up a two-run homer in the first, before dominating the OCUT lineup. OCUT had a dominant mound performance of their own though from Gannon Brady who struck out 12 in 5 1/3 innings of shutout baseball. He was perfect through four innings. After Brady reached the pitch count, Toms River went to work. Alex Civitello hit a single and Jon Giordano hit a 300-foot blast to tie the game. Nick DeRose hit a two-run homer two batters later for the winning runs.

Maine

Falmouth rallied in the "if" game to knock off the defending 11-year old AND 12-year old state champions, Saco/Maremont. Nate Rogers bashed two home runs, his first two ever, in the victory. Brady Douglas and Alex Smith each had a pair of hits, and Mike Simonds drove in two runs.


There will be another update tonight with more scores and recaps from Friday and Saturday action. So check back later!