East Region: Day 2 (Saturday Aug 3, 2013)

Reminder: You can see all eight regional scoreboards LIVE on one page right here: Live Little League Regional Scoreboards


Saco (ME) 12, Newton SouthEast 1

Well, I wish I stuck with my pre-tournament instincts. I originally expected this to be a Maine win and I was right, but to be fair, I switched my pick when I assumed Newton had a big time pitcher.

Saco showed its true colors today with a big win behind a combined one-hitter from its two star pitchers, Luke Chessie and Brogan Searle-Belanger. The dual number ones each threw three innings of 50-pitch thresholds and combined for 10 strikeouts. Saco took a 3-1 lead in the second inning on back-to-back doubles by Hunter Penley and Michael Bourgault (2-for-3, 2 RBI). They put the game away in the third when Searle-Belanger (3-for-3, 4 RBI, 2 runs) crushed a three-run home run. They padded the lead in the fifth and sixth innings with triples by Anthony Bracamonte and Chessie, and a two-run double from Penley (2-for-3, 3 RBI).

This is a great win for Maine. Saco has a tough game with Connecticut on Sunday, but the one victory is a great start. Massachusetts has a rough schedule with Rhode Island on Sunday, then back-to-back Tuesday/Wednesday games against New Hampshire and Connecticut. The NH game MAY be very important.

Lionville (PA) 7, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (NY) 5

This was a strange game. Pennsylvania has the physical look of the best team in the region, and New York is very ordinary looking. So of course Burnt Hills came out swinging with two quick runs off the Lionville ace in the first inning. Lionville bounced back to score multiple runs in the second, third, and fourth innings and seemingly take control of the game. Jack Waldbuesser doubled and the Lionville seven-batter, Zach Burton, ripped a home run to dead centerfield to tie the game. Connor Kalten (2-for-3, 4 RBI) hit a two-run single in the third to take the lead. Then added another two-run single in the following inning. Joe Cestare picked up the win in 3 1/3 innings of shutout middle relief. Burnt Hills threatened in the sixth inning against Joe Janick by scoring three runs. Cameron Rhodes doubled, Brendan Bachus walked, and Robert Forlano hit an infield single . After a wild pitch scored a run, Glenn Ramos (2-for-4, 3 RBI) hit a two-run single to pull within two. A ground out advanced the tying runs into scoring position, but Janick got a backwards K to secure the victory.

Pennsylvania looks like a regional contender and Burnt Hills can really swing the bats against the fastball despite their small size and stature overall. Burnt Hills' Hunter Valley came in late in the game to slow the bleeding and did a great job with his curve ball. He's potentially BHBL's best pitcher. He allowed just one run on one hit.

South Burlington (VT) 12, Rye (NH) 2, (5 inn.)

Vermont is for real. While New Hampshire looked as sloppy as a team can look in its first game in Bristol, South Burlington looked like the veterans they are. Ben Tate was throwing cheese with some pitches touching the mid-70s range. He threw 2 2/3 innings of no-hit ball with six strikeouts to earn the win. His counterpart Max Malilia was pitching very well allowing four hits and no earned runs over 2 2/3 innings before being pulled at 35 pitches. It was a 1-0 game at the time and looked like the worst idea ever. I don't know why Rye wanted to save Malila in a game they could potentially win when its next opponent he's eligible for is Connecticut.

Anyway, South Burlington mashed throughout the rest of the game. Sammy Premsagar (3-for-3, 2 runs), Ethan Klesch (2-for-3, RBI), and Tate, who had an RBI-single. Max Plunkett scored three times along with Chance O'Connor, who had two hits. Matt Guyette added an RBI-single to finish off the game.



Berlin (MD) 6, Newark National (DE) 2

Berlin most likely clinched a berth with its second victory in as many days as the Maryland boys move to 2-0 in pool play. With Tristan McDonough unavailable in relief due to pitch count, Matt Kinsey pitched a phenomenal game with 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball. He scattered seven hits in the victory. Berlin scored a single run in each of its first three offensive innings behind hit batters and wild pitches. Wes Powell hit an RBI-double in the third for a solid 3-0 lead. Newark came back in the fourth with two runs , but Maryland added insurance in the fifth an absolute rocket home run from McDonough. The ball was gone in a second flat, never higher than 12 feet off the ground straight to center field. He also made a leaping grab on a line drive and doubled a runner off second base in the second inning at shortstop. He's made his case for the best player in the region.

For Delaware, Eric Ludman led the way with two hits. Jack Hardcastle added a single and a run in the loss. Nate Hardcastle also had a single.


East Region Rankings after Day 2

1. Rhode Island (1-0)

2. Connecticut (1-0)

3. Maryland (2-0)

4. Pennsylvania (1-0)

5. Vermont (1-1)

6. New York (0-1)

7. Maine (1-1)

8. Delaware (1-1)

9. New Jersey (0-1)

10. Washington D.C. (0-1)

11. Massachusetts (0-1)

12. New Hampshire (0-1)

Random Thoughts: Despite the six errors from New Hampshire, I like Max Malila and company still. I'm confident in saying that there's no bad teams in the region this year at all. There's been some bad ones but D.C., Maine, and Vermont are all stronger than normal. There might not be a team that has great success in Williamsport, but this year there's definitely parity between all 12 teams especially when the coaches stop messing around with their pitching staffs. Twenty-three pitchers still took the mound today, including six from Massachusetts. Something has to be done about the rules. Maybe go back to innings or something? It's really too crazy.

Home Run Meter: 5 (Last Year: 8)

Strikeout Meter: 114 (Last Year: 105)

Prediction Record: 3-1 (Overall 7-1)

Sunday's Predictions: Pennsylvania over Washington D.C. 9-5, Rhode Island over Massachusetts 10-2, New York over New Jersey 5-3, Connecticut over Maine 7-1.


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

For Mobile Users, try this link here: Little League Insider Radio: Episode 2

To listen to the debut episode of Little League Insider Radio: CLICK HERE

Join the Little League World Series discussion on Facebook with some of the best baseball minds around right here: Little League World Series Discussion

Like our Facebook page: Little League Insider

Follow along on Twitter: @LittleLeaguePro

Please spread the word about the blog to anyone who loves the Little League World Series. To support all the hard work on this blog, Please...

 

East Region: Day 1 (Friday Aug 2, 2013)

Newark National (DE) 8, Capitol City (DC) 4, 7 inn.

Well that game didn't go as expected for Delaware. Newark saved some of its pitching early in this one and it looked like a great strategy off the bat. Joey Davis cracked his fifth home run in three games in the top of the first inning and Delaware quickly had a 2-0 lead. Capitol City's Robert Reynolds settled in and threw four strong innings allowed three runs (two earned) on just three hits. In the third inning, Capitol City ran itself into a bad inning with an unsuccessful "1st-and-3rd" situation. With no outs, Newark nabbed the runner stealing second without allowing the run to score. Two quick outs later, and it was still 2-0 Newark.

 After another run scored on some passed balls and an error, Capitol City finally got down to business. Rory Friel had an infield single to start it off. Delaware changed pitchers and got into a bigger jam. A hit-by-pitch set up an RBI single from Eli Doroshow and an error loaded the bases. Newark was forced to go to its hard-throwing ace, Nate Hardcastle. An immediate strikeout slowed the bleeding, but 4-foot-8 nine-hole hitter, Aaron Rosenthal, stepped into the box. The diminutive firecracker ripped a two-run single off Hardcastle to tie the game 3-3. Rosenthal added another hit off Hardcastle later in the game and also worked a 10-pitch walk in his first plate appearance.

Capitol City took the lead 4-3 with a two-out RBI single from Zach Lordan in the fourth inning and Newark was reeling. Not only was Hardcastle in the game past 20 pitches, but Newark was now losing. In the top of the sixth with one out, Hardcastle drove a fly ball to right field for a sacrifice and tied the game. With Capitol City past its first two pitchers, Newark tacked on four runs in the seventh behind RBI singles from Eric Ludman and Brandon Sengphachanh. DC's Reynolds threw 85 pitches and DE's Hardcastle threw 65.

Lincoln (RI) 11, Saco (ME) 2

As one of the two main favorites coming into the tournament, Lincoln took care of business against Saco by scoring in five of its six innings. Aaron DeSousa was 4-for-5 with two runs scored and a double to lead Lincoln. Kyle Marrapese was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI. He also showcased an impressive left-handed fastball in his two innings of work to start the game. Along with Zarek Larisa and Steve Andrews, Lincoln's pitchers struck out 11 batters while allowing just three hits. Derek Madore had a hit and scored a run for Saco. Matthew Duchaine and Hunter Penley had the other two hits for Maine.

It was tough to tell if Lincoln is a viable threat to Westport, CT because Saco used six different pitchers of varying abilities. The jury is out on everyone still.

Berlin (MD) 5, East Greenwich (NJ) 4

For the second game in a row in the Mid-Atlantic region, the scrappy underdog forced the team with a big ace to waste its pitcher longer than it intended. Alas, like the first result with DE/DC, East Greenwich had to settle for a moral victory.

Berlin jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning after an RBI single from Tristan McDonough and sac fly from Matt Kinsey. Berlin starter Hayden Snelsire tossed four solid innings allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits. Snelsire doubled to lead off the third inning and scored on a sac fly by Billy Wheatley. Ethan Gill homered to pull New Jersey within 3-1. McDonough tripled in the fifth inning and scored on a groundout by Wes Powell to give Berlin a three-run cushion once again, but two errors and a Shawn Dougherty single made it 4-2. Maryland went to its big guy, McDonough. The overpowering righty induced three straight groundouts, but one of them scored a run to cut the lead to just one run. Berlin added a huge insurance run in the sixth after a Kevin Beck single (2-for-2, run), a walk, and a defensive miscue which led to an RBI for McDonough. In the sixth inning, McDonough picked up his six-out save but not before East Greenwich tacked on another run from a Zach Miller single and Sean Szestowicki RBI. The extra at-bats forced Maryland to stick with McDonough passed 20 pitches making him ineligible for Game 2. It was a valiant performance from Jersey, but Berlin picked up the necessary victory.

Westport (CT) 9, South Burlington (VT) 2

With South Burlington returning six players from a regional semifinalist a season ago, this was not a gimme game for Westport. If anyone had questions about Vermont's abilities, they were answered in the first inning with RBI singles from Chance O'Connor and Sammy Premsagar. Premsagar, one of the veterans, was more than effective on the mound with a great fastball. He struck out five batters in two innings. He also walked five. Connecticut took a 3-2 lead in the third inning without the benefit of a hit or an error. Three consecutive walks plus passed balls and wild pitches allowed a run to score. A fielders choice tied the game 2-2 and then a well-executed run down on a first-and-third situation allowed the third run to come home before the third out was made. Connecticut's Chad Knight, one of the best pitchers in the region, didn't had his best stuff and was smartly pulled at 35 pitches in just 1 1/3 innings pitched.  All four outs were recorded by strikeout. Westport's equally dominant pitcher, Harry Azadian, came on and pitched 3 2/3 innings of no-hit ball. He struck out seven. Max Popken quickly picked out the final two outs of the game. Connecticut piled on five runs in the fourth inning to put the game out of reach with an RBI from Popken and back-to-back triples by Azadian (1-for-3, 4 RBI) and Charlie Roof.

East Region Rankings after Day 1

1. Rhode Island

2. Connecticut

3. Maryland

4. Delaware

5. Vermont

6. New Jersey

7. Washington D.C.

8. Maine

OFF: New York, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Massachusetts

Random Thoughts: The amount of pitchers that took the mound today was crazy. With pitch counts and four games in six days, I understand it, but wow do games drag now. In four games, there were TWENTY-NINE pitchers. I had to spell it out. It's just ridiculous. Here's hoping it gets better when teams really need to pick up wins. I was impressed with the amount of players with great velocity today. Out of the eight teams, I'd say there were nine pitchers who threw really hard.

Home Run Meter: 2 (Last Year: 3)

Strikeout Meter: 66 (Last Year: 50)

Prediction Record: 4-0

Saturday's Predictions: Massachusetts over Maine 4-2, Pennsylvania over New York 6-3, Vermont over New Hampshire 3-2, Maryland over Delaware 6-5.

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

For Mobile Users, try this link here: Little League Insider Radio: Episode 2

To listen to the debut episode of Little League Insider Radio: CLICK HERE

Join the Little League World Series discussion on Facebook with some of the best baseball minds around right here: Little League World Series Discussion

Like our Facebook page: Little League Insider

Follow along on Twitter: @LittleLeaguePro

Please spread the word about the blog to anyone who loves the Little League World Series. To support all the hard work on this blog, Please...

 

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.

For Mobile Users, try this link here: Little League Insider Radio: Episode 2

To listen to the debut episode of Little League Insider Radio: CLICK HERE

Join the Little League World Series discussion on Facebook with some of the best baseball minds around right here: Little League World Series Discussion

Like our Facebook page: Little League Insider

Follow along on Twitter: @LittleLeaguePro

Please spread the word about the blog to anyone who loves the Little League World Series. To support all the hard work on this blog, Please...

 

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...

For Mobile Users, try this link here: Little League Insider Radio: Episode 2

To listen to the debut episode of Little League Insider Radio: CLICK HERE

Join the Little League World Series discussion on Facebook with some of the best baseball minds around right here: Little League World Series Discussion

Like our Facebook page: Little League Insider

Follow along on Twitter: @LittleLeaguePro and @LLWSAllthetime

Please spread the word about the blog to anyone who loves the Little League World Series. To support all the hard work on this blog, Please...

 

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

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

Join the Little League World Series discussion on Facebook with some of the best baseball minds around right here: Little League World Series Discussion

Like our Facebook page: Little League Insider

Follow along on Twitter: @LittleLeaguePro and @LLWSAllthetime

Please spread the word about the blog to anyone who loves the Little League World Series. To support all the hard work on this blog, Please...