Taney Youth Baseball is Headed to Williamsport

Courtesy of Paul Alesse, LiSPN.com

Commentary by John Malone

Wow.


There's not much else to say about the Taney Youth Baseball Association and its rise to the Little League World Series.

I heard about this team during its run through districts because they knocked off the 10-year old state champions, Media. The immediate though was, "Cool. We don't get to see city teams do well in Little League too often." Then, I started reading up on the team. I started following Taney's games on GameChanger. The Dragons looked like a team of destiny, but they didn't thoroughly dominate everyone. In a state as tough as Pennsylvania to get through, it was easy to think they'd be tripped up somewhere.



They made it to the state tournament with powerful teams. Everyone in the area, and a few more who follow the blog, knew that they had Mo'Ne Davis and that she supposedly had some talent. Between the big bats of Red Land, the dominance of Collier Township, the coaching of Mike Mussina and Montoursville, there was no way I wasn't going to take the chance to drive over two hours from home in New York to see the first day or two of the Pennsylvania State Tournament.



I immediately was blown away by most of the teams at Lower Perkiomen Little League. I hadn't seen a ton of baseball admittedly this year, but two or three teams looked worthy of a regional run. I wasn't sure if Taney was even one of them that first day, a 9-3 victory over Clarion, with Mo'Ne on the mound and not showing great command.

I heard about her being the best pitcher in the state of Pennsylvania in the news. I heard about her throwing 70 miles per hour. What I saw in just a couple innings didn't support that. It certainly didn't feel that way when I saw Jared Sprague-Lott, her own teammate, throw and the big arms of Kai Cummings and Joe Richardson. Boy.. or should I say, girl was I wrong.

I got to see Mo'Ne pitch against the defending regional champions during pool play with four very good hitters back with Williamsport experience. She completely dominated for five innings. She was throwing harder than I remembered. She had command of all her pitches, and wow her swagger was on point. Nothing bothered her. Meanwhile, the boys in the batters box did not look comfortable at all. She was lights out.

She allowed two home runs in the sixth inning of that game against Delaware. Then, she picked up the save in the semifinal against Colonie, New York, but gave up a two-run homer in the process. That plus seeing her for six innings earlier in the week should've erased any mental edge she had over Delaware and based on the swings I saw in the championship it did. It also didn't matter. She flat out dominated the game once again on the back of her talent and watched her cool and calm defense make play after play until the final double play ended the game.

I didn't buy into the Taney hype in the beginning. There were murmurs about the kids being from all over Philadelphia. They're not. They're from a couple neighborhoods in and around Center City. They all go to the schools in the same area and they've all been playing Taney Youth Baseball (plus their various travel ball including the NJ Arsenal and Anderson Monarchs) for years together. After seeing them play for three weeks and getting to know parents and players. I bought in.

Taney is a team. They have table setters at the top. They have two big time starting pitchers with a crafty reliever along with two powerful right arms in the pen. They are scary hitters throughout the lineup especially the murderers row of Jahli Hendricks, Sprague-Lott, and Zion Spearman, and they have a defense that doesn't make many mistakes. They could easily go two-and-out in Williamsport or they could find themselves in the U.S. Championship game. The rest of the road doesn't matter. They reached the promised land and it was unreal to watch.

I enjoyed meeting everyone from every team in Bristol this year. The success of this blog has made it a lot of fun to hear from players, coaches, and parents every day on the Road to Williamsport. The Taney kids are a big part of that. When Taney gets the bulk of the media coverage in Williamsport just remember that it has nothing to do with the kids or even their adults. It's the culture we live in. Just have fun with it. I'm telling you this group is worth watching and getting to know.






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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

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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

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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

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Monday's Little League Roundup (July 15, 2013)

We hit some of the Northwest, New England, Midwest, and Europe today on our road trip around the Little League world. I personally went out to my home section's winners' bracket final today in New York Section 4. Pearl River Little League continued to dominate its opponents after a bit of a slow start against Fishkill. Sean Flaherty proved to me once again that he's an elite hitter in this age group with his fifth home run in four games and a HUGE three-run hit. He's for real. I'm not sure Pearl River has the pitching to bring home a state championship this year, but they certainly hit up and down the order. They bunt the heck out of the ball too. Away we go.........

New Hampshire

The state finals are set in New Hampshire. Salem won a tough District 1 with a walk-off home run from John Olivo to pull out a 9-7 victory in the “if” game. Bedford forced the “if” game over the weekend with a 19-1 thrashing of Salem.

Salem will face Rye LL from District 2 in the best-of-three state finals. Rye romped through its district unbeaten and won the state championship as 10-year olds two years ago. Expect to see a lot of long balls.

Germany

KMC Little League of Rammstein AFB is looking to get back to Williamsport in the newly created Europe & Africa region. KMC is 3-0 so far with a couple of thrashings in its last two games. The American boys from Germany have a lot of pop in their bats.

Nebraska

Kearney went all the way to the Little League World Series last year and now they’ve caught the bug. Kearney waltzed into the state tournament with big victories over its district foes. Kearney returns at least two players with LLWS experience as well as a coach. That’s important when/if they reach the regionals again.

Rhode Island

The Rhode Island state tournament is always one of the toughest in the country. All four districts are strong and they love their baseball. Perennial-power Lincoln is back in the state tourney after a few years and they dominated too. Johnston should come out of District 1 and they look very strong. Coventry upended the 11-year old state champions in their district.

Washington

Washington is into its winners bracket semifinals right now and quite frankly, I don’t know the teams that are there. None of them have a long term pedigree in the state. There’s no Kents, Redmond’s, Richland’s, etc… It’ll be interesting. West Seattle had the biggest blowout victory, but also had a bye.

Oregon

I don’t have any news out of Oregon yet, but I had to go on one of my scheduling rants. I’ve always hated single elimination at every level. It’s atrocious, especially after pool play. Well, Oregon decided to find out who the best team in the state is this year with a single elimination tournament of nine teams. They all play like 3-4 pool play seeding games that mean nothing, then play single elimination from there on out. It is completely mind-boggling to me.

Vermont
South Burlington continued its quest towards a repeat trip to Bristol CT for the New England regional. The boys from Burlington routed everyone in their district including a 14-1 victory in the final. They have approximately 5-6 players back from last year’s run in the regional.

Delaware

The big news in Delaware today is that Newark National is looking great again. National has won back-to-back state championships and then went 7-1 in pool play at the Mid-Atlantic regional in those years. A 1-0 loss to Par-Troy East NJ kept them from Williamsport last year. Canal from Wilmington was supposed to be the state favorite, but Newark put a hurting on them tonight with a 10-2 victory behind Nate Hardcastle, the lone returner from last year’s 12-year old team. Watch out for the Nats.

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Little League East Region: Day 6 (Plus Semifinal Previews!)

Par-Troy East (NJ) 9, West Salisbury (MD) 1

New Jersey got back into the winning ways today behind some big hits from catcher, Anthony Scannelli. PTE's clean-up hitter did just that today with six RBI including a grand slam that broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the fifth inning. David Ton was great in relief today and Bener Uygen continues to look great on the mound.

The tournament is incredibly unpredictable so far. It seems like every team has pitchers that can shut down anyone in the bracket, but the drop off after that opens the flood gates. For instance, Maryland was in pitching duels for both of its two losses before getting blown out late due to pitching changes.

Collier Township (PA) 7, Stony Point (NY) 2

Another game that was tight throughout but pitching was the difference late. Collier led Stony Point 3-2 in the fifth inning when Pennsylvania was forced to make a pitching change. New York loaded the bases but couldn't capitalize. Collier meanwhile proved they belonged in the semifinals by feasting on New York's bullpen and capped the explosion with a grand slam from Nick Serafino.

Scarborough (ME) 3, Bedford (NH) 0

I predicted winless Maine to come out with a win here because they'd have their ace on the mound and couldn't make the semifinals. That's basically how it went, although I expected both teams to hit more. Bedford's been bitten by the injury bug the last two games and really need Alec Burns back in the lineup. New Hampshire has struggled mightily without him. 

Fairfield American (CT) 9, Wellesley South (MA) 2

Connecticut's string of mercy-rule victories was stopped at two, but the three-time state champions from Fairfield American still had an easy win against Massachusetts. Biagio Paoletta continued to tear the cover off the ball and whoever Connecticut sticks on the mound continues to shut down quality opponents. If Connecticut doesn't win the region, New England will be in big trouble.

East Rankings Through Wednesday

1. Connecticut (4-0)

2. Delaware (3-1)

3. New Jersey (3-1)

4. Pennsylvania (2-2)

5. Massachusetts (2-2)

6. New Hampshire (2-2)

7. Maryland (2-2)

8. Maine (1-3)

9. New York (1-3)

10. Vermont (2-2)

11. Rhode Island (1-3)

12. Washington D.C. (1-3)

Random Thoughts: Finally the semifinals are here. Take a look at those records above. Is this the most parity of all time? It might be. The top three teams in the East are definitely better than the rest, but anyone can beat anyone. It's really strange. I think anyone can win the Mid-Atlantic but Delaware would be the best representative with New Jersey a close second. Pennsylvania and Maryland both have ability to pitch themselves to the title, but wouldn't be a great fit for Williamsport.

On the New England side, it's Connecticut or bust. Fairfield was the best team in 2010 and won the region. They were one of the two best teams in 2011 but got upset. Now, they're the best team by far. They have the pitching and hitting to handle anyone they face. 

Homerun Meter: 27

Strikeout Meter: 280

Prediction Record: 3-1 (Overall 16-8)

Predictions & Previews

#3 Bedford, NH (2-2) vs. #2 Wellesley South, MA (2-2)

New Hampshire comes into this game with a two-game losing streak and sometimes that's tough to swallow even when you weren't "trying" to win those games. Both teams should be starting their top pitchers in this one, Grant Lavigne for New Hampshire and Billy Seidl for Massachusetts. The two pitchers also happen to be their team's best hitters. Seidl has been hitting the ball hard all week long even when he makes an out. Lavigne has found himself in pitcher's counts and has been defensive at the plate. He needs to breakout for New Hampshire to have a chance. The status of slugger Alec Burns is also unknown for New Hampshire. That's certainly been a hole in the lineup the past two games.

With the parity in the region this year, this is a tough game to call. Just a few days ago it looked like New Hampshire clearly the better team in this match up, but Wellesley has looked pretty solid as of late. With Seidl on the mound, I'm going with Massachusetts in a slight upset.

Wellesley South 5, Bedford 3.

#4 South Burlington, VT (2-2) vs. #1 Fairfield American, CT (4-0)

This is one of those potential trap games for Connecticut. Back in 2001, Yalesville CT steamrolled through the region and met up with a number four seed from Vermont... the team? South Burlington. Vermont had backed into the semis that year and lost handily to Connecticut. South Burlington pulled off one of the biggest upsets I've ever seen. This year, Fairfield beat South Burlington 17-1. Vermont's biggest problem for this game is pitching. Sam Premsagar is serviceable and the probably starter, but not having Tate or Sheridan available certainly hurts South Burlington.

Connecticut has the ability to start any of their top three starters in Ryan Meury, Will Lucas, or Matt Kubel. With Matty Clarkin ineligible for the remainder of the tournament, Connecticut will look to keep at least two of these pitchers eligible for the final. I honestly can't project who Fairfield will start because any of the three makes sense. Kubel, the number three pitcher, was very good against Vermont the last time he faced them and could get the start again. Lucas came in the game late and struck out the side in one inning. Meury hasn't seen work since the opening night. There's a chance all three could see action. No matter who starts though, I think the end result is inevitable. Another mercy-rule shortened victory.

Fairfield American 12, South Burlington 1

2012 Mid-Atlantic Region Preview

Tournament History: In the 11 years of the Mid-Atlantic region, Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland have each won three championships. Delaware and New Jersey each have one title, with District of Columbia looking for its first trip to a regional final, let alone the title itself.

2012 Team Pedigree: Newark National (DE) and Northwest Washington (DC) are both returning for the second consecutive year to the regional. Newark has been to the regional six times prior to 2012, and its 11-6 overall in the tournament. Newark National made the regional semifinals four times. Northwest Washington is 0-8 all-time in the regional, but NWLL returns seven players from last year. That’s a significant experience advantage.

Stony Point (NY) won its first state title in 2010 and returns this year. Assistant coach John Greeley was an assistant two years ago as well when he coached his oldest son, SS/P John. Now, he coaches SS/P Stephen. West Salisbury (MD) has two previous state championships, both within the last ten years. In 2007, WS made it to Williamsport after finishing fourth in pool play.

Par-Troy East (NJ) and Collier Township (PA) both won their first state titles this year. PTE doesn’t have history in the 12-year old division but became the first New Jersey team to win state championships at different age groups (PTE won NJ’s 11-year old title last year). Collier will look to piggy back the success of Keystone Little League which won the regional title a year ago.

Team Previews (Tournament Records in Parentheses)

Northwest Washington, DC (4-0): District of Columbia is traditionally the weakest team at the region and that should be the case again this year. NWLL has become a force in DC recently and this could be their best team yet. They return seven players from last year’s team. They easily won the DC tournament. NWLL not only has the only girl in the regional tournament this year in Sydney Love-Baker, but Love-Baker has turned into one of the team’s top hitters and is fantastic behind the plate. Her twin brother Ty is also one to watch. Owen Isaacs is the team’s ace and will look to steal a victory somewhere to give the league its first win ever at regionals.

Newark National, DE (9-1): Newark went undefeated in pool play a year ago and faltered in a tough battle with Paramus, NJ. With multiple players returning from that team and a 10-year old state title under their belts, Newark is looking to go even further. The two unquestioned leaders of the team are Matt Theodorakis and Clayton Hansen. Theodorakis is a bonafide star in the leadoff spot and Hansen is an excellent top of the rotation starter.

Stony Point, NY (11-1): Stony Point comes into the regional after handling the state of New York fairly easily. The lone blemish on Stony Point’s record is a 12-inning loss in the state finals game one. Stony Point’s pitching is its strength. The team has two top of the line pitchers in Brian Wholey and Stephen Greeley. Both throw hard. Stony Point has a deep lineup with power throughout. Ray Pacella is the probably the team’s most consistent hitter.

Par-Troy East, NJ (14-1): Par-Troy lost its first game in the state final four and needed to win four straight games to make it back. With the explosive lineup they possess, it was almost easy. With power up and down the lineup, Par-Troy can slug with anyone. Bener Uygun hits homeruns and doubles nearly every time up and is an RBI machine. Emil Matti is powerful at the top of the order and has dynamite speed. Anthony Scannelli is fearsome in the cleanup spot and Vinny Prezioso has two homeruns in his last two games.

West Salisbury, MD (9-1): West Salisbury came out of nowhere to win the state of Maryland which had two other potential favorites, but that’s not for lack of talent. Matt Chrysostome is the team’s leader at the plate and gets the job done on the mound too. He and Grason Winterbottom form a solid pitching duo. Cade Hurley hits homeruns in bunches.

Collier Township, PA (11-0): Collier wasn’t the favorite in the Pennsylvania state tournament, but found a way to win and is one of lone undefeated teams left in the entire country (welcome to pitch count rules!). Collier can outslug almost anybody and it starts with Reed Bruggeman. Bruggeman clubbed two homeruns in the state tournament and racked up 11 RBI. He hit .583. Steve Alauzen also hit .583 and smacked a pair of homeruns. He had 8 RBI. In all, Collier drove 12 balls over the fence in the four state tournament games and nine different players hit one. Pitching may be Collier’s biggest issue, but with bats like theirs, it may be good enough.

Projected Records

New York 3-1

New Jersey 3-1

Pennsylvania 3-1

Maryland 2-2

Delaware 1-3

Washington, D.C. 0-4

Semifinals: New York over Maryland 4-1, New Jersey over Pennsylvania 8-5.

Final: New York 5, New Jersey 4