Apparently, the third time really is the charm.
In its third straight trip to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament, Newark National Little League, the Delaware state champion, finally broke through. In 2011, Newark went unbeaten in pool play but lost in the regional semifinal. In 2012, Newark made it to the Mid-Atlantic championship but lost a heartbreaker to Par-Troy East (NJ). Finally, Newark can call itself regional champions.
Behind a six-run third inning and a dominating performance from Nate Hardcastle, Newark National beat previously unbeaten Lionville (PA), 8-2.
Hardcastle pitched 5 1/3 innings with just one run on three hits. He struck out 10 batters with a fastball that topped at 79 miles per hour. He was also 2-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored. Eric Ludman had two hits including a double and two RBI. Joe Davis added two RBI and 11-year old Brandon Sengphachanh also had a RBI single.
Pennsylvania struck early against Hardcastle with a single from Michael Rodriguez and an RBI double from Connor Kalten. Nobody reached second base again for Lionville.
Delaware's big third inning put the game out of reach and chased the Pennsylvania starter from the game. Lionville went to shortstop Michael Rodriguez who did his best to keep his team in the game. He pitched the final 3 1/3 innings and allowed just one run on two hits and struck out eight batters without a walk.
Newark National will rely on Hardcastle's arm in Williamsport, but will need someone else to step up on the mound. At the plate, Davis and Hardcastle really lead the way. They've scored 33% of the team's runs and have more than half the team's RBIs. The team hit .346 in the regional overall.
Newark National is just the second team to ever make it to the Little League World Series from Delaware. Naamans Little League from Wilmington won the Mid-Atlantic championship in 2003. Delaware will open the World Series against Urbandale (IA) on Friday night at 8 p.m.
You can listen to Little League Insider Radio from earlier on Sunday right here.
Listen to previous episodes of Little League Insider Radio
Episode 1
Episode 2
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