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

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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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New York State Tournament Preview

The New York State Tournament begins on Tuesday with a 6-team double elimination bracket. Auburn opens against Horseheads with the winner facing Pearl River. South Shore American opens with Massapequa Coast with the winner facing Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake.

With the way 6-team tournaments are set up, if you play in the first round, you can't blow any of your pitching. It's not worth it. Winning a first round game, and then losing to the bye team sets you back at the beginning of the losers bracket. You have to win the first TWO games if you don't have the bye. The way to do that? Save your pitching for game two. Obviously, if you have the bye, you play to win every game. That's your Little League Insider strategy of the day.

Section 1: Auburn (District 5)
2000-Current History: District titles- 8, Section titles- 2

Auburn is 6-0 in the tournament so far and faced three straight elimination games in the Section 1 tournament because the Section 1 tournament is single-elimination. Don’t ask me why. Auburn last won a Section 1 title in 2010 and made the semifinals out of pool play. Unfortunately, there’s not much info out there right now on Auburn. They’re a big unknown this year.

Section 2: Horseheads (District 6)

2000-Current History: District titles- 6, Section titles- 1

Horseheads has completely rolled over everyone in its path to this point in the tournament except for New Hartford in the Section 2 championship game. Horseheads pulled out a 9-7 victory in that game and has outscored its 11 tournament opponents 138-15 on the road to the state tournament. Mike Limoncelli gets it done on the mound and at the plate. He leads the team in both categories. Eli Schooley tossed a six-inning perfect game during districts with 16 strikeouts. Adam Cook and Tony Burlingame and the rest of the lineup really hit the ball well. This team won the section championship as 10-year olds and finished third in the state.

Section 3: Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (District 12)

2000-Current History: District titles- 4, Section titles- 1

Burnt Hills is playing in its first 12-year old state tournament, but this particular team isn’t green. BHBL won the Section 3 title both as 11s and 10s. Hunter Valley struck out 12 batters in the sectional championship win over Colonie. Evan Bowers carries the big bat for Burnt Hills.

Section 4: Pearl River (District 18)
2000-Current History: District titles- 2, Section titles- 2

Pearl River won its second section title in three years with an epic 14-13 victory over New Rochelle Central. It was the fourth straight section championship for a team from District 18. In fact, D18 has cleaned up at every level since New York went to six sections. This group doesn't have dominant pitching, but they hit 1-12 and find ways to win all the time. Sean Flaherty and Jon Farley have the most power on the team, and PR isn’t afraid to leg out a few bunt singles.

Section 5: South Shore American (District 24)
2000-Current History: District titles- 7 (incl SSN), Section titles- 4, State titles- 1

South Shore is the most storied LL program in New York and one of the best in the Eastern Region. South Shore has been to the Little League World Series three times and won handfuls of state championships. They have experience and they expect to win. SSA is led by Nick Scala, a big right hander who strikes out about two batters per inning. Scala also has power in his bat. Thomas DiOrio and Mike Ciancio tend to come up with big time hits and South Shore truly relies on a great defense.

Section 6: Massapequa Coast (District 31)
2000-Current History: District titles- 9, Section titles- 4

Massapequa needed extra innings to pull out a Long Island championship, but winning is nothing new for Coast. This group won the Mid-Atlantic title as 10-year olds and took home the Long Island title last year as 11s. They are the first team to ever win three Long Island titles. Nick Collins and Matt Zanfardino are a solid 1-2 punch on the mound, and everyone seems to come through at the plate when necessary. It’s to be expected from a team that has played together for so long during the entire year.

Predictions

South Shore American wins the title over Horseheads with Massapequa Coast taking third.

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As the World Turns: Little League Edition (July 16, 2013)

Written by John Malone, editor

Pennsylvania

We have a couple stops to make in the Keystone state, and it begins with…. Keystone. The team to watch in Pennsylvania proved it some more tonight with a 25-2 victory in the Section 3 championship game. This team scores runs like no other in the country right now. The state tournament should not be as easy. Warwick Twp was the team last year doing that to everyone and they faltered in states. We shall see what Keystone does.

Now, we move onto my pet peeve of all pet peeves. Pool Play. I absolutely hate single-division pool play. In the regionals, they shouldn't have semifinals. It should just be a championship and in every single other level of play it should be outlawed when followed by single elimination. Read previous rants on the subject HERE and HERE to show how long I've been saying this and why. On to 2013… DuBois outscored its opponents in Section 1 47-4 in three games. The other three teams all went 1-2. For some reason, one of those teams deserved to play a championship game. After an injury to the starting catcher and 13 walks, DuBois’ season ended with a 10-8 loss. It’s really a shame. Rant over until the next victim of poor scheduling.

Texas

Sweeny beat perennial Texas East power Lamar National in districts and instantly became a team on the radar. They easily rolled through sectionals and now head to the state tournament. They beat Halletsville 12-2 on Monday night in the championship game. Here’s a team photo for those of you who like to analyze team size. 

Georgia

Warner Robins American is back in the state tournament for the millionth time and I’m sure they’re the favorite. They lost in the regional final a season ago and return one player from that team. The coaching staff continues to be very similar year after year. It’s one of the reasons WRALL continues to be so consistent. Everyone wanting to play there is probably another one. Another famous Georgia name is in the tournament and that’s Columbus Northern, the 2006 LLWS champions.

California

Sherman Oaks reached another step towards a berth in the West Regional with an 8-0 victory over Burbank. Noah Taylor didn’t allow a hit through 5 2/3 innings, but couldn’t finish the game due to pitch count. SOLL broke the game open with a big five-run fourth inning fueled by three home runs.

New York

We’re down to the final 12 teams in New York with section finals wrapping up by Friday. The 6-team state tournament begins next week. Auburn won Section 1 with three wins in three days in single elimination. They’ll have nearly 10 days off. Why they needed only three days for sectionals is beyond me.

Horseheads will face New Hartford in the Section 2 final on Wednesday. Horseheads has dominated the entire tournament but trailed 1-0 on Tuesday for the first time. They responded with an 11-2 win. Burnt Hills is the favorite in Section 3, but faces the best program in its section for the title, Colonie. Pearl River is a heavy favorite in the Section 4 championship game which is also Wednesday against New Rochelle Central. In Section 5, South Shore American awaits a challenger for its final on Thursday, and in Long Island’s Section 6, Massapequa Coast dominated pool play and will take its chances in a single elimination final against Smithtown National on Friday. Coast is potentially the state tournament favorite.

Radio Show

As most of you know, we dropped some big news today. We'll be hosting a one-hour radio show about the Little League tournament throughout the country on Sundays at 1pm, starting this week. The show will be available LIVE on WFAS 1230 News/Talk AM radio in New York and LIVE online at www.wfasam.com. They have an iHeart Radio station, and we'll have the recorded shows right here on the blog, so make sure you tune in and give us a call.

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