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