Sunday, August 17, 2003
Cole scores winning run for Saugus
Associated Press
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Craig Cole admits he was nervous while batting leadoff for his Saugus, Mass., team.
After he batted just .143 in his first two games, his coaches moved him down to sixth in the order, and now he's batting just fine.
Cole hit an RBI single in the first and scored the eventual winning run in the fourth in a 4-3 victory over Boynton Beach, Fla., on Monday night to win Pool A at the Little League World Series.
"The first couple days, I was batting first and I was nervous,'' Cole said. "They moved me back to get my confidence back, and it worked.''
Michael Broad hit a booming homer over center field, his second
of the series, to bring Boynton Beach within 4-3 in the bottom of
the sixth, but Cody Emerson hit into a double play to end the game.
Saugus (3-0) will face either Wilmington, Del., or Richmond,
Texas, in Thursday's U.S. semifinal. Boynton Beach (2-1) will play
in Wednesday's semifinal against Pool B winner Chandler, Ariz.
Mexico and Venezuela advanced to the international semifinals
from Pool D. Mexico beat Guam 11-3, and Venezuela defeated Russia
7-1. They'll play Tuesday to determine their semifinal seeding.
In other games, Tallmadge, Ohio, beat Richland, Wash., 5-4;
Netherlands Antilles beat Saudi Arabia 9-2; and Japan beat Canada
7-0.
Cole's single to center scored Joseph Kasabuski and put Saugus
up 3-0 in the first, a deficit Boynton Beach couldn't overcome.
Tyler Grillo and Dario Pizzano led off the first with singles
for Saugus. Grillo scored on a wild pitch, and Pizzano came home on
David Ferreira's RBI single.
"These kids are good, they're champions,'' Boynton Beach coach
Tony Travis said, "And if they get you down, they don't let you
up.''
Devon Travis hit a leadoff homer, his first of three hits, for
Boynton Beach in the first, making it 3-1. But Jordan Irene was
stranded at third when Broad flied out to center and Richie DeJesus
and R.J. Neal struck out.
Boynton Beach pulled within 3-2 in the third when Travis hit a
double to left field, then scored on a wild pitch.
"Their No. 1 hitter today, he was roping the ball,'' Saugus
manager Rob Rochenski said of Travis. "We play them again and
we're going to have think about intentionally walking the leadoff
hitter.''
Tyler Calla's RBI single in the fourth scored Cole for a 4-2
lead.
Kasabuski (1-0) earned the win, while Travis (0-1) took the
loss.
Ohio 5, Washington 4
Matt Keen's three hits and two runs led Tallmadge, Ohio, over
Richland, Wash., in the last Little League World Series game for
both teams.
Keen's RBI double gave Tallmadge (1-2) a 3-0 lead in the second.
Keen then advanced on a fielder's choice and scored on a passed
ball to make it 4-0.
Richland (0-3) pulled within 4-3 on Cody Shepherd's three-run
homer to center in the fourth.
Nick Thompson scored the winning run, reaching first on a
fielder's choice, then rounding the bases on two throwing errors
for a 5-3 lead.
Jamieson Rowe doubled in the sixth, then scored on an
unsuccessful throw trying to put out Eric Yardley at first, making
it 5-4. But Richland left two runners stranded when Daniel Jacobs
hit to the pitcher for the final out.
Netherlands Antilles 9, Saudi Arabia 2
Kevin Moesquit hit a three-run homer in the fourth, and Curacao
(1-1) never trailed. Both teams are 1-1 with a shot at reaching the
international semifinals.
Mexico 11, Guam 3
Alejandro Manjarrez struck out 10 batters and hit his second
homer of the series for Mexico City (2-0), which remains alive for
an international semifinal berth. Guam (0-3) will not advance.
Venezuela 7, Russia 1
Adis Portillo pitched allowed one hit in three relief innings,
striking out seven batters for Venezuela.
Japan 7, Canada 0
Hirofumi Yamazaki pitched a one-hit shutout, and Shigeki Umeda
and Jun Onozawa both hit solo homers.
