SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Michael Bradburn hit a solo
homer, and T.J. Baumet pitched a shutout as Brownsburg, Ind.,
defeated South Lake Charles, La., 2-0 Friday on the opening night
of the Little League World Series.
Bradburn's solo shot over the centerfield wall put Brownsburg
ahead 1-0 in the second inning. Kyle Waggoner scored the team's
other run, popping a double to center field in the fourth inning,
then reaching both third and home on passed balls.
Jack Hart took the loss for South Lake Charles despite giving up
just three hits.
"We didn't get the fat of the bat on him very often,"
Brownsburg manager Gary King said of Hart. "We only hit the ball
hard three or four times."
When Baumet pulled himself out of a hole in the fourth inning,
he appeared to break the spirit of the Louisiana team. After his
own fielding error left the bases loaded with just one out, Baumet
struck out South Lake Charles' Ross Curet, then fielded a grounder
for the third out.
"I think their pitcher did an excellent job," South Lake
Charles manager Ben Mount said. "When he got in a bind in the
fourth and only one out, he threw heat."
Oceanside, Calif. 8, Lincoln, R.I. 0
Matthew Cerda scored two runs and hit an RBI single to lead
Oceanside, Calif. over Lincoln, R.I.
Oceanside scored in the second inning when Cerda singled,
advanced on a hit by Richard Cranford, a walk to Chris Scheunemann
walk and a passed ball. An RBI hit by Johnny Jimenez made it 2-0.
In the fourth inning, Jimenez scored on an RBI single by Bobby
Shore, and Josh Harris scored on an RBI single by Cerda.
Cranford's six-inning single drove in Cerda for a 5-0 lead, and
two errors made it 6-0. Winning pitcher Thomas Eukovich also had a
two-run double for the winners.
Chris Pickering's single in the first inning was the only hit
for Lincoln.
Eukovich allowed a leadoff walk in the second, then retired 12
consecutive batters through the fifth. David Carroll took over in
the sixth, striking out one and giving up one hit.
Tokyo Kitasuna 4, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia 2
Reliever Natsuki Sugisawa struck out two batters with the bases
loaded in the final inning as Tokyo Kitasuna held on to defeat
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Tokyo had a 4-0 lead going into the sixth.
But Nikko Echevarria's RBI single scored Craig Lumpa, and Drew
Crofton's sacrifice fly scored Cord Heine.
With one out, Dhahran loaded the bases, but Sugisawa responded
with two strikeouts to put the game away.
"I was very nervous and knew it was important that we win,"
Sugisawa said. "They were hitting the high strike to start the
inning, so I wanted to keep the ball low and inside, but in the
strike zone."
Yuusu Nomura reached base on a walk and came home on a wild
pitch to give Tokyo a 1-0 lead in the first. Tokyo made lead 3-0 in
the second when winning pitcher Kazuki Ohkawara and Nomura scored
on passed balls.
Tokyo's final run came on Nobuhisa Baba's RBI double in the
fifth.
Ohkawara struck out seven batters in the win and allowed just
five hits. Drew Crofton gave up just four hits in the loss.
Crofton gave up just four hits in the loss.
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