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| Sunday, August 18 Associated Press |
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SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Knowing his team was going to face a lot of curveballs Sunday, Fort Worth, Texas, manager Jon Kelly scheduled two batting practices. Boy, did that pay off.
Walker Kelly scored two runs and had three RBI and Fort Worth had 13 hits in beating Waipahu, Hawaii, 8-0 at the Little League World Series.
With two out and the bases loaded in the second, Kelly hit a line drive deep into center field, scoring Jack Huckabay and Chester Hamilton to give Fort Worth (2-0) a 3-0 lead. Jeffrey Vander Hamm and Walker came home on Michael "Mikey'' Valdez's RBI single to make it 5-0.
"I've not been hitting good lately,'' the younger Kelly said, adding that the coaches took about an hour Sunday morning to straighten out his swing.
Fort Worth extended its lead to 7-0 in the fourth, with Vander Hamm scoring on a wild pitch and Rand Ravnaas coming home on a sacrifice fly by Valdez.
Waipahu (1-1) had a chance to get into scoring position in the fifth, when Sanoe Aina -- the only girl in the series this year and just the ninth in series history -- reached base on an error. With one out, Kurt Tanabe hit a chopper at Valdez on the mound. But Valdez snagged the ball and quickly turned the 1-6-3 double play.
"We had some good strokes out there, to the wall,'' Waipahu manager Clyde Tanabe said. "Kurt had one hit -- their pitcher turned it into a double. Sometimes you just hit at somebody.''
Fort Worth's final run came in the sixth when Kelly's RBI single scored Ravnaas. Although they scored eight runs, Fort Worth didn't hit any triples or home runs.
"It was singles and doubles -- that's what we do,'' Jon Kelly said, adding that Fort Worth hasn't hit a home run in 12 games. "You didn't see anything even close to the fence.''
Hawaii had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the sixth, but Sean Clark grounded to Texas third-baseman Mitchell Belew, who tagged the base and threw to first for the double play to end the game.
Valdez (1-0) had only three strikeouts, but gave up just one hit earning the win. Travis Jones (0-1) took the loss.
"They shut us down,'' Tanabe said. "Their pitcher did a real good job of mixing things up, and their defense did a real good job. We didn't get anything out of the infield.''
With two out in the first, Kelly hit a fly ball shallow into center field, then scored on an RBI double Valdez hit down the left field line, giving Fort Worth a 1-0 lead in the first.
Hawaii faces Webb City, Mo., on Monday in the final game of pool play. The top two teams from each of the four, four-team pools advances to the single elimination round.
Kentucky 2, Harlem 0
Osborne struck out Fernando Frias and Spencer White to end the game after the New York City team loaded the bases on hits by Javier Lopez, Alibay Barkley and Jorge Lopez.
"I was really nervous in the last inning,'' Osborne said. "Bases loaded, two outs, with their No. 5 hitter. I just took a deep breath, calmed down and struck the guy out.''
Jeremy Lopez struck out eight for Harlem (1-1).
Harlem manager Morris McWilliams described Kentucky as just an "all right'' team with a good pitcher on the mound, saying the game turned on his team's errors.
"We committed three errors, and that's how they scored,'' McWilliams said. "They didn't score any earned runs.''
Osborne scored both runs for Louisville (2-0).
He tripled down the right-field line in the third, and scored on a fielder's choice to give Louisville a 2-0 lead. Louisville loaded the bases with just one out, but Lopez struck out two.
"This is a huge win for us,'' said Louisville manager J. Troy Osborne, the pitcher's father. "Harlem is very aggressive, very big kids, very strong kids. When they hit, they hit the ball hard. We feel lucky to come out with a 2-0 record.''
Guam 9, Saudi Arabia 6
Dazo led off the sixth with a solo home run to cut Saudi Arabia's lead to 6-5.
Samuel D.D. Roberto and Matthew J.C. Barcinas hit back-to-back singles. Taitague, who got a break when catcher Colin Gallacher dropped his foul pop, hit a three-run homer to give Guam an 8-6 lead. Ware capped the five-run rally with a solo home run.
Tommy Timoner scored Saudi Arabia's first run on a wild pitch in the first. Nicholas Gosse scored on a Jordan Fleck grounder, and two runs scored on an infield error, giving Saudi Arabia a 4-0 lead in the first.
Guam came back in the second when Taitague hit a two-run homer.
Guam pulled within 6-4 in the fifth when Taitague walked and Ware hit a two-run homer to center field. Dazo, Taitague and Ware all had two hits for Guam, while John Warren led Saudi Arabia with three singles.
Roberto was the winning pitcher in relief and Craig Lumpa took the loss.
California 11, North Carolina 8
Alex Robertson hit a two-run homer and Christopher Sanders followed with a solo blast in the fourth for Clemmons (0-2).
Mexico 4, Russia 3
Dmitri Tchaikovski's RBI grounder to scored the final run in Russia's (0-2) three-run second inning. |
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