SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Justin Lafavers struck out 11,
coming within one strike of a no-hitter, and had two singles,
leading Apopka, Fla. to a 2-0 victory over Bainbridge Island, Wash.
in the Little League World Series Sunday.
|  | | Apopka, Fla. pitcher Justin Lafavers lost his no-hit bid Sunday with two out in the 6th and final inning. |
Peter Leslie's two-out single to center in the sixth was
Bainbridge Island's (1-1) only hit.
Apopka, which was the victim of a perfect game Saturday,
finished with five hits.
The winners (1-1) broke a scoreless tie in the fifth when Andrew
Cobb singled and was sacrificed to second. Stuart Tapley hit an RBI
single, then scored on Lafavers' single.
"I think our center fielder got a bad start on their only
hit," Lafavers said. "But we won the game, and that's more
important."
California 5, Louisiana 2
With no outs and runners on first
and second, David Carroll knew a hit would put his team in position
to break the last-inning tie.
He got that and more.
Carroll knocked an outside curve ball over the centerfield
fence, scoring three runs and lifting Oceanside, Calif., to a 5-2
victory over South Lake Charles, La., in pool play Sunday at the
Little League World Series.
"I was just trying to put the ball in play," Carroll said,
adding that he didn't think he'd hit a home run until the ball
sailed over the fence. "It was low, but I guess I hit it hard
enough."
The win guarantees Oceanside a spot in the U.S. semifinals
Wednesday or Thursday. Oceanside and Brownsburg, Ind., both will
bring 2-0 records in Pool A into their game Monday night.
"They're a strong team," Oceanside manager Daryl Wasano said
of Brownsburg. "I'm very impressed defensively with them, and I
look forward to playing them."
Despite missing scoring opportunities in both the fourth and
fifth innings, Oceanside came back from a 2-1 deficit for the win,
with Thomas Eukovich's RBI single to center field driving in Mike
Noble and tying the score 2-2 in the fifth.
"I knew we had good bats and good defense," Carroll said. "I
knew we wouldn't allow any runs, and I knew our offense could score
and put us ahead."
One South Lake Charles batter reached base on an error in the
sixth, but Oceanside reliever Taylor DeMille struck out the next
three batters.
Ty Todd hit a two-run homer in the second inning to give South
Lake Charles a 2-1 lead. Todd's shot bounced off the top of the
centerfield wall and over, bringing home Dylan Guillot, who reached
first base on a walk.
DeMille's RBI double in the bottom of the first drove in
Eukovich, giving Oceanside a 1-0 lead, but Josh Harris was tagged
out at the plate on the same play, ending the inning.
The loss drops South Lake Charles to 0-2 in pool play,
eliminating them from playoff contention.
The second loss was "the kiss of death in pool play," said
South Lake Charles manager Ben Mount. "But we have to know we were
one of eight (U.S. teams) to get here and be proud of that."
Netherlands
Antilles 10, Saudia Arabia 3
Erick Rafael had three hits,
including a home run, to lead Willemstad, Curacao, Netherlands
Antilles over Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 10-3.
Netherlands Antilles (2-0) broke a 3-3 tie with four runs in the
third, the only RBI coming on Arthur McDonald's single. Rafael
extended the lead to 8-3 with a home run in the fourth.
Notes
Sunday night's games between Davenport, Iowa, and the Bronx, N.Y., and Mexico and Russia were postponed by rain.
The Davenport-Bronx game was rescheduled for Monday morning. The Mexico-Russia game was rescheduled for Tuesday.
|
|
|
