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Canton beats
Texas in LL World Series game
By Connor Erickson
Citizen Staff
Olympians
are not the only Americans competing on a world stage this
summer. Canton’s state champion Junior League baseball team is
also enjoying its share of the global spotlight. The team, made
up of 13- and 14-year-old players, won its first game of the
Little League World Series in Taylor, Michigan Monday night with
a 10-4 drubbing of Texas.
After being
down 3-0 early in the game, the Canton boys battled back,
knocking in ten runs while allowing Texas only one.
“Brendan
Sullivan pitched 6 1/3 innings and pitched very well,” said
coach Mike Tamasi. “Everyone contributed at the plate. It was
another great comeback win. We played good defense and great all
around baseball.”
Canton
earned its ticket to the prestigious final tournament after
winning the regional tournament in Freehold, New Jersey last
week. Tamasi noted that only ten teams qualified to
compete in the double elimination tourney.
Although
they faced some talented competition, the hometown boys were not
fazed and sailed unscathed through four straight.
They opened
August 2 with a 6-1 win over Rhode Island, then beat
Pennsylvania 12-11 in a thrilling comeback the next day. The
next two games put Canton at a distinct disadvantage, as they
were both against New Jersey teams, including one on Monday
against the host team on their home field. Canton, however,
took them down 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh and then defied
the odds yet again on Tuesday, beating the New Jersey state
champions 8-6.
As a result
of going undefeated in the first round, Canton was allowed one
loss in the final series on Thursday against the New Jersey
champs. They ended up needing it, as they lost the first game.
Canton bounced back, however, and won the regional title with a
decisive 12-3 victory in the final game.
Tommy
Jenkins, Chris Tamasi and Michael Oldenburg had nine of the
team’s 14 hits. Kevin Rooney was the winning pitcher, letting up
three runs in the first inning before shutting down the side the
rest of the way. Tamasi was awarded the tournament MVP.
The ongoing
World Series is divided into American teams and international
teams. The American teams all play each other, as do the
international teams. The two best American teams meet in a
semi-final contest for the national title before playing the
international winner for the World Series championship.
Canton was
scheduled to play Hawaii Tuesday, Virginia Wednesday, and Iowa
today. The international teams in the tournament represent
Mexico, England, the Philippines, Canada and Curacao.
The final
round of the World Series will be broadcast live on Saturday on
ESPNU at 5:00 p.m. A replay will be shown on ESPN2 at 2:00 p.m.
on August 26.
Canton
Little League Baseball President Bob Burr has been following the
team and its success. He traveled to New Jersey to watch the
team clinch the regional title and was planning to fly to
Michigan earlier this week to watch the Canton boys compete in
the World Series. Burr said he has been impressed with parents’
commitment to the program.
“Having
served as president [of Canton Little League Baseball] for the
last five years, there’s been a great commitment amongst all of
the parents in making the program stronger each year,” he said,
“and I think this [team’s success] shows that strong commitment
of parents and the residents of the community.”
Burr has
also been impressed with the quality of the players on the team,
not only as athletes, but as genuinely good kids.
“I was most
impressed with how humble the kids were off the field, and on
the field how connected they were,” Burr said. “Between the
lines, they were very much working together as a team.”
You can
visit
littleleague.org/series/2008divisions/jlbb/series.htm to get
updated info on the team. Games are broadcast live at
cityoftaylor.com/listen.
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Jeffrey Pickette contributed to this article
.
August 14, 2008
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