WILLIAMSPORT, Pa.-Don’t worry about these kids. Either way – win or lose – the Westbrook Little Leaguers were destined to have a blast at the World Series.
“It’s been great,” said outfielder Jarred Martin while autographing a baseball outside a batting cage Monday, Westbrook’s off day, his team having already dropped its first two games.
“I know we’re not going to make it, but I can definitely and easily walk out of this place with a smile on my face, knowing that I did my best.
“This whole experience is just one big win.”
As a bonus, Westbrook finally got its World Series victory in its third try, beating the team from Owensboro, Kentucky, 3-2, Tuesday afternoon.
And what better play to end this team’s remarkable post-season run than with shortstop Zack Gardiner’s diving catch on a looping fly ball into left field. Gardiner, who couldn’t fill his normal role as a pitcher this week because of a sore arm (which also affected his hitting) wanted to contribute in some memorable way, and he got his wish.
After losing early leads in their first two games, the New England representatives came from behind to win Tuesday. The big offensive spark came from Zach Collett, who blasted a three-run homer to centerfield in the third inning. Scoring in front of him were Reid Coulombe, who had walked, and Tommy Lemay, who reached on an error.
“It felt great off the bat,” said Collet of the homer, “and after it went out, it felt even better.”
That gave Westbrook a 3-2 lead. Kentucky, the Great Lakes Region champion, had staked out a 2-0 lead in the third, keyed by Dalton West’s RBI-double. He later scored on a ground ball.
Sean Murphy and Joey Royer teamed to give Westbrook a solid pitching performance in the final game. Murphy followed up his opening-day gem-turned-heartbreaker with three solid innings. Then Royer came on in relief, shutting out Kentucky the final three innings, allowing only one hit and striking out four batters.
Royer expressed the satisfaction all his teammates felt after the game.
“Not everybody can say they won a game in the World Series,” Royer said.
“Especially in Maine,” chimed in Murphy, drawing a big laugh in the press interview room.
Manager Rick Knight reminded his players before the game they had one last chance for a win.
“We knew it was our last game,” said Knight, “so before the game I told our guys, ‘it’s now or never.'”
FAST STARTS IN FIRST TWO GAMES:
Westbrook wasted little time gaining a foothold in Williamsport. Lemay led off with a single in the team’s first game Saturday morning. And in the second inning Nick Finocchiaro and Michael Mowatt stung the team from Southwest Lafayette, La., with a pair of solo home runs.
Meanwhile Murphy took charge on the mound and was sharp from the beginning. The tall righthander cruised through the first five innings, pitching shutout ball, striking out five.
It all looked too easy for the Mainers, making it more painful when the game slipped away in the bottom of the sixth, 3-2.
With Zack Gardiner ailing, Murphy pitched tired in the sixth and the opposing hitters caught up to him. The final blow was a two-run single by Louisiana’s Connor Toups with nobody out.
Knight said it took about 20 minutes for his players to recover emotionally, then they were back to their easy-going ways, laughing and jousting amongst themselves.
“This is a real loose group,” Knight said. “They are not the type of kids who brood over a loss. They are not the type of kids who really get up for a game until right before it starts. That’s just the way they are.”
In a more daunting task Sunday night, against a talented team from Buena Vista, Calif., in front of more than 12,000 spectators, the Westbrook boys delivered the first blow again.
Lemay once again led off the game with a hit, this time a double into the left-centerfield gap. He scored the game’s first run two outs later when Finocchiaro grounded a two-strike single into right field.
Finocchiaro came out throwing smoke on the hill, putting down the first nine California batters, striking seven of them.
The Maine team had a chance to build on the lead in the third, when Collett singled with one out, but he was left stranded on second base.
In the fourth inning California took a 2-1 lead on hits by Kalen Pimentel and Johnny Dee and the Westbrook guys could have rolled over.
But they didn’t.
Mowatt, who had his swing finely tuned this week, delivered his second homer of the series, a rocket line drive over the left-center fence in the fifth inning, driving home Lemay (who had walked) in front of him. The homer gave the team the lead once again and an emotional lift, even though it was short lived.
The key to hitting the long ball here?
“Stay relaxed,” said Mowatt, who added that he went to the plate looking only for a single.
Pimentel, possibly the most highly-touted Little Leaguer in Williamsport this week, took back the game with a vengeance. The tall California 12-year-old, who a game earlier tied a World Series record striking out 18 batters in a win over Kentucky, crushed a monster grand slam homer to center in the bottom of the fifth. The blast cleared the shrubs set 15 yards beyond the fence and came on Royer’s first pitch to him. Royer, who came on in relief a batter earlier, regained his composure and struck out the next two hitters.
“I put him in a tough situation,” Knight said of Royer. “He gave up that one mistake, but he settled down right after that, started using his three pitches and worked his way out of it.”
California’s pitcher Reed Reznicek overcame Martin’s single to right in the final frame to complete the 7-3 victory.
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