Team Cape Cod rallies past Chiefs
MOSES LAKE — The Hammond Chiefs from Hammond, Ind., jumped on Team Cape Cod in the bottom of the first inning, but the Ohio Valley Regional Champions couldn’t fend off the New England Regional Champions as Team Cape Cod rallied for a 4-2 victory.
Hammond took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Roger Sammon drew a walk and scored on an RBI single from Mike Kozlowski.
The Chiefs added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth when Kevin Franchetti doubled and scored on an RBI single from Frank Pluskota.
Team Cape Cod responded in the top of the fifth inning when Joseph Ruo walked and scored on an RBI single from Jeffrey Speroni.
With Team Cape Cod facing a 2-1 deficit in the top of the seventh, the New England Champions pulled even with Hammond when Joe Napolitano singled and scored on Jake Roderick’s RBI double.
Team Cape Cod pulled even and the first game of the 2009 Babe Ruth World Series went to extra innings before Speroni hit the tournament’s first home run in the top of the ninth inning. Team Cape Cod added another run in the top of the ninth and improved to 1-0 in pool play following the 4-2 victory.
Long Island, N.Y. 8, Minnetonka, Minn. 0
MOSES LAKE — Babe Ruth World Series veterans and Middle Atlantic Regional Champions Long Island, N.Y. left little doubt in their 2009 tournament opener with an 8-0 victory over the Midwest Plains Regional Champions from Minnetonka, Minn.
The Long Island Bombers capitalized on a five-run outburst in the top of the first inning to put the pressure on the Minnetonka Mudhens.
Minnetonka faced an uphill battle from the first inning on as the Bombers turned to starting pitcher Chris Lettini in the tournament opener. Lettini was beyond impressive Saturday afternoon on his way to earning a one-hit shutout victory. Lettini struck out nine Mudhens in the contest.
Long Island’s Nick Ditusa led the Bombers at the plate, finishing with a three-hit performance and Brian Walsh added two hits of his own and Long Island improved to 1-0 in pool play.
Puget Sound, Wash. 14, Abbeville, La. 9
MOSES LAKE — The Puget Sound Roxx rolled to a 4-0 lead in the top of the second inning, but it took the Washington State Champions 10 innings to dispatch of the Southwest Regional Champions from Abbeville, La.
With Abbeville facing a 4-0 deficit early on, the Southwest Champions battled back, scoring in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings to pull even with the Roxx, sending the game into extra innings.
Puget Sound, Wash., repeatedly tried to pull away from Abbeville, but Abbeville stayed with the Roxx into the eighth. Puget Sound scored two in the top of the eighth only to see Abbeville pull even again at 8-8.
The Roxx scored a run in the top of the ninth to take a 9-8 lead, but again Abbeville found a way to pull even with Puget Sound.
With the second consecutive extra-inning contest of the world series, Puget Sound exploded for five runs in the top of the 10th and the Roxx held on for a 14-9 victory.