Bummer
Davenport Northwest lost their initial game at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA Friday to Southeast champs Maitland, FL. 7-3. It was a heartbreaker, with Davenport's runner wisely attempting to score on a passed ball in the dirt. But the ball took a freakish hop and bounced off the back wall and directly back to the catcher who picked off Davenport's runner. This was the key play in the game and stopped Davenport's chances.
They played against a very tough West Oahu, HI team representing the Northwest. Hawaii slammed back to back homers off Davenport pitcher Kyle Franklin as soon as he entered the game in the fourth, and never looked back on their way to a 7-3 victory.
A game tonight pitted West champions Vista , CA, against New England champs Westbrook, MA. The winner of this matchup would determine whether Davenport Northwest stayed alive for championship play. If the team from California won, then Davenport would be eliminated, if Westbrook, MA prevailed, they'd stay alive.
Unfortunately, West's power hitter slugged a grand slam homerun in the last inning to put it away, so Davenport is now out of the running.
They will play Mid-Atlantic champs Newtown, PA tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN2.
posted by The Inside Dope @ 8/21/2005
2 comments
2 Comments:
It is sad of course that things went this way. The games at this level, despite the incredible skills of the players, are very wild and unpredicible, with sudden home runs often dictating the outcome of games.
Another factor is the uneven development of kids at this age. The best teams often feature one or two players who are huge, often sporting baby fuzz goatees or mustaches, and their physical development is a distinct advantage, as these kids can easily swat home runs with ease, throw blazing fastballs, and run like gazelles.
And often on the same team, there will be kids who barely weigh 90 lbs soaking wet.
It's a shame as well because last year's Davenport team did even better, but got far less coverage and promotion as this year's team.
Hat's off to Mediacom who ran a attention grabbing ad promoting the broadcasts of Davenport's games on ESPN which no doubt generated a lot of public interest.
And yes, these guys deserve a lot of credit. To even appear in the World's Series is an amazing accomplishment given the competition and the grueling schedule these guys have to maintain.
The pressure must be intense for these 11 and 12 year old guys to shoulder, but they did an amazingly great job, as did their coaches.
It is sad of course that things went this way. The games at this level, despite the incredible skills of the players, are very wild and unpredicible, with sudden home runs often dictating the outcome of games.
Another factor is the uneven development of kids at this age. The best teams often feature one or two players who are huge, often sporting peach fuzz goatees or mustaches, (at 12??!!) and their physical development is a distinct advantage, as these semi-adults can swat home runs with ease, throw blazing fastballs, and run like gazelles.
In contrast, often on the same team, there will be kids who barely weigh 80 lbs soaking wet and so short that their strike zone is the size of a postage stamp.
It's a shame as well because last year's Davenport team did even better, but got far less coverage and promotion as this year's team.
Hat's off to Mediacom who ran a attention grabbing ad promoting the broadcasts of Davenport's games on ESPN which no doubt generated a lot of public interest.
And yes, these guys deserve a lot of credit. To even appear in the World's Series is an amazing accomplishment given the competition and the grueling schedule these guys have to maintain.
The pressure must be intense for these 11 and 12 year old guys to shoulder, but they did an amazingly great job, as did their coaches.
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