LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL: HYR wins World Series opener
Aug. 2—LIVERMORE, Calif. — The Highlander Youth Recreation Intermediate 50/70 All-Star team needed overtime — and then some — to win its first World Series game Monday night.
Preston Didat scampered home in the bottom of the 10th inning to give HYR a 2-1 win over Needville (Texas) at Max Baer Park in Livermore.
HYR advances to face Danville (Calif.) at 9 p.m. EDT Wednesday night in a winners' bracket game. The victor of that contest will advance to United States final at 8 p.m. Saturday night.
The championship game is scheduled for 9 p.m. Sunday night.
Needville, the Southwest Region champion, beat Fort Lauderdale (Fla.), the Southeast winner, 6-4 Sunday night to earn a date against HYR, the Central champ.
HYR had two of its three hits in the bottom of the second inning to score the game's first run.
Nolan Kennedy led off with a line-drive double off the wall in left field. He then moved to third on Jakob Reed's single. Kennedy scored moments later on an errant throw by Needville pitcher Angelo Aprea, who attempted to pick Reed off of first.
Needville tied it up in the top of the third.
Carter Hedt singled with one out off Reed, HYR's starter, then scored shortly thereafter on Lucas Robbins' triple to center field.
HYR rode its pitching and defense the rest of the way.
HYR turned a key double play in the top of the seventh, when Didat fielded a line drive at shortstop then quickly threw to second baseman Peyton Cawthon for the force out.
In the top of the eighth, Needville had runners on second and third with two outs before Didat, who relieved Parker Pennington, got Cade Park to pop out to Kennedy in right to end the threat.
Beginning in the ninth inning each team started with a runner on second base.
Didat struck out the side in the top of the ninth before HYR came up empty in the bottom half of the frame.
In the top of the 10th, Needville had the bases loaded with one out against Grant Curry, HYR's fourth pitcher. Curry, though, came up big.
First he struck out Robbins, who had a game-high two hits, then he got Aprea to line out to Reed in center.
Didat started the bottom of the inning on second. On the first pitch of the frame he stole third, then got up and ran home with the winning run after Kase Vacek's throw from behind the plate ended up in left field.
All totaled, HYR's four pitchers combined to allow six hits while walking six and striking out seven.
Reed allowed one earned run on four hits while walking four and striking out two over the first six innings.
Pennington then allowed one hit while walking one and striking out one over 1 2/3 innings.
Next on the mound, Didat struck out three over 1 1/3 innings.
Then came Curry, the winning pitcher, who allowed one hit and walked one while striking out one in the 10th.
HYR backed up its pitchers with error-free defense. That helped Needville strand 11 baserunners, compared to two for HYR.
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INTERMEDIATE 50/70 WORLD SERIES
Monday night's game at Livermore, Calif.
HYR 2, NEEDVILLE (TEXAS) 1
Needville 001 000 000 0 — 1 6 2
HYR 010 000 000 1 — 2 3 0
W — Grant Curry. L — Lucas Robbins. 2B — Nolan Kennedy (HYR), Angelo Aprea (N). 3B — Robbins (N).
