LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL: HYR's run comes to an end
Aug. 5—LIVERMORE, Calif. — The Highlander Youth Recreation Intermediate 50/70 All-Star team's summer came to an end Thursday night.
Central East Maui (Hawaii) scored the first six runs of the game, then held off HYR for a 7-4 win in an elimination game of the World Series.
Central East Maui advances to face Danville (Calif.) at 8 p.m. Saturday night in the United States final at Max Baer Park.
Coming off an 8-2 loss to Danville on Wednesday night, HYR dug itself an early hole against Central East Maui.
The West Region champ took a lead it wouldn't relinquish when Isaac Gosselin hit the second pitch from HYR starter Peyton Cawthon over the center-field fence to lead off the bottom of the first frame.
Central East Maui took control in the second, when it scored five more times.
It quickly loaded the bases before George Dafun Jr. hit a line-drive double to right field to score two.
Gosselin then greeted new HYR pitcher Parker Pennington with a two-RBI double to left field. Gosselin scored a short time later on Riley Phillips' two-out, RBI-single to make it 6-0.
HYR cut that deficit in half in the top of the third.
Grant Curry led off the inning with a single, then stole second before moving to third on Noah Baker's single to right. Baker advanced to second on a wild pitch before Jaxon Stone was walked to load the bases.
Devynlee Rosaga then came in to relieve Gosselin, Central East Maui's starter. Rosaga walked Preston Didat to score Curry with HYR's first run. Jakob Reed followed with a sacrifice fly to right field that plated Baker. Moments later Nolan Kennedy's groundout scored Stone to make it 6-3.
HYR's comeback continued in the top of the fifth.
Stone singled with one out before he advanced to second on a wild pitch with two gone. He scored moments later on Reed's single to center.
That was as close as HYR would get, though.
Central East Maui added an insurance run in the bottom of the inning to push its lead back to three.
Rosaga walked Cawthon to start the sixth before retiring HYR's final six hitters to end the game.
He allowed one earned run on two hits while walking two and striking out three over the final five innings to pick up the win.
Rosaga was also one of five to finish with two hits for Central East Maui, which pounded out 14 against a trio of HYR pitchers.
Five different players had hits for HYR.
Stone went 1-for-3 while touching home twice; Didat was 1-for-3 with an RBI; Reed went 1-for-2 with two RBIs; Curry and Baker each had one hit and scored a run while Kennedy added an RBI.
.
INTERMEDIATE 50/70 WORLD SERIES
Thursday night elimination game at Livermore, Calif.
CENTRAL EAST MAUI (HAWAII) 7, HYR 4
HYR 003 010 0 — 4 5 1
Hawaii 150 010 X — 7 14 0
W — Devynlee Rosaga. L — Peyton Cawthon. 2B — Kaniela Belena (H), Isaac Gosselin (H), George Dafun Jr. (H). HR — Gosselin (H).
