Staten Island Wins Little League World Series Opener
Source: South Williamsport, Pa.
Date/Time: Friday, August 21, 2009, 1:00pm ET
At the onset of the Little League World Series’ opening game, it didn’t seem
possible that the result could be a 10-2 victory for South Shore National Little
League (N.Y.) in the opening game of the 63rd Little League Baseball World
Series.
The start could not have been any stronger for Mercer Island Little League
(Wash.) pitcher William Mansfield. The left-hander struck out four of the first
five batters he faced.
But South Shore, far from intimidated, had a pitcher who would toss a strong
game himself. Left-hander Angelo Navetta allowed seven hits and one earned run
in 5.1 innings of work. Navetta threw 79 pitches in his outing with an
eye-popping 68 of those strikes. The fastball and curveball were his main
weapons, although his manager did let him throw in a knuckleball—the first one
he had thrown in tournament play.
“It helps a lot to be pitching like that where if you make a mistake, you have
run support,” Navetta said.
That run support came from an offensive attack that pounded out 11 hits,
including a two-run double by Navetta.
In the third inning, catcher James Morisano got Staten Island on the board with
an RBI single. Not to be outdone, center fielder Nick Pucciarelli provided a
further boost with a blast well over the right field fence to extend the lead to
3-0.
Mercer Island, which had not lost on the tournament trail in 15 games, didn’t
reach base in its half of the inning, and South Shore took advantage in the
fourth.
Three doubles, a triple and a single led to four more runs. Eight players batted
in the inning, three of whom—center fielder Nick Pucciarelli, shortstop Anthony
Scotti and Navetta—recorded RBI.
Mercer Island’s runs came in the fifth on an RBI double by second baseman
Michael Bantle and a wild pitch in the sixth, but those runs came after Staten
Island had built a 10-0 edge.
“You come here and you never know what’s going to happen,” Mercer Island manager
Steve Stenberg said. “You’re facing the best teams from around the country. We
know our back is against the wall.”
He also was quick to note that his kids wouldn’t dwell on the loss.
South Shore’s Pucciarelli finished 2-for-4 with a triple, home run and four RBI.
Scotti and Michael Russell had a pair of hits. Mercer Island’s Michael Bantle
finished with a single and a double, and Anthony Scalzo, Max Hibbert, Nick
Taylor, Brandon Lawler and Mansfield accounted for the team’s other five hits,
all of which were singles.
“A win is a win,” South Shore manager Michael Zaccariello said. “Maybe we took
advantage of some mistakes they made and we capitalized on them, but it’s not
going to happen like that every day.”
The start of the game was delayed 45 minutes because of a storm that passed
through Williamsport around 1 p.m., the scheduled start time.
South Shore (1-0) will play Southeast Region champion Warner Robins American
Little League (Ga.) (0-0) Saturday at 3 p.m. Mercer Island (0-1) takes on
Urbandale Little League (Iowa) at noon on Sunday.