LITTLE LEAGUE : Lubbock pitcher helps own cause with lengthy drive
Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Call him Texas’ two-way threat.
Zane Ancell hit a long home run and struck out 11 to lead undefeated Lubbock, Texas, to a 5-1 victory over Chandler, Ariz., at the Little League World Series on Sunday.
The 12-year-old’s blast easily cleared the 225-foot wall in center field, passing a TV tower and falling into a grass field where kids scurried for the souvenir.
But his performance on the mound for Lubbock (2-0 ) might have been even more impressive. Ancell didn’t know he was going to start until 10 minutes before the game.
His curveballs kept Chandler (1-1 ) off-balance all game one day after the Arizonans had pounded out 17 hits.
Ancell looked imposing on the mound against Chandler. The bill of his cap pulled down tight over his forehead, at times he resembled a miniature version of another tough left-handed pitcher from Texas, the New York Yankees ’ Andy Pettitte.
“I felt really good today,” Ancell said. “I knew I was probably going to pitch somewhere along the line, but I didn’t know I was going to start today.” Manager Ed Thorne made the right call.
“We went with Zane and I’m sure glad we did,” Thorne said. “He pitched a beauty.” Thorne has the luxury of at least two aces on his staff. Garrett Williams pitched a gem Saturday, striking out 17 in a 6-0 victory over Coon Rapids, Minn.
The scary part for opponents might be that Thorne has more pitching at his disposal. At times over the past three seasons, he’s gone through games in which he’s inserted a different pitcher each inning.
Thorne said that’s his plan for Texas’ next game, Tuesday against Salisbury, Md.
“It’s just that the hitting has to fall into place,” he said.
Ancell’s two-way success overshadowed teammate Bryndan Arredondo’s two home runs to deep center, both of which easily cleared the 225-foot wall. TAIWAN 11, NETHERLANDS 1 Jen-Chieh Liu drove in two runs during a seven-run fourth inning of a game that finished early because of the 10-run mercy rule.
Chao Min Wang added three RBI for Taiwan (1-1 ), which took advantage of four errors by the Netherlands (0-2 ) in the pivotal fourth. Roy Sterling drove in the Netherlands’ only run on a groundout in the top of the fourth. LAKE OSWEGO, ORE., 1, WALPOLE, MASS., 0 Reid Penney hit a home run, Mitch Lomax struck out eight and Calvin Hermanson worked out of final-inning jam for Lake Oswego (1-1 ).
Penney’s shot sailed through light raindrops and landed in the hedges beyond the left-field fence.
“I looked at it as I rounded first, and it was cool to see it go out of Williamsport, Pa.,” said the 12-year-old.
It didn’t go quite that far, but the home run was good enough to give Lake Oswego its first victory. CURACAO 2, SAUDI ARABIA 0 Vincent Anthonia struck out 15 and allowed just one hit for Curacao Curacao (1-1 ) took a 1-0 lead in the fourth after Suenley Paulina drew a walk with the bases loaded. Deion Rosalia added a home run in the fifth off Andrew Otis, who pitched well in the loss for Saudi Arabia (0-2 ). COON RAPIDS, MINN., 4, SALISBURY, MD., 3 Coon Rapids’ Tanner Lowe sent a 1-0 pitch from Canaan Cropper over the hedges in left field with nobody out in the bottom of the sixth to break a 3-3 tie.
Teammates mobbed Lowe at the plate after the 13-year-old slugger hit his second home run of the game to lead Coon Rapids (1-1 ) its first victory in South Williamsport. Lowe’s first home run, a two-run shot in the first, barely cleared the left-field wall. There was no doubt with the second one, as fans braved slippery conditions to retrieve the ball near the hedges beyond the fence. LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES GLANCE At South Williamsport, Pa. All Times Central UNITED STATES POOL A — NEW ENGLAND: Walpole, Mass.; NORTHWEST: Lake Oswego, Ore.; SOUTHEAST: Warner Robins, Ga.; GREAT LAKES: Hamilton, Ohio. POOL B — MID-ATLANTIC: Salisbury, Md.; WEST: Chandler, Ariz.; SOUTHWEST: Lubbock, Texas, MIDWEST: Coon Rapids, Minn. INTERNATIONAL POOL C — CARIBBEAN: Willemstad, Curacao; JAPAN: Tokyo Kitasuna; CANADA: White Rock, British Columbia; TRANSATLANTIC: Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. POOL D — MEXICO: Mexicali, Baja California; ASIA-PACIFIC: Taichung, Taiwan; EMEA: Apeldoorn, Netherlands; LATIN AMERICA: Maricaibo, Venezuela. FRIDAY’S RESULTS Walpole, Mass., 3, Hamilton, Ohio 2 Tokyo Kitasuna, Japan 10, Willemstad, Curacao 3 Maricaibo, Venezuela 2, Taichung, Taiwan 1 Warner Robins, Ga. 9, Lake Oswego, Ore. 4 SATURDAY’S RESULTS White Rock, British Columbia 13, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia 5 Mexicali, Baja California 11, Apeldoorn, Netherlands 1 Chandler, Ariz. 16, Salisbury, Md. 6 Lubbock, Texas 6, Coon Rapids, Minn. 0 Hamilton, Ohio 10, Warner Robins, Ga. 2 SUNDAY’S GAMES Lubbock, Texas 5, Chandler Ariz. 1 Lake Oswego, Ore. 1, Walpole, Mass. 0 Taichung, Taiwan, 11, Apeldoorn, Netherlands 1 Willemstad, Curacao 2, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia 0 Coon Rapids, Minn. 4, Salisbury, Md. 3 TODAY’S GAMES Tokyo Kitasuna, Japan vs. White Rock, British Columbia, noon. Hamilton, Ohio vs. Lake Oswego, Ore., 2 p.m. Maricaibo, Venezuela vs. Apeldoorn, Netherlands, 3 p.m. Warner Robins, Ga. vs. Walpole, Mass., 5 p.m. Taichung, Taiwan vs. Mexicali, Baja California, 7 p.m. TUESDAY’S GAMES Maricaibo, Venezuela vs. Mexicali, Baja California, noon. Tokyo Kitasuna, Japan vs. Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 2 p.m. Lubbock, Texas vs. Salisbury, Md., 3 p.m. Willemstad, Curacao vs. White Rock, British Columbia, 5 p.m. Chandler, Ariz. vs. Coon Rapids, Minn., 7 p.m. SEMIFINALS WEDNESDAY’S GAMES At Lamade Stadium International Pool D No. 1 vs. Pool C No. 2, 2 p.m. United States Pool B No. 1 vs. Pool A No. 2, 6: 30 p.m.
THURSDAY’S GAMES International Pool C No. 1 vs. Pool D No. 2, 2 p.m. United States Pool A No. 1 vs. Pool B No. 2, 6: 30 p.m.
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