They say there's no crying in baseball, although the boys of the Hastings Community All-Stars will no doubt be forgiven if they shed a few after a heart-breaking elimination by Caribbean regional champions Curacao at the Little League World Series on Monday.
Hastings held a 3-1 lead going into the fifth inning thanks to dominating pitching from Cole ZallaDanna, who allowed only four runs on three hits, and a two-run homerun by first baseman Noah HansonStafford, but Curacao turned the tables by quickly scoring three more runs, including a solo homer from Mychellon Jansen to end it 4-3.
Team manager Vito Bordignon said team members are holding their heads high despite the disappointment. "It was a tough loss for sure and they were a little down yesterday, but I'd say they're all feeling back to normal right now," he told the Courier in a phone interview Tuesday morning. "They had a really strong showing but [Curacao] just got some chances to win the game and took advantage of it. They did a great job representing Canada, they never gave up, and I'm really proud of each and every one of them. There are a lot of good memories."
Vancouver-Hastings is one of just 16 teams-eight from the U.S. in one pool and eight from around the world in the other-who qualified for the annual tournament that draws thousands of spectators and major league attention to Williamsport, a small city of roughly 30,000 in central Pennsylvania.
The Vancouver little leaguers had a highly impressive 18-1 record to compete for the world championship title, including an 11-1 defeat of Lethbridge Southwest in the national finals held earlier this month in Edmonton.
The All-Stars won their first game of the tourney against threetime world champion Mexico 13-9 on Friday (Aug. 17). While the two heavy-hitting teams combined for a total of 27 hits, it was Hastings' tenacious defense that had people talking, particularly a highlight-reel catch by outfielder Thomas Neal.
After Eduardo Abrego of Mexico's Nuevo Laredo sent a blistering liner down left-centre with two outs left in the third inning and a runner on first, Neal managed a diving catch only a split-second before the ball hit the turf.
The clutch save even turned some heads in the big leagues, with major leaguers that include the Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Ricky Romero, fellow outfielders Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels and the Baltimore Orioles' Adam Jones turning to Twitter to express their admiration.
"Wow what a catch!!," tweeted Trout. "That might be the catch of the year so far in all of baseball," added Jones, while Romero pitched in with: "I know I'm a lil late but that catch the center fielder from team Canada made was sick!!!!"
The team wasn't as successful when it faced the Latin American champions, Panama's Agua-dulce, two days later on Sunday.
Agua-dulce shortstop James Gonzalez managed a grand slam, two more home runs and six RBIs in an eventual 8-3 win over Hastings.
Although pitcher Dalla-Zanna drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk in the sixth, it wasn't enough to overcome fellow pitchers Edisson Gonzalez and Daniel Cruz, who combined for a total of 13 strikeouts.
A Canadian team has yet to win the championship since the event's debut in 1946. The closest to date is an appearance in the semi-final in 1965 when Ontario's Stoney Creek Little Leaguers lost 3-1 to Connecticut's Windsor Locks.
If any baseball fans feel like giving the boys a good reception when they fly back home, Bordignon said the team should be getting into YVR around 7: 30 p.m. on Aug. 27.
GROUNDSKEEPER SILLY
While the Vancouver Canadians have produced a number of ball players who have gone on to the big leagues, few people who've attended their home games in recent years would argue that their team of groundskeepers aren't also stars in their own right.
When it comes time to clean the infield after the fifth inning, the four-man crew-made up of Tom Archibald, Trevor Sheffield, Dylan Marsden and Con-nor Merilees-also likes to bust out some dance moves to whatever music is playing over the P.A. to help keep the crowd entertained.
In recognition of their devotion above and beyond the call of duty, management will be giving out special souvenir Dancing Grounds Crew bobblehead dolls to the first lucky 1,000 fans to show up for the game tonight (Aug. 22) against the Boise Hawks. Game starts at 7: 05 p.m. at Nat Bailey Stadium.
GAMER GATHERING Vancouver has been announced as the host for next year's Pokémon World Championships. The eighth annual inviteonly tournament takes place Aug. 9-11, 2013 at Canada Place, where top players of both the popular Japanese video and trading card games will compete for more than $100,000 in prizes.
Pokémon, which centres on capturing exotic creatures and forcing them to fight each other, is huge with children around the world and is the second most successful video game after Nintendo's Mario franchise.
WHITECAP SCORES
Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Jaclyn Sawicki scored one of six goals in a decisive Team Canada shutout against Argentina in its opening match of the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup in Turkey on Monday. The 19-yearold Coquitlam native was joined on the scoreboard by Shelina Zadorsky, Catherine Charron-Delage and Adriana Leon, who scored a hat trick. Canada's next match is Thursday (Aug. 23) against Norway. Team Canada will not, however, have to again face Norwegian referee Christina Peterson, who made a number of controversial calls against the senior women's team in a key match against Team USA at the London Olympics. Peterson is not scheduled to officiate at the tournament.
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