BANGOR, Maine — It was a frustrating day offensively for the Niles-Centerville Little League of Fremont, Calif.
The U.S. West regional champs rallied with two runs apiece in the sixth and seventh innings to post a 4-1 win over Asia-Pacific representative Makati City, Philippines, in a Pool A clash at Mansfield Stadium, but the 13 runners they stranded had manager Perry Romero scratching his head a bit.
“It was frustrating, but I’ve got to stay positive for the guys,” he said. “Today we got tested.”
But the pitching of Billy Nevin, combined with sharp defense, didn’t give Romero any pessimism, as Nevin pitched six innings of shutout, three-hit ball to annex the victory in relief.
After starter Jack Veronin was pulled after one inning, in which he allowed a run on two hits, Nevin was thrust into the spotlight, which didn’t faze him.
“Baseball is baseball, so it doesn’t really matter where it’s at, you’ve just got to do the same thing,” he said.
Nevin exhibited pinpoint control with a fastball, changeup and curveball, walking nobody while benefiting from some stellar defensive plays.
“It was just good defense really, that was the most important thing,” Nevin said.
However, Fremont couldn’t scratch out any runs despite posing several threats against Philippines starter Charles Catangui.
Fremont left two men on base in the top of the first after Mark Wik led off with a single and Cody Liebon a double, but they were left standing on second and third. Fremont left two more men on in the second and the bases loaded in the fifth.
But the West champs finally broke through in the sixth. Pierce Romero and Sean O’Hare stroked back-to-back singles and Veronin, who re-entered as a pinch hitter, laid down a bunt in front of the plate and legged out a single to load the bases after Philippines catcher Adriane Bernardo stumbled trying to field the ball.
Wik then hit a fielder’s choice grounder to second which produced one run, while the go-ahead run scored when the flip to second base went into right field.
Wik gave his team some insurance in the top of the seventh with a two-run double to left, which atoned for some tough at-bats earlier in the game.
“I was a little anxious at the plate, my dad told me to relax a little, be patient and look for a pitch I can handle,” Wik said. “He threw it where I could hit it and I poked it.”
Even though Catangui was pitching well for the Philippines, manager Luis Habana wanted to keep him fresh for the games later in the weeklong tourney.
“We wanted to save him for the game after tomorrow,” he said.
Mark Ona drove in the Philippines’ lone run with a sacrifice fly to right in the first.
U.S. West (1-0) 000 002 2 — 4 12 0
Asia-Pacific (0-1) 100 000 0 — 1 5 3
Veronin, Nevin (2) and Jennings; Catangui, Horibata (5), Ona (6) and Bernardo
