SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Sometimes in the biggest games, the margin for error is so thin it could cause a paper cut.
Last night in the Little League World Series, New England champion Peabody West's dream of becoming world champions died the death of 1,000 paper cuts.
Powerful Chula Vista, Calif., scored 11 times with two outs in the top of the sixth to blow open a tight game and topple Peabody West, 14-0, at Volunteer Stadium.
"I said to (assistant coach) Danny (Marchese) that the final score is a real shame," said Peabody West manager David Batchelor. "If you look at the (final) score, you'd think we got blown out. But I guess if you saw the game and know anything about baseball, you know it was a great game."
The loss eliminated Peabody West (0-2 at the World Series, 17-2 overall this summer) from championship contention as both Chula Vista and Southwest champion San Antonio are 2-0 in Pool B and have advanced into the next round. Peabody West's final LLWS contest will be tomorrow against fellow 0-2 squad Russellville, Ky., at 4 p.m.
Starting pitcher Matt Hosman turned in a Cy Young-worthy performance in holding Chula Vista down for 4 2/3 innings. Peabody's co-ace fanned 10 and allowed only two runs.
He reached the maximum 85 pitched in the fifth, though, and once California got to Peabody's bullpen, it was a whole new ballgame. Matt "The Rat" Correale gave up nine hits and 11 runs in the sixth as Chula Vista pulled away.
The rally started innocently enough with a single and two straight outs. Andy Rios followed with the first of two homers in the inning, and from there Chula Vista kept rolling.
"There were a couple of balls we should have made the plays on, so Matt didn't have a lot of luck there," said Batchelor.
By the time the books closed on the top of the sixth, the West champions had sent 17 men to the dish, recorded 11 hits, scored 12 times and bashed two homers, both by Rios.
In the three innings before that, Peabody West put the tying run in scoring position and failed to bring it home.
Trailing 2-0 in the fifth, Correale singled before Chula Vista reliever Isiah Armenta fanned Hosman and Austin Batchelor. Traverse Briana singled and both advanced to second and third in a wild pitch, but Mike Petrosino fanned to end the threat.
An inning earlier, with the score 1-0, Anthony Cravotta walked and was pinch run for by Nick Bona. Passed balls pushed Bona to third with none out and J.J. Layton at bat.
"I thought about bunting there, but it's so hard in Little League because (the baserunner) can't move until the ball crosses the plate," said Batchelor. "Besides that, their infield was so far in that if J.J. made contact, it was going right over their heads."
Chula Vista pitcher Luke Ramirez bore down and fanned Layton and Cody Wlasuk to put the inning to bed. He finished with 11 strikeouts in four shutout innings, though Hosman struck him out twice and hit him with a pitch in the head in his final at-bat.
"We were thinking about taking him out anyways because of his pitch count, and once he got hit that made it easy," Chula Vista manager Oscar Castro said of Ramirez, who stayed in the game and scored in the sixth.
California broke up a scoreless tie with an unearned run in the second inning. Player Oscar Castro doubled and scored when Petrosino couldn't come up with Godfrey's grounder.
The only other run charged to Hosman was a solo homer by Godfrey to lead off the fifth.
"Hoz pitched great. They had two runs off him and really should have had just one, the homer," said Batchelor. "He kept us in the game."
Austin Batchelor brought the 10,500 on hand at Volunteer Stadium to their feet with a defensive web gem in the third. Playing deep in the hole at short, he shaded left on a well struck ball by Bradley Roberto. Batchelor dove behind him to make the highlight reel grab.
"That was a great play," said his father, the team's manager. "We were all pumped up and excited for him."
But Peabody West failed to capitalize on any momentum. The six hits they mustered included two by McGrath and one each from Correale, Bona, Briana and Batchelor.
"The kids are upset about it, especially the way it ended," said Batchelor. "I thought for five innings it was a good game — then we lost it. The score doesn't indicate what kind of game it was."
