Series Notebook

BANGOR – When the Curacao Senior League All-Stars headed to Bangor from their cozy island haven located 35 miles off the Venezuela coast, they probably figured they’d get little support in Maine.

A sizeable group of parents made the trip, and have been making plenty of noise at Curacao’s games. But the Latin America champs have made a few friends in Bangor, too.

As Curacao sweated out a 9-8 win over South Bend, Ind., on Tuesday, their fans – which have been the most festive since the tourney began – had plenty of company.

A group of Bangor teens decided to root on Curacao in their quest for the world title, and sat with the team’s parents on Tuesday. They chanted. They whistled. They cheered. They had a ball.

“We have a friend of Hispanic descent, and we just thought we should root for them,” said Bangor Junior League All-Star Wes Hart.

The 13-member Bangor contingent, many of whom played on the Bangor 13-14 Junior squad, hasn’t just been cheering, either. They’ve gone all-out to support their new team.

After Curacao earned its Tuesday victory, the group posed for a picture with winning picture Curt Smith. And even before that, they’d outfitted themselves in garb that would set them apart.

“We bought shirts and hats,” Hart said. “And we know Spanish.”

Ah. Spanish. Along with several other languages, the fans from Curacao speak it. And the fact that all 13 Bangor teens have taken Spanish classes has helped them out.

Dave Madden’s favorite chant may not have much to do with baseball, but it does provide some common ground for between the Curacao players and a makeshift fan club that grew up a couple thousand miles away.

His favorite: “Donde esta las chicas?”

As all 13 can tell you, that means, “Where are the girls?”

Doubling their pleasure

When your average scoring margin is somewhere around 2-3 runs per game, defense and pitching become extremely important.

Such is the case for Canadian champ LaSalle, Ontario.

And although LaSalle has managed to heat up at the plate with 26 hits and 18 runs in its last two games, defense is still the key component to LaSalle’s success. In particular, the double play.

LaSalle turned two twin killings Tuesday in an 8-3 win over Moscow to go 2-1 in the Series and bring its Series total to five.

“The double plays really get us going too,” said winning pitcher Shane Byrne. “And I think they jump-start our offense, too.”

“I don’t know how many total we’ve had, but we’re averaging at least two a game,” said coach Ralph Hall.

In fact, Hall has become so used to the double play, he was a bit disappointed when LaSalle turned “only” two in a 1-0 win over Bangor in the opener.

“Yeah, I guess that is kind of strange to say,” he said with a laugh. “With our defense, we get a little spoiled.”

Moscow to Maine

After a day spent shaking the cobwebs loose and adjusting to jet lag and an eight-hour time difference, the World Series contingent from Moscow, Russia, is enjoying itself in Vacationland.

“It’s different than in Russia. We have kind people in Russia, but not all,” said outfielder Grigory Piliya. “Here has been very friendly and people are very nice.”

Piliya is still trying to get his bearings three days after arriving in Bangor. That’s understandable, considering it was 10 p.m. in Moscow as he was being interviewed under a hot afternoon sun at 2 p.m. here.

“It’s very hard to get used to,” he said.

The Moscow team had Sunday off, so the players used the time to visit Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor.

“It was very nice. Mountains, ocean … Very beautiful,” Piliya said.

That’s not the only scenery which has caught the eyes of Piliya and his 11 teammates.

“We’re having fun here. The girls are very nice,” he said with a laugh. “They are not so different from Russian girls.”

The food isn’t either, according to Piliya.

“It’s like we have in Russia,” he said. “Lobster, seafood, crabs. Not so different.”