Nichols’ two-hit relief lifts Texas U.S. Southwest tops Netherlands

loading...

BANGOR – As soon as Sean Nichols got the look, he knew something was up.

Nichols, a little-used pitcher who has played mostly shortstop this year for the U.S. Southwest representative to the Senior League World Series, was called upon to shut down Europe-Middle East-Africa in the second inning of Sunday evening’s Pool B game.

And through six innings of scoreless relief later, he did just that. Nichols scattered two hits while striking out nine and walking three for the Greater Helotes National Little League of San Antonio, Texas, in a 5-2 win over Windmills Little League of Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

It also helped Nichols that San Antonio had a four-run fifth inning to take the lead for good.

“That’s how we normally are,” he said. “That’s just how we hit. We start off slow in the beginning and start hitting in the end.”

Nichols wasn’t expecting to enter the game Sunday and he wasn’t warmed up. But Rotterdam had a 2-1 lead in the second and starter Adrian Coronado was struggling.

“I figured it out when [manager Paul Noland] called time and I saw him glance at me,” Nichols said. “It took me a while to get warm but after that I was fine.”

Rotterdam had led off with a Freddy Rudolph triple and an RBI double by Dylan Wolthuis. Noland pulled Coronado in favor of Nichols, who allowed a run to score on a groundout and gave up a double later in the inning, but not much else from there. Rotterdam had just four baserunners the rest of the way.

Nichols’ go-to pitch was his curve – more so than ever before in a game, he said – and it kept the Rotterdam batters off-balance the rest of the game.

“The curveball, that was what it was,” Rotterdam manager Paul Roodenburg said. “You saw we had a [2-1] lead and then the curveball, [we] couldn’t hit it.”

Meanwhile, with just a one-run deficit all San Antonio needed was a spark in a big inning. That came in the fifth, when the team scored four runs on five hits. Taylor Saathoff hit an RBI double to drive in Bryan Nolan, while Nathaniel Muhleman and Scott Treiber each added an RBI single.

Two of the runs in that inning were unearned because of a Rotterdam error in left field.

Nichols was also backed up by error-free defense, two Rotterdam baserunners caught stealing and another put out at home plate.

Rotterdam starter Tim Roodenburg allowed seven hits while striking out five and walking three.

San Antonio will face Latin America representative Venezuela Monday at 1 p.m., while Rotterdam plays Freehold Township, N.J., of the U.S. East at 8 p.m.

U.S. SOUTHWEST 5, EMEA 2

San Antonio (1-0) Rotterdam (0-1)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Zapata, 3b 4 1 1 0 Roodenburg, p 4 0 0

Hanson, lf 2 1 0 1 van Elk, cf 2 0 0

Cunningham, cf 2 0 0 0 Vrolijk, rf 1 0

Muhleman, cf 2 0 1 1 Giezen, rf 1 0 0

Navarro, 1b-2b 2 1 0 0 Rudolph, ss 3 0

Treiber, 2b 2 0 1 1 Wolthuis, 1b 2 1 1

Mendoza, rf-1b 2 0 1 0 Vervoorn, lf 2 0

Coronado, p-2b 1 0 1 0 Roza, lf-2b 0 0

Martinez, rf 2 0 0 0 van Elewout, 2b 1 0 0

Noland, 2b-ss 3 1 1 0 van de Wal, lf 1 0

Nichols, ss-p 2 0 0 0 Hagendoorn, c 2 0

Ayon, c 0 0 0 0 Stadthouders, 3b 3 0

Saathoff, c 2 1 1 1

Totals 26 5 7 4 Totals 22 2 4 1

U.S. Southwest 010 040 0 ? 5

Europe-Middle East-Africa 020 000 0 ? 2

E?van Elewout 2, van de Wal; LOB?U.S. Southwest 5, EMEA 5; 2B?Saathoff; Wolthuis, Stadthouers; 3B?Rudolph; DP?EMEA; S?Hanson, Nichols; Roza

U.S. Southwest IP H R ER BB SO

Coronado 1 2 2 2 1 1

Nichols (W, 1-0) 6 2 0 0 3 9

EMEA IP H R ER BB SO

Roodenburg (L, 0-1) 7 7 5 3 3 5

HBP?Hagendoorn by Nichols; WP?Nichols 2; BK?Roodenburg; T?2:18; ATT?700