BANGOR – The Mansfield Stadium mound wasn’t a comfortable place in Wednesday morning’s Senior League World Series Pool A game.

Pitchers in the matchup between U.S. West champion El Rio Little League of Oxnard, Calif., and Canada winner Whalley Little League of Surrey, British Columbia, combined for 16 walks, three hit batters and three wild pitches, giving both teams plenty of runners on base.

It was El Rio, however, that got the timely hits to move those runners. Ryan Hotchkiss and David Oropeza combined to drive in seven runs and score another three as El Rio rallied and held off Surrey 10-7.

“We knew we had to come back and do something,” Hotchkiss said. “We responded. We did OK.”

Hotchkiss smacked a two-run double off a curveball outside the strike zone in the fifth and hit a two-run triple in a five-run sixth inning.

The sixth inning started the way several others did for both teams – the leadoff batter reached.

Oropeza beat out a bad throw to first to start the inning and came around on a stolen base, a fielding error and a wild pitch. Two walks, two hit batters, a fielder’s choice, a sacrifice fly and two doubles later, El Rio had four more runs.

“[The leadoff walks] got our big hitters up and we came through with hits,” Hotchkiss said.

Hotchkiss eventually earned the win but not before giving up seven hits, five runs (all earned), walking five and striking out four.

He was helped out by his defense in the fifth when rightfielder Angel Navarro made a diving catch for the second out after Hotchkiss had walked two in a row.

But Surrey’s Sean Donaldson hit a two-run double later in the inning to tie the game at 5-5. El Rio answered with the five-run sixth and held Surrey to one run in the sixth and another in the seventh.

Four Surrey pitchers gave up seven hits and allowed nine walks, but three errors led to five unearned runs.

“We went though too many pitchers today and we couldn’t get ahead of their leadoff batters,” Canada manager Grant MacDougall said. “We couldn’t get into the strike zone. … They capitalized on our mistakes.”

In the second inning Surrey took a 3-0 lead. The Canadians found gaps in El Rio’s outfield and also went to a short game with a leadoff double by Chad Stang, who was sacrificed to third by Brett LeClair. Stang scored thanks to Donaldson, who laid down a suicide-squeeze bunt. Andrew Reyes singled and scored on a Matt Derish double and Derish came in on an Ian Watt single.

Oropeza tied it for El Rio with a three-run double in the fourth.

El Rio goes to 2-1 with a final pool-play game Thursday at 8 p.m. The West will face host Bangor, the champ from Maine District 3. It was the last pool-play game for 2-2 Surrey, which waits to see if it advances to the semis.

U.S. WEST 10, CANADA 7

Oxnard, Calif. (2-1) Surrey, B.C. (2-2)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

E. Navarro, ss 3 2 0 0 Watt, cf-p 4 1

Larios, 2b 3 1 0 0 Croasdale, lf 1 0 0

Regalado, cf-rf 2 1 0 1 Beaudry, 1b 3 0

Hotchkiss, p-cf 5 2 3 4 Springer, c 2 0

Barroso, lf 1 0 1 0 Lambert, rf-p 0 1 1

Escobar, lf 1 1 0 0 McKinnon, rf-p 1 0 0

Ostrove, 3b 3 1 1 1 Stang, lf-cf 4 2 0

Ramirez, 3b 1 0 0 0 LeClair, 3b 0 0 0

Oropeza, rf 3 0 1 3 Crowhurst, 3b 2 0 0

A. Navarro, rf-p 1 1 0 0 Donaldson, ss 3 3

Espinoza, c 1 0 0 0 Reyes, 2b 1 0 0

Segovia, 1b 3 1 1 0 Cameron, 2b 3 1 1

Derish, p 2 1 1 1

Mullen, rf 1 1 1 0

Totals 27 10 7 9 Totals 27 7 9 7

U.S. West 000 325 0 ? 10

Canada 030 021 1 ? 7

E?Larios, Escobar; Watt, LeClair, Cameron; LOB?West 9, Canada 9; 2B?Hotchkiss, Ostrove, Oropeza; Springer, Stang; 3B?Hotchkiss; DP?West 1, Canada 1; S?Crowhurst, Donaldson; SF?Regalado; Lambert; SB?E. Navarro 2, Regalado, Ostrove, A. Navarro

U.S. West IP H R ER BB SO

Hotchkiss (W,1-0) 5 7 5 5 5 4

Oropeza 1 1 1 1 2 0

A. Navarro 1 1 1 0 0 1

Canada IP H R ER BB SO

Derish 3 1/3 3 3 3 3 2

Lambert (L,0-1) 1 2/3 1 4 2 3 2

McKinnon 0* 0 2 0 1 0

Watt 2 3 1 0 2 0

HBP?Escobar by Derish, E. Navarro by McKinnon, Escobar by Watt; WP?Oropeza; McKinnon, Derish; BK?Hotchkiss; T?2:28; ATT?200 (est.)

*faced two batters in the sixth