Iowa breathes sigh of relief after earning victory

BANGOR – Urbandale, Iowa’s 5-2 victory over Freehold Township, N.J. on Monday provided a sense of relief to manager John Hoberg and his team, which was anxious for a win in World Series competition.

Until knocking off the defending Senior League World Series champion, this group of Urbandale players and coaches had gone 0-5 in international competition.

Hoberg and all but one of the players on this year’s Senior League World Series squad competed in the 2003 Junior League World Series, only to lose all four games in pool play.

“Two years ago we lost 1-0 in eight innings to the eventual champion, and we lost 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh to Massachusetts,” said Hoberg, manager of both the 2003 Junior League team and this year’s Senior League contingent representing the U.S. Central.

The Urbandale team opened this year’s SLWS with a 6-4 loss to Latin America champion Santiago Veraguas, Panama, a defeat that lingered into the early stages of Monday’s game against Freehold Township.

“The first couple innings we were kind of dead,” said pitcher-first baseman Jared Norris. “It was frustrating [Sunday] night, and it was a long bus ride home after the game even though it was only five minutes. This was a big win for us today.”

A loss against Freehold Township would have left Urbandale 0-2 in Pool B with two games remaining. It wouldn’t have eliminated the Iowans from title contention – the 2003 Urbandale Senior League team reached the semifinals with a 2-2 pool record – but certainly would have negated any remaining margin for error.

“We just needed to get a win here to get going,” Norris said. “But to come back against the world champions isn’t easy, either.”

“It pretty much was a must-win for us, that’s how we were looking at it,” said pitcher-infielder Jeremy Schuck.

Schuck epitomized the recuperative powers of youth, and of baseball. Schuck lasted just two innings as the starting pitcher against Panama. He also struck out three times and hit into a double play, and was benched at the outset of his team’s game against Freehold Township.

“I just tried to forget about last night and put it out of my head,” Schuck said. “I had a bad night at the plate and a rough night pitching. Me and the coach got into a little argument, so then I just came back in and tried to do what I could, get a couple of hits and knock some runs in.”

Schuck came on to play a big role off the bench against Freehold Township, going 2-for-2 with two singles – one a two-run hit that gave his team the lead for good in the fourth.

“He took it like a man and did what was needed for the team today,” said Hoberg. “He hit the way he’s capable of hitting, and hopefully it gets him on a big-time roll.”

Wednesday’s schedule revised

Wednesday’s Senior League World Series schedule has been revised to accommodate the completion of a game between Freehold Township, N.J. and Tbilisi, Georgia, that was suspended after one inning Sunday night due to inclement weather.

The resumption of that game, slated for 9 a.m. Wednesday, will kick off what is essentially a five-game day of pool play. That contest will be picked up in the second inning with Freehold Township leading 8-1.

The times of Wednesday’s first two originally scheduled games scheduled for Wednesday have been adjusted and are now the following:

. Agana, Guam, vs. Thunder Bay, Ontario, 11:30 a.m.

. Santiago Veraguas, Panama, vs. Tbilisi, Georgia, 2 p.m.

Wednesday’s final two games will begin at their originally scheduled times, with Freehold Township, N.J. against Marksville, La. at 5 p.m. and Bangor against Clarkesville, Ga. at 8 p.m.

Hope for the hosts

Don’t think there’s any championship hopes for the host team in a World Series?

Look no further than this year’s Big League (ages 17-18) World Series held at Easley, S.C.

The host team, South Carolina District 1, won the BLWS that concluded Aug. 6. The hosts finished second in their pool with a 3-1 record, then defeated Maracaibo, Venezuela 7-5 in the semifinals before upending California District 13 in the championship game … Expect some similarities in next year’s SLWS field, if this year’s Junior League World Series is any indication. Freehold Township, N.J. and Pearl City, Hawaii both have teams playing this week in the JLWS being held at Taylor, Mich.

And Agana, Guam, has a team in the Little League World Series, meaning that Asia-Pacific program may be making yet another trip to the SLWS when those 11- and 12-year-olds reach ages 15 and 16.