Hawaii blanks Bangor New Jersey up next for Pearl City

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BANGOR – Host Bangor’s run through pool play at the 2006 Senior League World Series – which began with the dramatics of a no-hitter last Sunday – ended in the spirit of sportsmanship Thursday as the Maine District 3 champions lost to undefeated Pearl City, Hawaii, 8-0, at Mansfield Stadium.

Nothing strategic was on the line for either team, since Pearl City already had clinched first place in Pool A and Bangor’s hopes of sneaking into second place were dashed earlier in the day when Yorktown, Va., edged Regina, Saskatchewan, 4-3, to earn the pool’s second berth to Friday’s semifinals.

So the teams merely went out and played ball.

“Today’s game was a game between friends,” said Bangor manager Ron St. Pierre. “[Pearl City manager] Gary [Nakamoto] and I have created a relationship between us and the Hawaiian team. He’s a real gentlemen. Our guys were playing so I could give everyone some experience in the game, and he knew that we weren’t always playing what you would call our first nine, and he played it very graciously.

“We had a great time. Our guys had a great time, and their boys were really nice about it. We’re rooting for them now.”

Pearl City righthanders Jordan Casarez and John Abreu combined to pitch a five-hitter, with Casarez striking out seven and walking no one over the first six innings and Abreu coming on for a 1-2-3 seventh.

“They did their job, and that’s all you can ask from the boys,” said Nakamoto.

Shortstop Jason Rasa, one of eight returning players from the 2005 Pearl City team that lost to Urbandale, Iowa, in the SLWS championship game, had two RBI singles in the first three innings as the Hawaiians built a 5-0 lead against Bangor righthander Jordan Clarke.

“Last year has given us a lot of motivation,” Rasa said. “We’ve watched the videos a lot to see how we lost, and once we reached here again we set the goal that we were going to win the whole thing this year.”

Carlton Tanabe also singled twice and scored three runs, while Jordan DeKneef tripled and Bryson Nakamura and Nainoa Tampos each doubled for the U.S. West champions, which will play U.S. East champ Bloomfield, N.J., in a 4:30 p.m. semifinal Friday.

Clarke tripled and doubled for Bangor, while Ryan Larochelle added two singles to finish the tournament with a .700 batting average (7-for-10) over four games.

A sacrifice fly by Nakamura and an RBI single by Rasa staked Pearl City to a 2-0 lead. Rasa hit an RBI single in the third, and Tampos followed with a two-run double as the lead grew to 5-0.

DeKneef hit a one-out triple to left-center in the Pearl City fourth and scored on a wild pitch. Bryson Namba later reached on an error and scored on Tanabe’s single to left, and Tanabe came home with Pearl City’s final run on a two-out double to right by Nakamura.

Clarke, who no-hit Regina, Saskatchewan, 3-0 in the tournament opener, pitched his second complete game in five days for the Maine District 3 champs. He allowed 10 hits while striking out six, walking three and hitting a batter for Bangor, which finished 1-3 with losses to Makati City, Philippines, Yorktown, Va., and Pearl City after the opening victory.

“As far as thee experience is concerned, I think they all grow,” said St. Pierre. “You’re a hero one day with a no-hitter, and then you come back and lose a tough one and then you really get slapped around.

“I think it’s a character builder, but they’ve all survived it and were having a great time today.”

US WEST 8, MAINE DISTRICT 3 0

Bangor, Maine (1-3) Pearl City, Hawaii (4-0)

Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI

Masters, rf 4 0 0 0 Nakayama, cf 1 1 0

Clarke, p 4 0 2 0 Poentis, cf 2 0 0

Gallant, ss 2 0 0 0 Kiyota, rf 0 1 0

Duff, 2b 1 0 0 0 Namba, rf 2 1 0

Larochelle, cf 3 0 2 0 Sugitaya, 2b 0 0

Brookings, lf 1 0 1 0 Tanabe, 2b 2 1

Dionne, lf 2 0 0 0 Nakamura, 1b 3 0 2

Kelley, 2b-ss 2 0 0 0 Rasa, ss 2 2

Hansen, 3b 3 0 0 0 Abreu, ss-p 2 0 0

Gray, 1b 0 0 0 0 Tampos, 3b 3 0 2

McDade, c 3 0 0 0 Domingo, c 3 0 0

Larochelle, 1b-3b 1 0 0 0 Casarez, p-ss 3 0

Cox, 1b-3b 2 0 0 0 Dekneef, lf 3 1 0

Totals 28 0 5 0 Totals 26 8 10 7

Maine 000 000 0 – 0

Hawaii 203 300 x – 8

E-Clarke, Hansen; Abreu; LOB-Maine 8; Hawaii 6; 2B-Clarke; Nakamura, Tampos; 3B-Clarke; Dekneef; S-Kiyota; SF-Nakamura; SB-Nakayama, Tanabe

Maine IP H R ER BB SO

Clarke (L, 1-1) 6 10 8 6 3 6

Hawaii IP H R ER BB SO

Casarez (W, 1-0) 6 5 0 0 0 7

Abreu 1 0 0 0 0 0

HBP-Nakayama (by Clarke); Kelley (by Casarez); WP-Clarke 2; Casarez; PB-Domingo; T-2:07; ATT-850