Rain delay fails to chill hot Tyler team

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BANGOR – In a baseball game, a cold, 20-minute rain delay would give any team the chills.

An exception may be the senior leaguers from Rose Capital East Little League in Tyler, Texas, who are used to 110-degree heat this time of year.

“That’s pretty hard,” said second baseman Sam Ivy of the Texas heat after the U.S. Southwest champs improved to 3-0 in Pool B play with an 11-1 Senior League World Series romp of U.S. East representative Freehold Township, N.J., at a damp, chilly Mansfield Stadium.

The 10-run rule went into effect in the bottom of the sixth inning, and the game was delayed approximately 20 minutes after three innings due to heavy rains.

Tyler came into Wednesday’s affair having outscored its opponents 19-1 in two series games, including an impressive 9-0 shutout of defending champ Falcon, Venezuela.

Manager Bobby Rushing’s team had the bats going right out of the gate. Brady Attaway and Dillan Rushing placed RBI singles through the left side of the infield to give Tyler a 2-0 lead.

“We just hit the ball real well and hit it where it’s supposed to be placed,” said Attaway.

“We just keep putting people on base and we just bring them in, we don’t leave people on base,” concurred Ivy.

Texas plated two more in the second, on an RBI double to left-center by Tyler Clakley, and winning pitcher Josh Holley, who had singled and advanced to third on Clakley’s hit, scored on a balk by Freehold Township (2-1) starter Daniel Klinsky.

Holley continued Texas’ string of strong starting pitching, facing only 21 batters and allowing only one run – albeit on a first-and-third double play in the third, on three hits while walking only one and striking out four.

“All of us are pretty good pitchers. We’re never going to run out of pitching,” Attaway said.

Texas put things out of reach with a six-spot in the fourth, showing no rust after the rain delay.

Tyler sent 13 men to the plate in the frame, which was highlighted by a two-run double by Seth Cashion to deep centerfield, which made it 9-1. Heath Mayo added a two-run double of his own in the frame.

It seemed no matter what New Jersey’s pitchers threw at the Tyler hitters, whether it was fastball or offspeed, the Texans were hitting the ball hard.

“We just keep our eye on the ball. We’ve seen pitches [like they throw] so we hit them hard, that’s it,” Ivy said.

R.B. Bell contributed a pair of singles and scored three runs while Justin Copeland singled, doubled and scored a pair or runs. Clakley finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored, and Mayo 2-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

Rushing scored on Grant Brandon’s chopper to first to end it in the sixth.

Anthony Cirillo was New Jersey’s only repeat hitter with a pair of singles while Gerry Plescia added a single.

U.S. SOUTHWEST 11, U.S. EAST 1

(Pool B, Wednesday, 6 innings)

Freehold, N.J. Tyler, Texas

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Cirillo, ss 3 0 2 0 Mayo, lf 4 2 2

Klinsky, p 1 0 0 0 Clakley, ss 4 1 2

Wcwsk, p-cf2 0 0 0 Bell, 2b-pr 3 3 2 0

Kropa, cf 0 0 0 0 Ivy, 2b 1 0 0 0

Talbot, lf 2 0 0 0 Cashion, c 3 1 2

Bllstr, 3b-p 3 0 0 0 Attaway, 3b 4 0 1

Leroy, c 2 0 0 0 Krebs, pr-rf 0 0 0

Parisi, rf 0 0 0 0 Rushing, rf 2 0 1

Hohmn, 1b 2 0 0 0 Cannon, rf 2 0 1

Plscia, rf-2b 2 1 1 0 Brandon, 1b 3 0

Prvs, 2b-c 2 0 0 0 Copeland, cf 3 2 0

Gillis, cf-3b 1 0 0 0 Holley, p 3 0

Lewis, p 1 0 0 0

Totals 30 11 14 8 21 1 3 0

Freehold, N.J. 001 000 – 1

Tyler, Texas 220 601 – 11

One out when winning run scored

E-Cirillo, Ballester; Clakley; DP-Clakley-Brandon; LOB-Freehold Township, N.J. 3, Tyler, Texas 7; 2B-Mayo 2, Clakley, Cashion, Copeland; CS-Cashion

Freehold, N.J. IP H R ER BB SO

Klinsky (L) 2 6 4 4 1 0

Ballester 1 1/3 6 5 5 1 1

Lewis 2 1/3 2 2 1 2 2

Tyler, Texas

Holley (W) 6 3 1 1 1 4

Klinsky pitched to five batters in the third

WP-Ballester, Lewis

T-1:50; A-600