BANGOR – A ticket to watch the top two Senior League baseball teams in the world battle for the World Series title just got cheaper.

Senior League World Series tournament director Mike Brooker announced ticket prices for Saturday’s 3 p.m. series final will be $5, down from the original price of $10.

The move is an effort to draw more fans, especially families, to the 3 p.m. game between U.S. South representative Cartersville, Ga., and Latin America representative Falcon, Venezuela.

Saturday’s championship will be broadcast live on ESPNU and rebroadcast on ESPN2 on Aug. 30 at 2 p.m.

“We want the stands full,” Brooker said.

Wong drawing pro interest

From Mansfield Stadium to Fenway Park?

It’s a move that could be in the bright future of Kolten Wong, the catcher for the U.S. West team from Hilo, Hawaii.

Wong’s father, manager Kaha Wong, said his son has been contacted by some professional teams and there are several college programs also interested in him.

The Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins, and Colorado Rockies are all in the mix. Kolten Wong has had overtures from Arizona, Santa Clara, Hawaii, UC-Irvine.

“He’s had many offers from Division I and some pro teams really interested in him,” Kaha Wong said after Friday afternoon Hilo fell to Falcon, Venezuela, 5-4 in nine innings in a semifinal game. “He’s probably the most aggressive [hitter], not because he’s my son, but he’s one of the best hitters in this tournament.”

The 5-foot-9, 170-pounder makes up for his smaller stature with a quick bat. Kolten Wong got a lot of practice this summer when he was invited to an elite camp in Ohio earlier this summer. Pitchers there routinely throw in the mid-90s, Kaha Wong said.

Kaha Wong will leave the decision on his son’s future – go college or turn pro – up to Kolten.

“He would love to go pro, but we’ve talked about it,” Kaha Wong said. “If [he’s not drafted] in the rounds where he’ll be well taken care of by the pro team that selects him, he’ll just go to college and we’ll see where he goes from there.”

Kaha Wong said Blake Amaral, who was also one of the top hitters in the Senior League World Series this week, is also drawing attention from colleges and pro scouts.

Tradition boosts Cartersville

Cartersville, Ga., boasts a rich baseball tradition.

The community produced the 2002 Junior League world championship team, and Cartersville High School has a lengthy tradition as one of the state’s top schoolboy baseball programs.

Cartersville High won three consecutive state championships from 2001 to 2003 and is a perennial postseason qualifier.

The Hurricanes, coached by Stuart Chester, were ranked 19th nationally by Baseball America midway through the 2007 season.

So when Carterville Senior League manager Eric Stewart was asked about his team’s second straight errorless game after the U.S. South champions edged Tyler, Texas, 4-1 in an SLWS semifinal Friday, he quickly shared the credit.

“Our high school program deserves a lot of credit for that,” said Stewart. “Stuart Chester works with these kids diligently. I’ve coached these kids basically all of their lives. Between high school and Senior League, these kids play the same positions all year long, and they have since they were little.”

Most of the players on the Cartersville Senior League team played on the subvarsity level during the high school season, but four players – infielders Ben Bridges and Garison Boston, catcher Hank Stewart and the multi-positional Cole Payne – also were on the varsity roster.

“When Cole comes into the dugout, he doesn’t have a clue where he’s playing, because Cole can play any position on the field,” said Eric Stewart. “In this tournament he’s played first, he’s played short, he’s played center field, he’s played left field, and sometime [Saturday] you’ll probably see him on the mound. He’s very versatile.”

SLWS grad makes MLB debut

A graduate of the first Senior League World Series to be held in Bangor made his major league debut this week.

Jair Jurrjens, a pitcher from Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, who helped his native country win the 2002 SLWS, started on the mound for the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night at Jacobs Field in Cleveland against the Indians.

The 6-foot-1, 160-pound righthander pitched seven innings, allowing five hits and four earned runs while walking two and striking out three. The Indians won 5-2, with Jurrjens absorbing the loss.

Jurrjens was 1-1 in the SLWS pitching appearances in 2002. He took the loss in an 11-5 defeat to U.S. Southwest champion Houston, Texas, working 6 1/3 innings and allowing nine runs – only one earned – while striking out three and walking five.

He bounced back to pitch Curacao to a 6-2 win over Vineland, N.J., during the final day of pool play, allowing two earned runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings.

Jurrjens then got the final two outs in the 2002 championship game, an 8-4 victory over Boynton Beach, Fla. – in a game started by current University of Maine infielder Curt Smith.

Another of Jurrjens’ Curacao teammates was Eugene Offerman, the official Spanish translator at this year’s SLWS.