European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 26, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 38 the stars and stripes sports Friday August 26,1994 commentary with Taiwan out watch Venezuela Williamsport it s our National pastime but already it looks like someone else s world series. championship game of Little league baseball is still a Day away but More and More it seems like a for Mality. At the beginning of the week everybody Here was expecting a two horse race. By the close of Busi Ness wednesday that number was Cut by half. With perennial powerhouse Taiwan out of the Pic Ture few doubts remain about which nation s 12-year Olds play our game Best. That would be Venezuela was saudi Arabia s 3-2 win wednesday morning that formally did in Taiwan marking Only the second time in 19 tournament appearances that the squad from the far East did not reach the final. But it was the latin americans front running 4-1win Over those same taiwanese the Day before that scared the living daylights out of the rest of the right hander Cesar Hidalgo striking out every one of the first 12 Taiwan batters he Kikm faced and eventually getting 15jim of his 18 outs the same Way Litke Venezuela was in control. An the ease of that win coupled with wednesday night s 3-0 Vic tory Over Glace Bay Nova Scotia Only strengthened the conviction that the latin americans will be sitting top the Small scale Globe by Nightfall saturday. Had the game been on to you would have come tothe same conclusion. It want unfortunately because neither team is american which these Days is one Wayto ensure a ratings disaster. That s too bad. The taiwanese squad was a Delight to watch. The play baseball the Way old or. Doubleday himself must Nave conceived it. They hit the Ball All Over the place and occasionally with Power. They moved base runners along turned the double play and always found the Cut off Man All without spraying chewing tobacco and with a minimum of , though the kids from Venezuela this year Are even better. They re bigger. They hit the Ball a Little harder and play it a Little Slicker in the Field. And they have at least one kid and maybe two who can bring heat like Roger Clemens. My team has t seen anyone throw that fast against them Taiwan coach Cheng we Chenn said through an interpreter after the loss to Venezuela and the radar gun backed him up. Hidalgo was clocked at 75 Mph which at Little league distances made it the equivalent of a 99-Mph major league they hit real Well too Chenn added. They Are the Best we have seen late tuesday those words echoed All around la made question about it concurred Jim Hamilton manager of the Southern Champion squad from Spring Field a. Venezuela is the Best bal club to validate the Praise the latin americans will first have to go through saudi Arabia in thursday s International final and then through whichever . Entry sur Vives the Domestic Side of the bracket. But had the tournament not been rigged nearly 20years ago to make sure an american team makes it to saturday you wonder whether this year would have yielded an ail foreign final. And whether for some people that would have been too much to d like to think otherwise said Creighton Hale the president and ceo of Little league baseball Nowin his 37th year with the organization. But he added for a Long time we had to Deal wit the typical american resentment that somebody played our game better than we had complaints All the time from All Over the kids from overseas were top big too old too this to that. But the Only violation we Ever found in any of our investigations was that the districts they were draw ing kids from were too big. And we be taken care of that. -. The Only thing i Ever thought the great foreign teams proved Hale said with a chuckle is that kid anywhere can develop skills fast if they re doing some thing they Kevin Brower scores for Middleboro mass., As Brooklyn Center Minn., Catcher Luke Lachance hangs on. Little league semifinals set Williamsport a. A Justin gentiles truck put 13 in a one hitter wednesday night to give Northridge Calif., a 2-0 Victory Over Springfield va.,and set up a rematch in thursday s Little league world series and saudi Arabia playing in the International bracket were to meet thursday night in theother semifinal. Saudi Arabia stunned Taiwan 3-2, wednesday Morri ing keeping the far East champions out of the finals for just the second time in 19 world series appear ances. Venezuela beat Glace Bay Nova Scotia 3-0 in a game that had no bearing on the tournament under the Little league tie breaker Northridge could Advance Only if it won or kept Springfield from scoring five or More runs in wednesday night s round Robin finale. Gentile gave up Only a Lead off single arid two walks. V Springfield already had locked up a berth in the semifinals. Thursday s winners play saturday 11 30 . Get on an to for the Little league world series title. The . Has won the last two championships. Northridge scored its first run in the third when Gre gory Wallis reached on a fielder s Choice moved up on Gentile s single and scored on Nathaniel Dunlap s sin Gle to left off Patrick Malatino 0-1. Northridge loaded the bases in the sixth on singles by Mathew Fisher and Matthew Cassel and Peter tuber s walk. Michael Frost s sacrifice Fly scored 1-0 struck but the first two batters in the sixth and after Patrick Malatino reached on an error Mike Frato flied out to left. V Daryl Bradford briefly kept Hopes alive for Middle Boro mass., by hitting a grand slam in an 11-5 Victory Over Brooklyn Center Minn. Brooklyn Center was knocked out with the loss and Northridge s Victory later knocked out Middleboro v Bradford s grand slam off reliever Eric Tauscheck in the third inning gave Middleborn a 5-2 Lead. Brooklyn Center starter Dwayne Erickson 0-1 walked Jake Kutzy Christian Perry and Kevin Brower and gave up single to Brandon Soule to open the inning. Middlebro had been win fess until the grand slam there was a total change of attitude in tie Bench Middleboro Manger Steve my Kenn Asaide today we had a very Good hitting attack. I think the kids were kind of waiting to break Perez 1-0 gave up Only two hits in Venezuela s win Over Glace Bay. F in saudi Arabia s Victory Ronald Baptiste struck out 10 and hit a two run they Are playing in the International bracket the team from saudi Arabia is dominated by Ameri can kids whose parents work in that Middle East coun try. Even the family of first baseman Akul Nishawala see picture on Back Page is from new Jersey. Taiwan arrived with 50-3 record in by Kelly p. Kissel Williamsport a. A say it Ain t so we. Taiwan sends a team to the Little league world series and it does t make the championship game we prepared Well for this game and went Overman things but it was just bad Luck Taiwan official we Ming Tao said after saudi Arabia knocked his team out of the tournament with a 3-2 Victory. We will work harder next for Only the second time in Taiwan s 19 world series appearances it will not be in the championship game. I be been playing against Taiwan and having the beat me up several times saudi Arabia manager Loren Schoenholtz said. We re very pleased to have won this it might have been an Omen when a chartered bus carrying taiwanese fans bogged Down in the mud out Side Lamade stadium before wednesday s game. Taiwan has Seldom lost in Little league play it was 50-3 in Williamsport before this week and had never before lost to a team from Little league s euro Pean Region. A dedication to the game though someday it was the use of ineligible or Over age players helped make it Little league s most successful team. Baseball is the no. 1 sport in Taiwan. They Star with elementary school teams and they be got the weather to play year round Little league president Creighton Hale said. The coaching is excellent. If you look at their teams their kids Are All Well rounded players. They do All things Well Hale said. Since Taiwan won its first championship in 1969 a5-0 win Over Santa Clara Calif. It has dominated the sport. It won title games in the 1970s and 1980s by scores of 12-0,12-1,21-1. In Early round games against the likes of Canada saudi Arabia and other european champions it won games with scores like 24-0, 20-1,17-1 and 14-0. This year s team beat Only Glace Bay Nova Scotia.4-1. It lost 4-1 before losing to saudi Ara Bia. .".,.-/. This team is different from the teams of the past we said. The earlier teams were too serious and weren t like kids. This team has a lot of jokers on itbut there in t any joking any More loss is a loss. There is nothing you can do about it we said. Unless of course you wait until next year. Correction because of an editing error the name of the Tea saudi Arabia Defeated in the european Little league final was incorrect in yesterday s paper. Belgium lost 5-3 in the title game on aug. 6. Of
