Ohio team ousted in LL World Series
Hamilton lost, 6-1, to Oswego, Ore., which advanced to the semifinals.
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Even with a case of the sniffles, Levi Rudolph didn’t mind pitching through on-and-off rain, a stiff breeze and cool temperatures that made it seem more like early March than mid-August.
Rudolph pitched four-plus effective innings and drove home a run on a bunt single as Lake Oswego, Ore., defeated Hamilton, Ohio, 6-1 Tuesday to advance to the Little League World Series semifinals.
“The last couple days, I had a little cold, but I’ve played in these conditions all year,” said the 13-year-old Rudolph, who hails from the rainy Pacific Northwest. “I really don’t think about these pressure situations.”
In other games Tuesday, Tokyo, Japan defeated White Rock, British Columbia, 7-1; and Maracaibo, Venezuela, routed Apeldoorn, Netherlands, 21-2.
The tournament resumed Tuesday after the full slate of five games Monday was postponed because of a steady rain.
Rainy day
Tuesday wasn’t much better. The sun never came out over South Williamsport, with a drizzle falling much of the day. Temperatures were in the 60s, though the breeze made it feel even cooler.
Heavier downpours later Tuesday force the game between Walpole, Mass., and Warner Robins, Ga. to be suspended in the second inning. That game will be resumed today at 11 a.m.
The late game between Taiwan and Mexico never even started, and was also postponed to today at noon.
But this was perfect weather for Lake Oswego, said Clyde Weiss, father of Oregon center fielder Michael Weiss.
“This is how we play from April 1 to May 15,” he said, hands in his pockets as he watched from the stands.
Austin Andrews led off the bottom of the first with an opposite-field homer to right, part of a two-run inning for Lake Oswego (2-1), which never trailed.
Good pitch, good homer
“I just saw a pitch I liked and I drove it out of the park,” the 12-year-old Andrews said. “It was awesome.”
Hamilton (1-2) closed to 2-1 in the second after John Cornett’s RBI single to left scored Brandon Green.
But it was one of just two hits allowed by Rudolph, who said he relied on his fastball after losing confidence in his curve.
In the fifth, Rudolph drove in a runner from third after dropping a bunt toward first with the third baseman creeping in toward the plate.
The game was well in hand by then, though, and the team was serenaded by chants of “Here we go Lakers, here we go!”