KAU 18-year-olds in World Series again

Posted by Press Release on July 23, 2014

Mike Robinson’s been coaching baseball for 20 years, 15 at KAU Little League. It’s taken him that long to reach his first World Series. Last year his District 28 All-Stars—comprised of the best 18-years-old and under baseball players from Chester County—fell one game short. But some of the young men he’s coaching on the 2014 District 28 All-Stars already are one up on their team manager. Robinson, his squad and coaches were on a plane to Easely, South Carolina Monday for the Big League World Series after defeating District 1 Champion Delaware, 5-0 to win the Eastern title Thursday night. Players from KAU, Caln, Coatesville, and Avon Grove all will represent the Eastern Region of the U.S.

Included in that group making the trip to South Carolina will be some players who have earned their second trip to a World Series. At the end of the 2013 baseball season, the 16U Kennett Kings followed a similar path to this year’s 18-year-olds, winning the Eastern title. The Kings won it…and they made it all the way to the Senior League World Series Championship Game before losing to Panama, 2-1.

Will the result be different this year? Robinson is honest in his assessment of the local team’s chances against 10 other teams from the United States and around the world. “Despite some of the players’ experience from last year, this is big time baseball. We’re going to be a little young. Our team is mostly 17s and will be facing teams with mostly 18-year-olds.”

Thursday night’s starting pitcher Ryan Barrett, who was named the game MVP, dominated the Delaware squad. He gave up just two hits in the first inning and another two in the seventh in the 5-0 shutout.

“I just threw strikes, tried to keep the ball in the strike zone the whole game, and keep the other team off-balance, “said Barrett,. “I wanted to work through all my pitches and having [catcher] Eric Duerr back there [behind the plate] helped. He knows exactly how to call a game. ”

District 28—or Eastern Regional Champs as is the preferred moniker now—scored first when Sean Faux of KAU led off the game with a single. He advanced on a base hit by Caln’s Brian Greist and scored the first run on a wild pitch. Barrett got out a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the first after giving up two singles to the first two Delaware batters. Cruising right along, six innings later he gave up the only other two.

District 28 added another run in the fourth when Dave Villafane of KAU doubled and scored on another Delaware wild pitch. In the fifth, the 28 All-Stars chased Delaware starter from the game. Caln’s Brian Corrigan, KAU’s Philip Matranga and Sean Faux and Caln’s Brian Griest all singled to plate two runs. District 28 scored its final run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Faux. They squandered a bases-loaded opportunity when Delaware ended the inning on a rare triple play from the shortstop to the catcher to the first baseman to the catcher, nailing two District 28 runners at home plate.

As for his second trip in as many years to play in a World Series, Barrett said, “We know what to expect,” and that experience will help the new players.” What to expect includes meeting players who can’t speak English, press conferences, staying in college dorms, 10 days away from home, and maybe even a meeting with a crew from ESPN.

In addition to the team members who participated in the Senior League World Series last season are: KAU’s Sean Faux, Dave Villafane, Matt Foster, Phillip Matranga, Justin Hall, Caesar Asadi; Caln’s Brian Greist and Brian Corrigan; and Avon Grove’s Elliott Ford and Zack Swank. Members of the team who went to the Senior League World Series last year are: KAU’s Alex Pechin, Duerr, Barrett, Tucker Reese, Chris Tucker, and Eric Takhousian. Most games can be followed by signing on to the Little League website, finding the Big League tab and accessing Gamechanger.