KAU Kings

In the words of the Kennett Kings’ newest philosopher, Jake Freeman:  “Panama may have had a great day, but we have great lives.”

That was his sentiment after the Eastern Regional Champion KAU Kings lost 2-1 to Chitre, Panama in the Little League International Senior Division World Series Championship. For a team that, in the words of Coach Mike Pechin, “was walking a thin emotional line and even the slightest little thing might make it go ‘boom’,” Freeman’s words may have cemented a lesson that Manager Todd Duerr and his coaching staff hoped they would learn on their trip to Bangor, Maine for the World Series:  it’s not about baseball and it’s not just about you.

During the King’s journey through Districts to the World Series to an “unofficial” U.S. Championship, Duerr said that “Just working hard, hanging around one another, enjoying each other, developing friendships, and experiencing this unbelievable time together has helped this team cope with much more than a group of boys this age should be expected to.”

Tucker Reese made five-hour commutes to and from Sectionals to be with his mother in the final days of her long battle with cancer. Drew Jarmuz dealt with the death of his grandfather during Regionals. Freeman’s grandmother is in hospice fighting cancer, too. And Eric Duerr’s concussion added another calamity to deal with.

So, how tough could it be to deal with Panama starting pitcher Javier Garcia’s 91-mile-per-hour fastball and 67-mile-per-hour knee-buckling curveball? Well, tough enough. Garcia—reported to be signing a contract with the New York Mets—grew stronger in his apparent quest to singlehandedly win the championship.

Panama’s top two hitters, their manager and a coach were suspended because of unsportsmanlike behavior in their semifinal against Martinezville, Ga. Garcia did his best to account for their absences. He dominated the USA East team’s hitters when he needed to, especially when the Kings gave the overwhelming crowd of KAU supporters — not only from Kennett Square — but from both the American and International delegations — and themselves hope for a world championship when they tried to rally in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Down 2-1 to Chitre, Freeman beat a short-armed throw from Panama third baseman Edgardo Sandoval and Eric Takhousian followed with a single up the middle. Dan Garver sacrificed to move Freeman to third and Takoushain to second. With one out, Garcia struck out Chris Tucker on four pitches and enticed Jarmuz into hitting three straight foul balls, the third of which was caught by Chitre first baseman Carlos Espinoza to end the game. Mike Pechin said, “We got beat by a 16-year-old with major league quality stuff.”

Kennett Square starting pitcher Alex Pechin matched Garcia’s efficiency through the third inning.  Both Pechin and Garcia pitched completed games and relied primarily on their defense to keep their opponents off-base. But Garcia’s eight strikeouts in crucial situations shut down several possible Kings’ rallies.

In the top of the fourth, KAU shifted Ryan Barrett from catcher to third base, Andrew Jones from first base to catcher, and Reese from third base to first. The strategy was to insure that Barrett could pitch in relief if needed. [Little League rules dictate that any player who catches in to the fourth inning cannot pitch afterward.] Edgardo Sandoval hit the first pitch he saw to Barrett and just beat Barrett’s throw to first base.  On the next play, Reese turned an unassisted double play at first, snagging a line drive by Garcia and tagging out Sandoval leading off the bag. Carlos Espinoza flied out to left field for the third out on a smooth over-the-shoulder catch by Tucker.

The Eastern Champs took the lead in the bottom of the fourth with one out. Joe Zirolli doubled to left-center field. Reese followed with a decelerating line drive to the Chitre second baseman, who tried to throw out Zirolli at third. Zirolli slid in safely after knocking the ball out of the third baseman’s glove. KAU’s substituting for Barrett at catcher in the top of the fourth became even more crucial because Zirolli jammed his pitching hand. He was in line to be the first reliever if Pechin couldn’t finish the game.

With Zirolli at third and Reese at first, Freeman seemed to rattle Garcia by twice attempting a safety squeeze. He worked a walk to load the bases. Takoushian then fisted a fielder’s choice to the second baseman to drive in Zirolli with KAU’s only run.

Panama took the lead for good in the top of the sixth. Gallardo singled into right field and barely beat Zirolli’s throw from the outfield to first base.  Frias worked a walk, Pechin’s first of the game. Then some rare defensive lapses by the Kings directly led to the 2-1 Panama lead. Takoushian slipped near the second base bag and made a late throw to first base, allowing Gallardo to score. Frias and Sandoval both advanced one base on a passed ball. Garcia popped out to the pitcher for the second out. Frias scored the go-ahead run on another passed ball before Espinoza flied out deep to centerfield to end the top of the sixth inning.

ESPN televised a short ceremony by the Kennett Square team and their coaches, who, in some cases, were their fathers. The Kings presented a special gift to Eric Duerr, who sported a neck collar, special facemask and sunglasses for his closeup on national television. [Ironically, it was the Chitre winning pitcher Garcia who collided with Duerr at the plate when Duerr sustained his concussion.] When the KAUers gathered Duerr’s equipment after the pool play loss to Panama, they found in his catcher’s mitt a baseball.  The team autographed it, labeling it the “Band of Brothers’” ball. Kings’ Manager and Eric’s father Todd Duerr, his voice filled with emotion, said, “You held on to the ball, the runner was out, you protected your team, you helped get them here. Now they’re going to carry you the rest of the way.”

The World Series finalist and unofficial “U.S. Champions” almost did.

* KAU Communication Coordinator Mary Walter contributed to this story.