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Pitcher's arm, bat lead team to win

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Frank Flynn hit a three-run home run and struck out nine Monday to lead Worcester, Mass., to a 6-0 victory over Fort Worth, Texas. The win clinched the top seed from Pool A.

Worcester batted around and scored four runs in the third when Flynn hit his 260-foot home run -- the fence in left-center is 205 -- to make it 3-0.

"If they throw a fastball anywhere over the plate, I'm going to try to hit it somewhere where nobody's there," Flynn said. "Fortunately, I hit it where no one was."

Zack Ford's RBI single made it 4-0.

"We came back from 4-1 in the region, which is almost like 4-0. So if we start stringing hits together, we can come back," said Fort Worth manager Jon Kelly, whose team also advanced to the semifinals. "But I didn't think we'd come back against that kid, Flynn. He's a good pitcher."

Worcester and Fort Worth finished with 2-1 records, but Worcester clinched the top seed in the pool with the win and by only allowing four runs in pool play.

Waipahu, Hawaii, also finished 2-1, but Fort Worth won the tiebreaker for the second seed and a U.S. semifinal game Wednesday against Louisville, Ky.

NETHERLANDS ANTILLES 13, RUSSIA 0 (4 INNINGS): Reinius Roosberg pitched a no-hitter for Netherlands Antilles (2-0), the second of this year's Series and only the seventh since pool play began in 1992. Dennis Neuman had two home runs, including a three-run shot in the second, to help the team clinch a berth in the semifinals. Moscow, Russia, ended pool play 0-3.

JAPAN 11, MEXICO 0 (4 INNINGS): Tatsuhiko Numakura hit a grand slam and added a three-run double and Japan (2-0) clinched a spot in the international semifinals. Yuuji Nakane pitched Monday's second no-hitter and the second in as many games for Japan. Mexico ended pool play 1-2.

VENEZUELA 9, CANADA 3: Luis Briceno hit a three-run home run for Venezuela (2-0), which could clinch a berth in the international semifinals with a win over Saudi Arabia today. Canada fell to 0-2.

HAWAII 2, MISSOURI 1: Travis Jones hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to lead Hawaii. Chance Sossamon, who was hit by a pitch, scored the only run for Missouri (0-3) on a passed ball.

JUST ANOTHER PLAYER: Fans cheered as they noticed the twin braids peeking out from Sanoe Aina's batting helmet when she strode to the plate.

The first baseman for Waipahu, Hawaii, has become a celebrity as the ninth female player in tournament history.

"Sometimes, I don't like all the attention," Aina said. "People are going, "You're the girl from Hawaii, aren't you?' And I'm just a player like anyone else."

Little League began allowing girls to play in the late 1970s, and the first to reach the World Series was Victoria Roche of Belgium in 1984.

Aina pinch-hit in Hawaii's 3-2 victory Friday over Worcester, Mass., and struck out. In the team's second game, an 8-0 loss Sunday to Fort Worth, Texas, she lined out to the second baseman, then reached base on an error.

Aina struck out in her only at-bat in Hawaii's win Monday.

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