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Little League

Spring Hill wins opener in Dixie World Series

Danny Gendusa's hitting and Nic Pasarela's pitching spark the squad.

By LARRY BUGG
Published August 11, 2005

Danny Gendusa ripped two doubles, scored one run and had an RBI, leading the Spring Hill National Minors (9-10) baseball team to a 3-0 win over Midland (S.C.) on Tuesday in their opening game of the Dixie World Series in Auburn, Ala.

Nic Pasarela was the winning pitcher after working two innings.

Spring Hill was scheduled to play two games Wednesday due to rainouts. The squad was to meet the winner of the Tuesday Tennessee-Virginia contest, then an opponent to be determined.

Spring Hill's 5:30 p.m. tournament opener was postponed from Monday to Tuesday and didn't start until 8. The team, which produced just five hits, scored in the second inning on a single by Gabe Abbadessa after a leadoff double from Gendusa. In the third, Mason Arroyo reached home on a wild pitch. Arroyo scored in the fourth inning on a Gendusa double. Spring Hill manager David Smith was impressed with the people who followed his club to the World Series.

"The fans were outstanding," Smith said. "We have close to 50 here."

The squad survived three errors. "We overcame some uncommon defensive problems," Smith said. "We misjudged a couple of fly balls.

"It was damp, wet weather," he said. "It was pretty difficult to move in the outfield. We had errors that could have hurt us."

The players didn't like waiting a day for their first game.

"There was a lot of anxiousness and disappointment in not playing on Monday," Smith said.

"Once we got out on the field, they just performed the way they performed during the state tournament."

The victory was Spring Hill's eighth consecutive, and the players had some enjoyable moments before the game.

"We went to the Auburn University football practice and went down on the field to mingle with the players," Smith said. "It has been an excellent experience except for the weather."

Smith thought winning, though, was a major lift. "It's always nice to jump into the winner's bracket," he said. "We played an excellent game, as did South Carolina.

"Being in the winner's bracket makes it a bit easier," Smith said. "We still have our work cut out for us."

[Last modified August 11, 2005, 00:42:17]