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Power foils perseverance

Dunedin fights until the end, but Georgia comes away with the 5-0 win and a Little League World Series berth.

By BRANDON WRIGHT
Published August 12, 2006

GULFPORT - Colyn O' Connell refused to give in.

The Dunedin first baseman kept fouling off two-strike pitches - four in all - with two outs in the sixth and down five runs.

Just one more swing.

Just one more at-bat.

Just one more game.

O'Connell eventually lined a ball into the left-centerfield gap, but was just barely thrown out at second trying to stretch it into a double. And in many ways, that was the story of the game for Dunedin: just not quite enough.

Instead, Georgia has travel plans for Williamsport, Pa., after defeating Dunedin 5-0 Friday night in the championship game of the Little League Southeast Regional at Arnold S. White Stadium.

"These kids just kept battling and battling all the way until the end," Dunedin manager Matt Morrow said. "You saw it in the last inning with that last at-bat. That's what they've done all summer."

Georgia heads back to Columbus before leaving for Pennsylvania and the World Series on Monday.

"(Dunedin) is a great team and we had to bring it (Friday)," Georgia manager Randy Morris said. "They hit the ball well and there was a reason they made it to the regional finals."

Georgia also beat Dunedin, representing Florida, 10-6 Monday. The losses were Dunedin's only two of the summer.

"They're a good team and our kids have absolutely nothing to hang their heads about," Morrow said. "They had a great run and put the city of Dunedin back on the baseball map again."

The last time Dunedin reached the Southeast Regional in 1991, the team won the tournament, advancing to the World Series.

"I was shocked we lost," catcher B.J. Anderson said. "I just can't believe it."

Starting pitcher Noah Klassen did his best to hold the powerful Georgia lineup in check. Klassen scattered six hits and struck out seven, but had seven walks. Three of the hitters who walked came around to score.

"Klassen was every bit as good as advertised," Morris said. "But we were able to scratch across some runs early and that was big."

Georgia threatened to break open the game in the early innings, but Klassen pitched his way out of trouble. He gave up a run on a wild pitch in the first, but got a popup and a strikeout with runners on second and third to end the inning. He then worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam an inning later to keep it at 1-0.

"Noah pitched fantastic," Morrow said. "He kept us in the game and was poised out there."

Dunedin had chances, hitting Georgia starter Kyle Carter better than any team in the tournament. Dunedin finished with five hits but left five on base, including two in the first. It had runners on second and third in the inning with one out, but came up empty.

"Things could have been different if we get one or two (runs) there," Morrow said.

Carter, whose fastball was clocked at 81 mph in the first inning, said he couldn't remember the last time he gave up five hits in a game. According to ESPN, that 81 mph at the Little League pitching distance (46 feet) would translate to 106 mph from major-league distance (60 feet, 6 inches).

"I gave up some hits, but they can swing the bats up and down the order," Carter said. "They're big guys hit and so could their little guys."

Carter finished with 14 strikeouts, tying a Southeast Regional final record. He didn't allow a run in 13 innings, fanning 33 during that span. Carter also tied the tournament record with six home runs.

"The kid is just unbelievable," Morris said.

O'Connell finished with a pair of hits, while Will Honeycutt and Koehl each added singles. Josh Brackenhamer doubled in the second inning.

Patrick Stallings' opposite-field homer in the third made it 2-0 before Josh Lester extended the lead to 4-0 with a two-run single in the fourth. Georgia's final run came on a Dunedin error. Dunedin finished with an uncharacteristic two on the night.

"We'd played such good defense throughout the summer," Morrow said. "It was just one of those days."

Dunedin finished the postseason 16-2, and Morrow said the team will have memories of this tournament for years to come.

"They're 12-year-old kids; they'll bounce back," he said. "They're going to look back on this in 20 years and smile. I'm proud of each and every one of them."

[Last modified August 12, 2006, 02:21:13]