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Apopka reaches U.S. final

©Associated Press

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 23, 2001

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Will Blankenship hit a three-run homer in the first inning, leading Apopka to a 6-1 victory Wednesday night against Brownsburg, Ind., in a U.S. semifinal at the Little League World Series.

With runners on first and second, Blankenship hit a shot well over the left-field fence for his third home run of the series.

Justin Lafavers (2-0) struck out four of the first five Brownsburg batters, giving up three hits. He walked two and finished with seven strikeouts.

T.J. Baumet (1-1) took the loss.

Apopka (3-1) advanced to Saturday's U.S. championship against the winner of today's semifinal between the Bronx, N.Y., and Oceanside, Calif.

The Bronx beat Apopka 5-0 in pool play when Danny Almonte threw the third perfect game in Little League World Series history, striking out 16 Apopka batters.

Zach Zwieg's run-scoring single scored Stuart Tapley in the fifth, and Tapley hit a run-scoring double in the sixth to put Apopka up 6-1.

Michael Bradburn scored on a grounder in the fourth inning for Brownsburg's only run.

Indiana (3-1) won all three games in pool play against Louisiana, Rhode Island and California. Florida finished second, beating Washington and Iowa after the loss to the Bronx.

JAPAN 15, MEXICO 5: Atsushi Mochizuki hit a grand slam in the fifth inning and finished with six RBI.

Japan (3-1) will play either Guam or the Netherlands Antilles in the international championship Saturday. The second semifinal will be played today.

Takaaki Ohno walked to start the fifth, and Masayuki Itoh was hit by a pitch before Yousuki Nomura's bunt single loaded the bases.

Mochizuki's homer, which soared about 270 feet to centerfield, made it 5-0. The outfield wall at Howard J. Lamade Stadium is 205 feet from home plate.

Tatsuya Suzuki scored later in the fifth on a run-scoring single by Natsuki Sugisawa.

Ciro Castillo hit a three-run shot -- his second homer of the series -- in the bottom of the fifth to bring Mexico within 6-3.

The game got out of hand in the sixth, with Japan scoring nine times: four on hits, one on a fielding error, two on wild pitches, one on a bases-loaded walk and one on a fielder's choice. Nomura's two-run double made it 15-3.

Sugisawa (1-0) got the win in his first start of the series, striking out five and walking none. Pedro Rodriguez (0-1) took the loss.

Mexico (2-2) had scoring opportunities early -- recording five hits in the first three innings -- but couldn't convert.

Japan won its pool with wins over Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands Antilles and a loss to Panama. Mexico was second, losing to Guam before beating Canada and Russia.

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