AMERICAN LEGION WORLD SERIES: MID VALLEY SLAMMED LATE BLAST, UMPIRE SWITCH HELP DERAIL WIN STREAK BLUE SPRINGS 7, MID VALLEY 3.Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer The Mid Valley American Legion baseball American Legion Baseball is a variety of amateur baseball played by teenage boys in 45 states in the USA. Purpose According to the American Legion, the purpose of American Legion Baseball is to give young men "an opportunity to develop their skills, personal fitness, team likes to think of itself as one that can't be held back and has a chance as long as it is playing. But the team that has endured injury, the disqualification dis·qual·i·fi·ca·tion n. 1. The act of disqualifying or the condition of having been disqualified. 2. Something that disqualifies: illness as a disqualification for enlistment in the army. of one of its pitchers and a near disqualification of the entire team couldn't overcome the additional challenge it was presented Saturday. A mid-game change of home-plate umpires dramatically turned the tide of the game, with a ninth-inning grand slam grand slam n. 1. The winning of all the tricks during the play of one hand in bridge and other whist-derived card games. 2. Sports The winning of all the major or specified events, especially on a professional circuit. by the opposition capping Mid Valley's collapse in a 7-3 loss to Blue Springs, Mo., on the second day of the 19-and-under World Series in Bartlesville, Okla. The loss ended a streak of seven consecutive victories for Mid Valley (33-8), which needs a victory today against Cherryville, N.C. (44-9), to earn one of its division's two berths in Monday's semifinals. Each of the division's four teams are 1-1 entering the final day of pool play. Mid Valley's fortunes quickly turned after a 20-minute delay in the fifth inning because the original home-plate umpire was hit by a foul ball and had to leave the game. ``We were cruising,'' Mid Valley assistant Julio Marcial said. ``Then everything changed in the fifth inning. ... It's a new strike zone, the zone was tighter. There were some questionable calls. ``It really changed the momentum. It just really changed the whole complexion of the game.'' Mid Valley, which had nine hits and only three strikeouts while leading 3-0 in the first five innings, went hitless and struck out five times the rest of the way. Mid Valley starter Billy Spottiswood (9-1) had six of his nine strikeouts with the first umpire. Mid Valley was twice warned by the new umpire about excessive noise, with further reprimanding meaning an expulsion from the tournament. ``Our kids were playing with the lead,'' Marcial said. ``But it seemed like we were behind because he was intimidating in·tim·i·date tr.v. in·tim·i·dat·ed, in·tim·i·dat·ing, in·tim·i·dates 1. To make timid; fill with fear. 2. To coerce or inhibit by or as if by threats. us. We didn't respond well.'' Blue Springs closed within one in the sixth inning on a home run by Matt Webb Matt Webb (Matthew Richard Webb, born 20 April 1987) is an actor, radio presenter and TV presenter. He is most notably famous for his starring role as Stephen Dudlow in the Channel 4 soap-opera Brookside in 1997 (aged 10 years). but never led until the ninth when a two-out grand slam by Brad Davidson highlighted the five-run inning. Mid Valley failed to capitalize on Cap´i`tal`ize on` v. t. 1. To turn (an opportunity) to one's advantage; to take advantage of (a situation); to profit from; as, to capitalize on an opponent's mistakes s>. earlier opportunities to break open the game. It scored only one run after loading the bases in the second inning. Luis Parra, Matt Jordan Matt Jordan (born October 13, 1975 in Aurora, Colorado) is an American soccer goalkeeper who currently plays for the Montreal Impact of USL First Division. Jordan graduated from Overland High School in Aurora, and Mando Contreras led Mid Valley's offense with two hits each. Spottiswood went 8 2/3 innings, allowing seven earned runs earned run n. Baseball A run scored without the aid of an error, used in computing earned run averages. Noun 1. earned run - a run that was not scored as the result of an error by the other team on eight hits and three walks. ``No one's down,'' Marcial said. ``The game's already forgotten. They're focused on (today). It's winner-take-all, you control your own destiny. ``We're excited because we play our best with our backs against the wall. After what we've been through all summer, it's just another bump in the road.'' Right-hander Ziggy Campos Campos (käm`p  s), city (1996 pop. 391,299), Rio de Janeiro state, SE Brazil, on the Paraíba River near its mouth. (6-1) is scheduled to start for Mid
Valley against Cherryville, which is coming off a 9-3 loss to Haddon
Heights, N.J. (49-10).
Heather Gripp, (818) 713-3607 heather.gripp(at)dailynews.com |
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