From Ripken Baseball:
Harford County Ends Pool Play with 3-1 Record
Today was the last day of pool play at the 15th annual Cal Ripken World Series (CRWS) at The Ripken Experience powered by Under Armour complex in Aberdeen, Maryland, featuring 11 and 12-year-old youth baseball players from around the world. In their makeup game this morning, Team Harford County suffered their first loss to Team Southeast (W. Raleigh, N.C.), 6-3.
Yesterday, Harford County jumped out to an early 1-0 lead against Southeast as Garrett McIlhenney singled and later stole second and third. With Phil Winfield at bat, McIlhenney capitalized on a wild pitch to return home. Austin Rohlfing opened the game for Harford County on the mound giving up a solo homerun early on; Rohlfing bounced back to end the inning with a 1-1 tie.
Unfortunately, a rain delay and flood warning postponed Harford County’s game to this morning at 8:00 a.m. The game started off in the second inning, and Bobby Duffy took the mound, giving up three runs to the bats of Southeast. With the score 4-1, Garrett McIlhenney rocked a home run over the left field wall, an impressive feat from the left-handed hitter. This marked McIlhenney’s second home run this tournament and named him Babe Ruth League Player of the Game for the second time.
“It feels really good getting it [Player of the Game] twice…having two home runs in the World Series. It just feels really good,” said McIlhenney.
Tyler Schimming took the mound next for Harford County, letting up two runs in the fifth to bring the score to 6-2. In the sixth inning, Harford County nearly mounted a comeback, as Bobby Duffy was able to reach home plate, making the score 6-3. However, strong pitching from Southeast stunned Harford County’s bats for the first time in the tournament. It seemed that the team’s momentum was lost with the postponement, and the boys’ last minute push was not enough toward the end of the game. Harford County fell short against Southeast with their first loss in pool play.
“I think overall, we played well defensively…pitching wasn’t too bad. I think we just didn’t get the timely hitting when we needed the timely hitting,“ said Coach Joe McIlhenney. “Congratulations to Southeast, they hit the ball when they needed to hit it.”
Harford County, now 3-1, will take on the Maryland State champs from Prince George’s County, currently 3-0, at 12:30pm tomorrow in the first US semi-final game, on Cal, Sr.’s Yard.
Tomorrow, Thursday, August 14, the field will be narrowed down to eight teams, which will face off in the single-elimination play-off round. The ten remaining teams will continue on to the consolation Diamond Bracket. The championship games on August 15 and August 16 will be televised live on CBS Sports Network and include commentary by Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken. Coverage begins with the U.S. Championship on Friday, August 15 at 5:00p.m. EST and the International Championship at 7:30p.m. EST. The World Championship begins at 8:00p.m. on Saturday, August 16.
For scores, highlights and a behind the scenes look into all CRWS action, fans can follow its official social media pages including Twitter and Instagram (@CRWSAberdeen), and at Facebook.com/CRWSAberdeen. For complete information on the tournament, visit www.ripkenbaseball.com/world_series.
The Cal Ripken World Series is where the world comes to play, the Ripken Way, and is the culminating tournament of the Babe Ruth League’s 12u Cal Ripken Division. The World Series unites the 10 best teams from across the United States and 8 international teams, including newly added competition from New Zealand and Puerto Rico. Team Japan will return as the three-time defending CRWS Champions.
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