The World Series is here.
The 2006 Cal Ripken World Series kicked off for the fourth time in Aberdeen Sunday afternoon, with Hilo, Hawaii winning the first game of the Babe Ruth League tournament. On the replica Fenway Park field at the Ripken Baseball Academy, Hilo (from the Pacific Southwest Region) defeated Kennewick, Wash. (Pacific Northwest) by a 2-0 score.
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The week-long tournament will again feature 10 American teams (including a Harford County champion and a Maryland champion) and five international teams. It will be the fourth time that Aberdeen has hosted the tournament and the second year that it has been played in Cal Sr.?s Yard.
Both Hilo and Kennewick struggled for hits Sunday ? each suffered 14 strikeouts in the game. Hilo pitcher Ridge Hoopi-Haslam got the win when Hawaii got a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Hilo manager Kaha Wong said the level of competition between the teams had stepped up.
“Usually, we are a hitting team,” he said. “We get 10 to 11 hits and two to three home runs [a game], and now we are playing against the best.”
Hilo was hitless through the first four innings against Kennewick pitcher Franky Murillo.
“He pitched a heck of a game,” Wong said. “We could not hit him. It shows we have some work to do.”
From there, Hilo advanced to the regional tournament in Woodland, Calif., where it lost its second game and slipped into the loser?s bracket. But Hilo beat Oakland (Calif.) twice to advance to Aberdeen.
Wong said he was concerned about his kids coming to Aberdeen with the large time difference between Hawaii and Maryland. His players, however, were less concerned.
“It?s six hours back in Hilo, but we made the adjustment,” first baseman/pitcher Ekolu Martins said.
Martins won the home-run derby on Saturday with 17 longballs. Last year, the winner won with only one.
“It has been great,” Martins said. “It is my first time being here.”
Hilo pitcher Kawika Pruett said that adjusting to the change in the level of competition was tougher than the time change.
“We had not faced many lefties before,” Pruett said of Murillo. “I did not do very good. I struck out twice against him.”
Despite his assessment, Pruett was credited with the save, struck out four and hit a home run to solidify the win. He was named as the game?s most valuable player, along with Murillo.
“It was like a rush,” Pruett said. “It felt good to get that award.”
WORLD SERIES OPENER
» Pruett?s home run was the first one hit during the Cal Ripken World Series at the Ripken Baseball Academy?s Fenway Park field.
» Though Murillo got the loss, he struck out 11 batters through 4.1 innings and only allowed three hits.
» Hawaii pitchers Ekolu Martin, Ridge Hoopi-Haslam and Kawika Pruett only allowed two Kennewick hits through six innings played.
