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<< Previous   of   Next >> ASSOCIATED PRESS  (click to enlarge) Mark Grunberg the Mid-Atlantic team from Hagerstown, Md., celebrates after scoring the game winning run on a wild pitch in the fifth inning against of the Great Lakes team from Jefferson, Ind., during pool play of the Little League World Series, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008 in South WIlliamsport, Pa. Mid-Atlantic won 3-2.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, August 17, 2008 Little League World Series roundup Indiana pitcher tosses no-no -- and loses Associated Press SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Trailing by a run and without a hit, the boys from Hagerstown, Md., galloped to one unlikely victory. Maryland manager Bill Abeles Jr. remained in disbelief minutes after his team was no-hit by Jeffersonville, Ind., starter Drew Ellis and still won 3-2 in the Little League World Series on Saturday. "The baseball gods have been with us a little bit," Abeles said. "We genuflect when we go into the dugout." Maryland scored in the first off a walk and an error, and got two runs in the fifth off a hit batsman, a walk and four wild pitches. In other early action Saturday, Matamoros, Mexico, defeated Willemstad, Curacao, 6-2; Yona, Guam, scored twice in the bottom of the sixth to beat Emilia, Italy, 7-6; Shelton, Conn., defeated Rapid City, S.D., 9-4; and Tokyo shut out Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 5-0. Maryland's win in a game that was postponed from Friday night to Saturday morning because of rain got the day off to a rousing start. Ellis hit Nick Karlen with a pitch and walked Brady Hornbecker to start the Maryland rally in the fifth. He struck out the next two hitters, but the wild pitches allowed Karlen and pinch-runner Mark Grunberg to score, making it 3-2 and delighting their raucous fans. "Pretty amazing. Crazy," Karlen said, shaking his head side-to-side, when asked about the crowd. Indiana put a runner on third with one out in the sixth. After a strikeout, Josh Burke hit a grounder and third baseman Zane Schreiber threw wide to first. But first baseman Andrew Yacyk pulled the ball in before diving to touch the bag for the last out of the game. Hornbecker watched the sixth from the dugout clutching a small plastic toy horse in his hand — a good luck charm he found at another tournament weeks ago. Did it help? "I think it did," Hornbecker said with the toy sitting in front of him at a table. Ellis struck out 11. His father, manager Derek Ellis, said his team would bounce back. "It's baseball, it's not life or death," he said. "So we lost one, big deal." Guam dealt Italy its own tough loss. Johnny Quenga hit a two-run triple in the fifth and the winning two-run single in the sixth as Guam erased a 6-2 deficit. "It was partly my fault. I took (Italy) lightly," Guam manager Bill Meeks said. "I just kept telling the kids to keep believing in themselves." Curacao lost its 2008 series debut, too, after Carlos Balboa struck out nine and Sergio Rodriguez hit a three-run homer to lead Mexico to the win. At least Curacao got a visit from Atlanta Braves pitcher Jair Jurrjens, a native of Willemstad. Jurrjens, who pitched Friday night for the Braves, flew to Pennsylvania on Saturday morning to cheer on Curacao. He planned to return to Atlanta in time for Saturday night's game against the Giants. Many of Curacao's players say Jurrjens is their favorite big leaguer. "To see them like this, it makes me proud," said Jurrjens, who threw out the first pitch before the Curacao game. "I'm just here trying to give the kids a little energy."< Connecticut 9, South Dakota 4 Connecticut took advantage of five South Dakota errors, including three in a seven-run fourth inning, for its first win of the tournament. Marcello Ursini also homered in the fourth. South Dakota's Jesse Riddle had a two-run single in the sixth, but the rally fell short and his team fell to 0-2 in pool play.< Japan 5, Saudi Arabia 0 Chris Beyers broke up a no-hit bid by Japan's Ryosuke Moriuchi with one out in the bottom of the sixth after Japan broke open a tight game with four runs in the top half of the inning. Moriuchi struck out nine and walked one.<

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