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<< Previous   of   Next >>   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: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 LLWS roundup: Homers keep Tampa playing Associated Press SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Faced with elimination, the boys from Tampa, Fla., turned to the long ball to stay alive in the Little League World Series. Playing Shelton, Conn., in an elimination game, Florida rallied late for an 8-2 win in seven innings to advance to the U.S. semifinals. Tyler Tice's single had given Connecticut a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth before Kevin Merrell tied it in the top of the sixth with a homer. Danny Lastra's homer to open the seventh led to a six-run outburst that broke open the game. Florida manager Joe McGuire gave his team a simple message before the sixth. "I just told them, 'This could be your last at-bat as a team,"' he said. "After (Merrell) hit the home run, I thought we were in good shape." Home runs were in vogue all day. Matamoros, Mexico, hit four in a 10-0 shutout of Yona, Guam; Keelen Obadoza's two-run homer in the fifth broke a tie to help Waipahu, Hawaii, beat Rapid City, S.D., 6-4; and Willemstad, Curacao, smacked four homers in a 14-1 win over Emilia, Italy. Maryland faces a must-win situation today to advance to the U.S. semis. Maryland manager Bill Abeles Jr. joked about finding some new pitchers for the next game. "Besides shave the beard, put a uniform on and see if I can throw a curveball or two?" he asked. Both Mexico and Hawaii have clinced berths into the next round. Tomas Castillo went deep for a second straight day and Emmanuel Rodriguez hit a solo shot in the second that sailed beyond the wall in left-center and cleared a second fence, rolling to the concrete barriers in the parking lot about 315 feet away. "It was by far the longest home run I have ever hit," a satisfied Rodriguez said through interpreter Sergio Guzman. That homer was just a few feet to the right from where Curacao's Juremi Profar hit a three-run shot that landed beyond the light tower just behind the outfield fence. Profar also had a grand slam. Phillies slugger Ryan Howard would have been proud of the power-hitting display. He visited the park as part of a promotion for Subway and Powerade, but didn't arrive until after the homer-powered victories by Washington and Mexico. While the short porches at Lamade Stadium looked appealing, Howard decided to leave the hitting to the Little Leaguers. "No. I'm good," Howard chuckled. "I'll let them handle that."

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