The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
RCP opens World Series play today
Post 105 begins World Series play today
MIDDLETOWN>> Fresh off winning its second consecutive Northeast Regional championship, the Rocky Hill, Cromwell, and Portland American Legion baseball team opens World Series play today (4 p.m.) against Midland (Mich.) at Keeter Stadium in Shelby, North Carolina.
And recent history shows that RCP has a daunting task ahead of them.
Since Branford’s 13-12 win over Bellingham (Wash.) in the 2007 opener, Connecticut teams had lost 15 straight World Series games. Branford, which went 2-2 in 2005, lost their last two in 2007 before Bristol (2008), Berlin (2009), Branford (2010), Milford (2012), Branford (2013) and RCP (2014) combined to go 0-13.
Overall, Connecticut teams have a won-lost mark of 3-17 in their last 20 World Series contests. It certainly won’t get any easier for RCP this week.
Despite the Nutmeg State’s lack of success, RCP (32-5) – which went 0-3 in Series pool play a year ago – heads to Shelby brimming with confidence.
“We’re more focused,” said RCP catcher Kevin Radziewicz, who was named the regional MVP. “We want to actually win a couple of games here this year.”
Post 105went 4-1 in the regionals while batting a tourney leading .349. Leading the way were Radziewicz (.500, 11 runs scored), Chris Bouchard (.471, 8 RBIs), Cory Baldwin (.450, nine RBIs), Cole Ogorzalek (.417) and Austin White (.412, four stolen bases).
RCP’s pitching staff, which is led by Tommy Seaver, Tucker Lord and Ogorzalek, combined for a 2.25 ERA in
five regional games.
“They’ve got some experience and I think they’ve got a shot to win a few games,” said former RCP shortstop Christian Budzik.
The eight team World Series is split into two pools. The “Stars’ division includes two-time defending national champion Brooklawn, N.J., Post 72 (Mid-Atlantic); Millard, Neb., Fifty-Two’s Patriots Post 374 (Central Plains); Medford, Ore., Post 15 (Northwest); and Waipahu, Hawaii, Post 35 (Western).
RCP is in the “Stripes” division and will compete against Midland, Mich., Berryhill Post 165 (Great Lakes); New Orleans Retif Oil Post 125 (Mid-South); and Chapin-Newberry, S.C., Post 193 (Southeast).
All the pool games will be live streamed on ESPN3.com.
The top two teams in each pool will advance to the national semifinals onMonday, Aug. 17 at 4 and 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU. The World Series championship will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 18 at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.
Here’s a look at RCP’s pool play opponents. RCP VERSUS MIDLAND (MICH.), THURSDAY, AUG. 13 AT 4 P.M. >> This a rematch of last year’s game when RCP, behind pitcher Jake Regula, took a 3-2 lead to the bottom of the ninth. But Midland rallied for a 4-3 victory.
Midland (45-7), last year’s national runner-ups, defeated Alton (Ill.), 14-4, in the Great Lakes championship game. They are led by tourney MVP Carson Ebby (.500), Ty Jones (.444) and pitcher Jordan Patty, who allowed no earned runs in nine innings and went 2-0 in the regionals.
This is Midland’s fifth World Series appearance in eight years. They were World Series champions in 2009.
“That’s pretty remarkable,” Berryhill manager Steve Cronkright told theMidland Daily News. “You talk about theWorld Series to the kids at the beginning of the year and what your goal is, and our goal isn’t to win state, it’s to get to the World Series.” RCP VERSUS NEW ORLEANS (LA.), FRIDAY, AUG. 14 AT 12:30 P.M. >> New Orleans Retif Oil trailed Granite (Ok.), 6-0, after two innings in theMid-South championship game. They also trailed 6-2 going into the bottom of the eighth before rallying for five runs en route to a memorable 7-6 victory.
“This team never has any sense of panic,” Retif Oil coach Joey Latino told the New Orleans Advocate. “They just keep plugging and chipping away, and they got it done.”
Retif Oil (31-6-1) hasn’t lost since early June. They are led by Benjamin Hess (.545) and pitcher Mason Mayfield, the regional MVP who went 2-0 with 13 strikeouts in 21 innings.
Retif Oil won the World Series in 2012. RCP VERSUS CHAPIN-NEWBERRY (S.C.), SUNDAY, AUG. 16AT1P.M.>> Post 193 defeated host Asheboro (N.C.), 7-4, in the Southeast championship game. ChapinNewberry, which made only three errors in the regionals, is led by Justin Hawkins (.444), Blake Smith (.417) and pitcher Ryan Stoudimire (1-0, 1.80, 10 innings, 7 Ks).
Chapin-Newberry is undefeated at 28-0.