The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Fairfield American wins to keep hopes alive
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, PA. » Troy Ashkinos walked into the postgame interview room, flipping the baseball that had sent the Fairfield American players and their parents into a frenzy up and down. Two of the New England team “uncles,” Uncle Nick and Uncle Denny, had chased down the ball in front of the center-field bushes and were determined to make sure that Ashkinos got to add that baseball to his souvenir collection.
Ashkinos’ grand slam blast in the fourth inning sent a charge through the 5,422 inside Lamade Stadium and propelled Fairfield American to a 12-2 five-inning mercy-rule win against Jackson, N.J., in the Little League World Series loser’s bracket semifinals on Wednesday. The win lifted Fairfield American into Thursday night’s loser’s bracket final against the loser of the Southeast Region (Greenville, N.C.)Southwest Region (Lufkin, Texas) game at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) at Lamade.
“Forget about the game, what about the season?” Fairfield American manager Mike Randazzo said. “I’ll tell you, the have a team from New England be in the final three (on the U.S. bracket) of the Little League World Series, it’s absolutely unbelievable. It’s incredible, it’s amazing ... whatever adjective you want to use.”
The win was Fairfield’s third in four World Series games, but the margin of staying alive continues to hang by a thread each time Fairfield American takes the field. Matt Vivona will get the ball Thursday knowing that a loss will end the season.
“I’m not surprised with anything these boys do,” Randazzo said. “It’s just been a magical summer.”
A summer that continues on thanks to Ashkinos, who went 2-or-2 with five RBIs and pitcher Ethan Righter, who for the second time in six days shut down the hard-hitting, run-scoring New Jersey team. “I was telling that Connect-
icut pitcher that’s he’s the best pitcher I’ve ever seen in a game,” Jackson, N.J.,manager Rob Grano said. “He (Righter) is unbelievable. He throws a high fastball, high enough that you want to swing at it and high enough that you can’t hit it.”
Righter threw 88 pitches before coming out after 4 2/3 innings. He allowed just three hits and struck out eight.
“Coach was calling the pitches and I just had to execute them and hit my spots and look to get outs,” said Righter, who’s 10-0 this summer. “I was feeling a little bit (of pressure), but after that 1-2-3 first inning (where he threw just seven pitches), that made me feel a lot better.”
So did seeing his Fairfield teammates put up five runs in the first inning to race out of the gates. Righter and Michael Iannazzo opened with singles and advanced a base on a wild pitch. Vivano then lined a double into the corner to score both runners and get Fairfield on the board.
“I was just looking to get the ball in play,” Vivano said. “At least get one run in with a ground ball or sacrifice fly and he threw me a curveball up in the zone and I got the bat on it.”
Vivona went to third on a wild pitch and Tyler Bauer walked as New Jersey starter Dean Daddio struggled with his control. Ashkinos walked to load the bases and Vivona scored when Aidan Rivera rapped into a fielder’s choice. Andrew Cutler singled and Ashkinos scored on a throwing error and then an RBI groundout from Leo Randazzo made it 5-0.
“Sometimes you get lucky and you throw a pitch and they’ll pop it up. They don’t. They hit rockets,” Grano said. “They were ‘on’ today. They beat us twice. They are a really good team. That top four (in the lineup) is tough to get through, but everyone can hit in that lineup if you don’t make a pitch.”
Ashkinos’ grand slam — coming after a missed-tag rundown play at third involving Iannazzo — pushed the Fairfield lead to 9-2. In the fifth, three more Fairfield runs, highlighted by Ashkinos’ walk-off single, kept Fairfield’s season alive.
“I don’t even know what to say,” Randazzo said. “It’s amazing. I love this. This is Little League, right? They’re sitting up here, laughing at each other’s remarks, talking to you guys. This is what it’s all about. It’s about having fun, joking with each other, ribbing each other and it’s going to be very loud when we get back to the New England room. I’m looking forward to that.”
Player of the game
Right fielder Troy Ashkinos. He went 2-for-2 with a grand slam and a gameending walk-off RBI single. He scored two runs and added to his trophy case, getting the grand slam baseball as a souvenir.
Unsung hero
Pitcher Ethan Righter. The “bulldog” as manager Mike Randazzo calls him, threw 88 pitches, allowing just three hits and two runs while striking out eight. It was his 10th win this summer without a loss.