MLB.com

August 8, 2005

LA tops Detroit for Junior RBI title

By George VonBenko

PITTSBURGH -- Los Angeles defeated Detroit in slug fest, 7-6, to capture the 2005 Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) Junior Boys Championship at PNC Park.

It was the fifth Junior Boys RBI World Series title for Los Angeles, which last won the tournament in 2003.

"It is getting to be old hat," Los Angeles manager Shannon Williams said of the fifth title. "We enjoy it every year and it was the hardest of all the years that we ever won. We had to come back after being down by four runs and it was a tremendous effort. Detroit played an outstanding tournament and our kids didn't stop playing and battled all the way to the end."

Los Angeles rallied for five runs in the top of the sixth inning to go on top, 7-6. Los Angeles got three straight singles off Kris Morris and a RBI ground out by Ken Othman. Morris walked home a run with a pass to Adrian Williams and was relieved by shortstop Dwayne Henderson Jr., who was touched up for a two-run double by left fielder Chris Smith. Williams scored the go-ahead run on the throw to second.

"We were down the first time we played them in the pool play," Williams stated. "We came back and we won in nine innings and wound up winning 12-11. They have a good, scrappy bunch of guys and they beat us last year in Detroit in the pool play. You can expect the unexpected here in the RBI World Series and that's why we have to stay fundamentally sound and have tough-minded kids that are going to respond to crucial situations."

Smith, who got the big double for Los Angeles, says he got the pitch he wanted.

"It was an inside fastball," Smith said. "That's my favorite pitch to hit."

James Gonzalez got the win in relief for Los Angeles.

"The runs that were scored in the fifth just pumped me up," Gonzalez explained. "I told coach Shannon before I came out to pitch that if he could switch up the calls and start calling for more off-speed stuff it would be good, because they were hitting the fastball."

Detroit defeated defending Junior Division champion Puerto Rico to reach the title game while Los Angeles beat Santo Domingo, 3-2, to advance to the title game. Detroit was trying for its first Junior Boys championship, so it was a disappointing loss.

"That's baseball," Detroit manager Dwayne Henderson lamented. "I'm very proud of my guys. My guys played hard every single inning of the tournament ... both teams played great and we just came up a little bit short, but there is nothing to be ashamed of. I'm very proud of my guys."

Los Angeles jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Los Angeles manufactured the runs without getting a base hit, aided by three Detroit errors and a hit batsman. Centerfielder Alfredo Lopez and DH Adam Aranda took advantage of the Detroit miscues to score.

Detroit tied the score, 2-2, in the bottom of the third as it broke through against starter David Silvas.

Morris led off the inning with a walk. Benjamin Bross singled, then Henderson laid down a sacrifice bunt advancing the runners. Ryan Callahan delivered a RBI single up the middle scoring pinch runner Nico Taveras.

First baseman Robert Cooper slugged an RBI double plating Bross. Silvas was relieved by Martin Villanueva, who got out of the inning without further damage.

Detroit tallied four times in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a short-lived 6-2 lead. Cooper's RBI double off reliever Gonzales and right fielder Al Williams's two-run triple to left were the big blows for Detroit. Catcher Greg Gross also contributed a sacrifice fly RBI to center to cap off the big inning.

Los Angeles was awarded the John Young Trophy, named for the founder of the RBI program.

Major League Baseball and the Pirates are hosting the 13th annual RBI World Series, which features competition in three divisions -- Junior Boys (13-15 year olds), Senior Boys (16-18 year olds) and Girls Softball (18 and under) -- and provides a forum for some of the top youth players from the U.S. and abroad to showcase their skills and interact with their peers from other communities.