Long ball deserts Southwest’s Texas West, and its pitching was wild in Monday’s 13-4 loss to the East team from Pennsylvania in the International

Junior Baseball Little League World Series Abilene Wylie LL drops to 1-1 in the double-elimination of the 36th annual event played at Taylor, Mich.

By ARNIE LESHIN, Santa Fe Today

TAYLOR, Mich. — When a team scores 13 runs against you behind only nine hits, there has to be something else contributing to a 13-4 defeat for Southwest’s Texas West in Monday afternoon’s day two of the International Junior Little League Baseball World Series at Heritage Park.

The winner was the East’s Pennsylvania team from Kennard Square after it drew an opening-day bye, while the Abilene Wylie Little League team is all even at 1-1 following an opening triumph over West’s California.

And the boys that won the SW Regional in Santa Fe last week, can blame it a great deal on wild pitches, for it had seven, two each from starter and loser Dash Albus, Cooper Cothran and Riley Hood, who finished up after relieving Garrett Graham, who threw one wild one. Three passed balls didn’t help either, nor did three errors.

One thing worked, stealing bases, as Texas West swiped four at the ballpark that has played host to the Juniors since the league began in 1981.

But the youngsters from Kennard Square had right-hander Patrick Methile. He worked the first six innings, struck out 10 and walked two. He gave up

seven hits and gave way to Nick Patterson to start the seventh. Methile also added a two-run double in the 2-run first, and scored once and walked twice.

Penn didn’t go deep, settling for three doubles, but neither did long-ball- hitting Texas West, which had but a double from Balin Valentine.

Patterson did enough with his bat before taking to the hill. He drove across three runs on three hits and scored twice. Dan Kane also chipped in with three RBI, and Jack Ragenye came up with a pair of hits and scored three times.

Wylie LL came up with seven hits, but after a 2-2 tie after one frame, it trailed all the way as Kennard Square two more runs in the second, four more in the third, and three more in the top of the fourth before West pushed across two runs in the bottom of the inning.

It was 11-4 when Pennsylvania scored twice more in the sixth. It committed two errors.

For the boys from Abilene, Graham and Valentine picked up two hits each, and one runs were driven in by Graham, Riley Hood and Reed Hughes. Cothran, Hughes and Walker Piland had one hit apiece, and Valentine scored twice, Graham and Piland once each.

Now Penn moves into the winner’s bracket, while Texas West falls into the loser’s bracket.