Updated: Paramus Competes for World Series Bid Today

BRISTOL, Conn.—James Rendine cradled the smudged baseball passionately.

His Paramus Little League team went into the final inning holding a precarious one-run lead, which was bowing under the pressure of a last-ditch rally by previously unbeaten Newark (Del.) National.

At stake was a chance to play Sunday for a regional championship and the opportunity of a lifetime—a berth in the Little League World Series. But Delaware was threatening to tie the game, perhaps even walk Paramus off Breen Field and back home to New Jersey.

Moments before, that very same baseball jumped off the bat of Delaware’s Brandon Hoeflinger with center field as its inevitable destination, but thanks to Rendine, it never got there, and Delaware won’t be getting to Williamsport, Pa.

Rendine dove toward the bag at second, knocked the ball down and threw to first baseman Dan Criscione with two runners in scoring position Friday afternoon to preserve a 2-1 victory in a harrowing Mid-Atlantic Tournament semifinal.

Paramus (3-2) will start ace Hiro Mizutani against Keystone Little League of Clinton County, Pa., in the Mid-Atlantic final slated for Sunday at 11 a.m. The game was delayed by rain with the time to resume to be determined, according to the League's website.

The undefeated Pennsylvania state champions advanced to the final Friday afternoon with a 3-0 win over Great Kills American of Staten Island, N.Y.

“Last year I was watching the Little League World Series and wishing it was me,” said pitcher Conor Heim, who threw a complete game. “It’s a great feeling to know that you have a chance to play on ESPN, the TV show that you watch every morning.”

Outfielder Mike Daniele, who scored Paramus’ first run thanks to a daring baserunning maneuver, said, “This is every baseball player’s dream—to get in the Little League World Series. You get recognized everywhere. People notice.”

Paramus entered the sixth inning enjoying a 2-0 lead behind an airtight defense and Heim’s pitching.

Andrew DelPercio led off the frame with a towering home run to the opposite field on Heim’s first pitch. Danny Miller singled to center. Alex Barker singled to right and Miller continued to third on New Jersey’s lone error. Barker promptly stole second.

Two runners were in scoring position and there were no outs, but Heim (1-1) set the next two down without incident, both on easy plays for Rendine. That last one was anything but easy. When the ball left the bat of Hoeflinger, no one could have expected that it would stay on the infield—except Rendine.

“It was just a reaction,” Rendine said. “Once I knocked it down, I knew I’d get it. It hit me right in the palm, it dropped and I picked it up. It happened so fast it was like second nature.”

Hoeflinger had a single and double in his previous at-bats.

“I knew he was a good hitter and Conor was hitting the outside corner so I was expecting the ball,” Rendine said.

Delaware manager Nick DiMartine couldn’t believe it was over. He stood with his hands on his hips in the door to the dugout for quite a spell.

“I thought it was through. [Rendine] made a heck of a play,” he said. “They made plays when we put the ball in play. I look at the scoreboard and we had eight hits, yet came out on the short end.”

Heim, with all the faith in his defense, successfully pitched to contact throughout. He scattered eight hits and two walks, but did not record a strikeout. He threw 80 pitches, five short of the Little League allotment for one game.

“I was a little nervous but I kept throwing strikes and kept them off-balance,” Heim said. “It was a great play. James is just a great fielder and really backs me up. I know I can trust him.”

The sequence that defined the game came in the Delaware first.

Nick Jones started with a single, Chris Ludman walked and Aaron Weber singled to fill the bases. DelPercio hit a bouncer to first that Danny Criscione fielded. He squared his shoulders to the plate and fired a strike to catcher Brandon Smith for the force.

Miller slapped a hard grounder to Mizutani at third. He fired to Smith, who subsequently nailed Miller at first for the inning-ending double play.

“I think the celebration at the end of the game was only slightly more than it was after the first inning,” Paramus manager Frank Smith said. “They came off and they were elated. To get out of an inning in the semifinal game with the bases loaded, no outs, they were chest-bumping, pounding each other. They were super excited. They couldn’t wait to get their helmets on and hit.”

The Jersey boys scored their runs in the second inning against hard-throwing southpaw Andrew Barker (1-1).

Daniele rapped a single into the hole at short. Heim single to left. In a tournament where stolen bases are rare, Daniele saw an opening and stole third just ahead of a perfect throw from the Delaware catcher Hoeflinger.

“There was nobody covering third and I didn’t think the shortstop was going to go there so I just ran,” Daniele said.

His dash came after an attempt to sacrifice had failed.

“Mike happened to pick a good pitch and he’s very fast,” Frank Smith said. “He’s got very long strides and he’s a big kid. When he slid into third he hit the mitt and the ball just squirted free.”

Barker, who allowed just three hits and a walk while striking out nine in five innings, threw two wild pitches and both runners scored.

“He was a little wild in the first two innings,” DiMartine said. “I saw him kicking the dirt a little bit. He didn’t lead us to believe that there was anything wrong. He felt pretty good.”

The Paramus boys have great faith in Mizutani to pull them through on Sunday.

“He’s probably one of the best pitchers here,” Rendine said.

Daniele said Mizutani is “probably the best pitcher I’ve ever seen. It’s the fastest I’ve ever seen a kid throw.”

Mizutani, who started at third Friday, was hit in the rib cage by a pitch but Manager Smith said he recovered quickly. Smith said Gavin Niland is suffering from an injured shoulder, but not to worry.

“High spirits take care of everything,” he said.

Paramus had lost to Newark, 2-1, in the final game of the preliminary round on Thursday.