Braves Advance to Little League World Series

There was nothing little about this one.

Facing off at Lakeside Elementary School yesterday in the Merrick Little League's Boys Majors semifinals, the Braves and White Sox powered their way to 19 combined runs in what was a thrilling game from start to finish. The Braves narrowly escaped with the victory, 10-9.

"It was a well played game between two of the best teams in the league," Braves manager Joe Pusateri said. "There are good players on both sides and I'm just glad we got the win."

Trailing 8-2 in the third inning, the White Sox made a ferocious comeback with six unanswered runs to tie the game. The Braves added two in the top of the sixth to make it 10-8, and the White Sox got one run back in the bottom half, and nearly scored another to tie it on a wild pitch.

However, the umpire made a ruling that the runner had to return to third because the ball became stuck under the fence behind the backstop and the catcher didn't have the chance to throw him out.

"I was very proud of my kids because the other team jumped out on us early but we battled back," White Sox manager Jeffrey Fein said. "There was a controversial call at the end but it didn't change the fact that there was a whole bunch of kids fighting out there and it was nice to see."

The Braves struck first, as Frank Pusateri hit a solo home run off of White Sox pitcher Tyler Fein to give his team a 1-0 lead in the first.

"It's the first one I hit over the fence," Pusateri said. "I didn't think I hit it well but then my dad told me it went over. It felt good."

In the top of the second, after Evan Biancardi reached base with a single, William Weber drove him in with a single of his own to make it 2-0 in favor of the Braves.

The White Sox evened it up in the bottom of the second, as Fein scored on a wild pitch, and Alec Deane drove in another run with a single.

The Braves exploded for six runs in the third. After Steven Molinari hit an RBI groundout, Chris Nethaway ripped an RBI double to left field. Ed Krzemski hit an RBI single and then came around to score on a wild pitch, and Ryan Lacaustra capped off the big inning with an opposite way solo home run to make it 8-2.

But the White Sox came right back. In the bottom of the third, James Ferry hit an RBI single, and after a walk by Eric Gossert loaded the bases, Fein followed with a two RBI single. The team added two more on RBI hits by Deane and Danny Arkow to make it 8-7.

"I had a couple hits and two catches in the outfield," Arkow said. "It was a close game and we're both good teams."

After the inning, Fein settled down on the mound and held the Braves scoreless over the next two innings.

 "I didn't pitch my best game," Fein said. "My catcher kept giving me a low target and I threw it low but they just kept hitting it."

The White Sox tied the game up at eight in the fifth as Michael Schwartz scored on a wild pitch.

"I thought our team played well," Schwartz said. "But we made a couple mental mistakes in the field because we weren't paying attention and we didn't stay in front of the ball."

In the top of the sixth, the Braves took a 10-8 lead after an RBI single by Pusateri and a sacrifice fly hit by Lacaustra.

"I pitched the sixth inning and I was really scared going into the game and when I walked the first two kids I became even more scared," Ferry said. "But I just threw strikes and got out of the inning. They won a fair game."

Kyle Mittleberg hit an RBI single to make it 10-9 in the sixth, and it seemed as if the White Sox had tied the game when Joe Massaro scored on a wild pitch, but the umpire ruled that the ball became stuck under the backstop fence, and he sent Massaro back to third.

Lacaustra then struck out the next two batters to end the game and send the Braves into the World Series.

"I thought I was going to lose it for us because I always get nervous in the last inning," Lacaustra said. "It feels good closing out the semifinals and now we're going to the World Series."

It was a great performance by both teams, and the kids showed that the future of Merrick baseball is very bright.

"Both teams played with a lot of heart," White Sox coach Jim Ferry said. "It's great to see little kids competing like this and playing the game the right way."

The Braves open the best-of-three World Series on Friday when they take on the Mariners at 5:30 p.m. at Lakeside.