Team Harford County and Team Maryland Prevail in Day 2 of Pool Play at 2016 Cal Ripken World Series

From Ripken Baseball:

Host team Harford County and Team Southeast (Atlantic Beach, Florida) kicked off the second day of pool play at the 17th annual Cal Ripken World Series on Nationals Field.

After a scoreless first inning, Harford County’s Parker McIllhenney would score in the top of the second off an RBI single from Matt Archibald. With the bases loaded, Ryan Miller would single to centerfield, sending Archibald and Kyle Ball home for a 3-0 lead. Southeast’s Cade Hitson would answer in the bottom of the second by scoring on a wild pitch to keep his team’s hopes alive.

Both McIllhenney and Archibald would both score on passed balls to pad Harford County’s lead, as Nicholas Kopczynski’s solo homer to centerfield would give Harford County a 6-1 lead. After a scoreless fifth, Southeast trailed by five with its backs to the wall. A ground out Connor Sutherland would advance Kyto Morrow home to keep Southeast’s hopes alive, however, clutch pitching from Harford County’s Archibald would end the game with a strikeout.

Harford County Coach Joe McIllhenney on today’s win:

“After our first game, we had a talk with them to just keep on battling into the next game. We know all the teams up here are tough, so it doesn’t get any easier. We just instilled in them the confidence to move on to the second game and just play the way they know how to play. Then hopefully good things will happen which it did today.”

“I want them to enjoy today, but tomorrow’s another day to refocus and move on to get ready for Ohio Valley. That’s not going to be an easy game. We just have to be prepared and ready to go. Hopefully, we’re battle tested enough that we’re able to win that game.”

Harford County MVP Matt Archibald on today’s team win:

“(When I took the mound) I was just thinking to keep the momentum up like last game because we started to get a little down in the third and fourth inning. We were all just trying to get up and build the momentum again, and we did. And then Nick’s homerun really got us up, then we started hitting and it all just really came into place. I just really hope that we keep winning and pushing through our bracket, and if we do that’ll bring us our momentum into playoffs.”

Southeast Coach Shawn Hegan on today’s loss:

“Tomorrow afternoon, we’ll come out here and prepare like we always do and be ready to go.”

Harford County (2-0) has a bye tomorrow, as Southeast (0-2) will look to rebound against Middle Atlantic on Cal Sr.’s Yard tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. EST.

Team Maryland Tops Team Midwest Plains in Day 2 of Pool Play at 2016 Cal Ripken World Series
Maryland’s Kevin Winn receives MVP in 16-4 victory over Midwest Plains

In the second day of pool play of the 2016 Cal Ripken World Series, Team Maryland State (Bel Air, Maryland) met Team Midwest Plains (Denver, Colorado) on Nationals Field for a Group B matchup.

After a scoreless first inning, Kevin Winn solo homered to right field to strike first for Maryland. Maryland’s offense came alive in the top of the third, collecting eight additional runs, including home runs from Winn, Gabriel Rosica and Aiden Laurentius. Maryland would build upon its sizeable lead in the fourth, adding seven runs.

Midwest Plains’ offense began to show signs of life, tacking on four runs in the fourth off an RBI double from Andrew Rusin and an RBI single from Ben Hawes. Facing the 10-run mercy rule, Midwest Plains’ last minute efforts fell short, as Maryland would earn its first win of the tournament, 16-4.

Maryland Manager Darrell Barrett on today’s team win:

“We bounced back obviously, and I talked to the team about it. I told them tomorrow’s another day. Today was special. I think we had four homeruns and Kevin had two of them. When we get on fire like that, our kids can put them on.”

“We didn’t do much differently on the offensive side, I think defensively we changed a lot. We didn’t give up any runs until the last inning and we gave up four, so, that was good.”

Maryland MVP of the game Kevin Winn on tying the CRWS record for home runs in a game (2):

“I’m going to stay positive, and we have to hit homeruns. I want to break the record and score three homeruns in the tournament.”

Maryland (1-1) will look to improve upon its record against Pacific Southwest tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. EST on Cal Sr.’s Yard, as Midwest Plains (0-1) will look to rebound against Southwest on Cal Sr.’s Yard tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. EST.

The Cal Ripken World Series is where the world comes to play, the Ripken Way, and serves as the culminating tournament of the Babe Ruth League’s 12u Cal Ripken Division. The World Series unites the 10 best teams from across the United States and eight international teams. Games will be played on the innovative fields at The Ripken Experience Aberdeen Powered By Under Armour complex, including Cal Sr.’s Yard, a two-thirds replica of Camden Yards.

Fans around the world will have the opportunity to watch free live broadcasts of the championship games on Fox Sports 2, as well as free live streaming options on MLB.com and FOXSportsGo.com. The championship games on August 5 and 6 will also include live commentary from MLB veteran and Emmy Award-winning sports broadcaster Bill Ripken.

For scores, highlights and a behind-the-scenes look into all CRWS action, fans can follow along on Twitter and Instagram (@CRWSAberdeen) and Facebook.com/CRWSAberdeen. For a complete schedule and additional tournament, visit www.ripkenbaseball.com/world_series.