Pacific Southwest Eliminates Harford County 13-3 in Semifinals of 2016 Cal Ripken World Series

From Ripken Baseball:

Kicking off the championship bracket play for the 17th annual Cal Ripken World Series, Team Pacific Southwest (Honolulu, Hawaii) overwhelmed host Team Harford County 13-3 in the first U.S. semifinal game of the day.

Harford County led off with two runs in the first, only to have Pacific Southwest retaliate with a convincing eight-run inning, including a three-run home run from Kamaehu Sanchez. After a scoreless second inning, Pacific Southwest tacked on two more runs off the bats of Peyton Hino and Kaden Stremick in the bottom of the third.

Leading off in the top of the fourth inning, Matt Archibald’s solo home run to centerfield would provide Harford County with its last run of the game. Pacific Southwest’s bats proved too much for Harford County, as the host team would drop three additional runs and fall to Pacific Southwest 13-3 by way of 10-run mercy rule.

Pacific Southwest’s powerhouse offense combined for 15 team hits to Harford County’s five. Kaden Stremick received the Ron Tellefsen Player of the Game for Pacific Southwest, recording three RBIs on three hits.

Pacific Southwest Manager Al Carganilla on advancing to the U.S. Championship:

“First, credit to Harford – they came out swinging and put pressure on us from the beginning, but our team responded. When we came in after they scored two runs, I just told them, ‘Hey we just have to hit the ball. They threw a fastball pitcher at us, so stay back and we’ll come right back and they responded.’ Eight runs? I would have been happy with just one run but they fought, turned the lineup over in the first inning and from there our pitching and defense came through. Anybody who came in the game responded. I’m just so proud of them.”

Harford County Coach Dave Miller on his team’s performance:

“I’m really proud of them. We set out some goals for this team and I feel like we were able to accomplish them. They had a really good showing up here, making into the Championship bracket. I’m just really proud of them and everything that they’ve done this week, everything that they’ve done for Harford County. I’m just really proud of the team.”

Pacific Southwest (5-0) advances to U.S. Championship game tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. and will face off between tonight’s U.S. Semifinal between Team Pacific Northwest (4-0) and Team New England (2-2).

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.