By BRETT R. CROSSLEY
WILLIAMSPORT–Endwell’s winning streak remained intact end as it defeated Tennessee 4-2 in the U.S. Championship.
Michael Mancini delivered a masterful performance on the mound, retiring 13 consecutive batters at one point.
Mancini walked the first batter he faced. The next six went down by way of strikeout as Mancini retired six straight batters by himself.
Mancini kept rolling in the third after he fielded a foul ball out for the first out that didn’t come by way of strikeout. A ground ball out opened the fourth and Mancini took care of the rest with back-to-back strikeouts.
Mancini stretched his total to 13 batters before Jon Luke Simmons came on as a pinch-hitter in the fifth. He connected with a single for the Southeast’s first hit of the game. Mancini struck out the next batter before being pulled.
Mancini finished with 23 strikeouts in 10 innings against the Southeast.
Brody Raleigh recorded the game’s first hit for the Mid-Atlantic, driving a ball into left for a standup double. Jack Hopko moved to third on the double after a full-count walk. A pop fly to left and a groundout to second ended the inning.
The Mid-Atlantic finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth when back-to-back walks to open the inning helped score the game’s first run.
After the initial run, James Fellows recorded an RBI with a single into left field. The inning’s scoring was capped when Jordan Owens hit an RBI single out of the No. 9 spot.
Mid-Atlantic 4, Southeast 2
SE 000 002-2 2 0
MA 000 40X-4 5 0
Brock Duffer and Tanner Jones. Michael Mancini, Jude Abbadessa (5), and Conner Rush, Ryan Harlost.
WP: Mancini. LP: Duffer.
Top Southeast hitters: Zach McWilliams 1-3, HR, run, 2 RBI. Top Mid-Atlantic hitters: Jordan Owens 1-2, 2 RBI
