Halfway advances to final

July 30, 2002|by JACK HILL III

Halfway scored nine runs in the bottom of the third inning to break a 2-2 tie on the way to a 12-2 win over Arbutus in the losers' bracket final of the Maryland State 9-10 Little League Tournament at American Little League on Monday. The game was stopped after five innings because of the 10-run rule.

Halfway plays South Caroline in the championship round of the double-elimination tournament tonight at 6 p.m. Halfway must win to force a final game on Wednesday.

South Caroline beat Halfway 7-4 in Sunday's winners' bracket final.

Kyle Crist had a leadoff double and a two-run single for Halfway in its nine-run third inning. Halfway finished the game with 12 hits.

"We did really good in hitting," Crist said. "We were patient at the plate. We hit the ball hard. I feel that everybody was giving a good effort with their hitting. I feel confident about playing for the championship."

Crist had three hits, three RBI and two runs scored, while Josh Green and Chris McSherry each had two hits for Halfway. McSherry had three RBI, while Green added two RBI and two runs scored.

Aaron Stotelmyer got the win for Halfway, striking out nine batters in five innings.

"I did really good," Stotelmyer said. "It was the best that I had pitched for a while. I tried to work on my curve ball a little bit more. I feel good about how I did. My team helped me with the defense behind me."

Halfway manager Scott Herbert was very happy with his team.

"I'm very proud of them," Halfway manager Scott Herbert said. "We rebounded off of a loss as well as any team that I have seen. The offense came back tonight. I hope that it is here again tomorrow night, so we can live for another day."

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