Little League: Dramatic catch preserves win

John Cornett hit the ball so high and hard that center fielder Michael Rando thought briefly it was a sure home run.

But Rando turned and gave chase, allowing himself enough time to settle in front of the green fence. He jumped, raised his glove and came down with the ball with two outs in the bottom of the sixth and a runner on third base, preserving a 3-2 win Friday for Walpole, Mass., over Hamilton, Ohio.

A new Little League World Series hero was born.

“I don’t think I’ll ever let go of this ball,” Rando said, gripping it with his right hand following Walpole’s dramatic win in the opening game of the tournament in South Williamsport, Pa.

“To kick it off like this is something special,” manager Brian Oberacker said.

Tokyo 10, Willemstad, Curacao 3: Kanta Hiraide hit a liner to the left-field wall with the bases loaded to cap a six-run third inning to give the Tokyo Kitasuna squad from Japan a win over Willemstad, Curacao.

This is the first year that Japan’s national Little League tournament winner automatically qualified for South Williamsport. Japan hadn’t played a game since July 21 and looked a little rusty before the offense kicked in.

Maricaibo, Venezuela 2, Taichung, Taiwan, 1: Miguel Romero doubled home Alberti Chavez with two outs in the bottom of the sixth to give the Venezuelan team a win over Taiwan.

Venezuela starter Ronny Mejias struck out nine and allowed a hit but was forced to leave in the bottom of the fifth after throwing his 86th pitch due to a new pitch count rule.

Warner Robins, Ga. 9, Lake Oswego, Ore. 4: Warner Robins’ bats supported an effective outing from Clint Wynn in a victory over Lake Oswego.

Warner Robins was aggressive on the basepaths, taking advantage of passed balls, throwing errors and a couple other miscues from Oregon to get an 8-0 lead by the third inning.

Zane Conlon had two RBI doubles, but misplayed a grounder at shortstop in the sixth that allowed a run to score and extend a late rally as Oregon pulled to within 9-4.

But Hunt Smith snared a bouncer down the first-base line to start a game-ending double play.