The Willow Glen Resident

Willow Glen Red Sox finish second at AAU Nationals

Three players named to the national all-tournament team

By Dick Sparrer

The Willow Glen Red Sox didn't win a national championship.

But, boy, did they come close!

The Red Sox finished second to the Massachusetts Sea Dogs in the 36-team AAU 15-and-under National Invitational championships played last month in Kingsport, Tenn.

The Red Sox beat the Tampa Bandits 8-7, the Wisconsin Ripon Rippers 8-1 and the Virginia Blasters 14-4 before losing to the North Carolina Devil Rays 4-1.

The Sox fought back to beat the Louisiana State All-Stars 9-2, the New Jersey Shore All-Stars 11-10, the Chicago Titans 9-3 and the Ohio Rattlers 6-4 before losing 8-1 to the Sea Dogs in the finals.

Willow Glen posted a solid 7-2 record in the national tournament, and Darin Vieira, Dan Schneider, Jeff Henning and Chris Ralston were Red Sox named to the all-tourney team.

A double by Mike Williams was the only hit Willow Glen could muster in the title game against Massachusetts, a tough finish considering the Red Sox had pounded the ball on the way to scoring 66 runs in their first eight games of the tourney.

Willow Glen had knocked off Ohio 6-4 to win the spot in the championship game. A two-run double by Vieira in the sixth snapped a 4-4 tie and lifted the Red Sox to the victory.

The locals scored first in the game when Ralston doubled and scored on a throwing error in the first inning.

The Rattlers tied the game in the second, then took a one-run lead in the third. But a run-scoring single by Schneider in the home half of the third.

Ohio and Willow Glen matched two-run rallies in the fifth to enter the sixth tied 4-4. But Matt Durkin doubled and Ralston walked before Vieira snapped the deadlock with his two-run double.

That was all Durkin needed. The relief pitcher struck out the side in the seventh to claim his third tournament win.

Ralston had two hits for Willow Glen.

Willow Glen had opened the tournament with an 8-7 win over Tampa. Vieira and Mark Gallo knocked in two runs apiece, and Dameon Hall was the winning pitcher. The Bandits had the potential tying run on third base in the seventh when Hall recorded the final out of the game.

Henning went the distance to get the mound win in an 8-1 win over Wisconsin a game later. A two-out, two-run single by Chris Morgan in the bottom of the first was the key hit for Willow Glen.

Schneider doubled and singled twice in the win, and Doug Silverman doubled home a run. Mike Koontz and Nate Guido also drove in runs for the Sox.

An eight-run rally in the fifth proved the difference for Willow Glen in the 14-4 win over the Virginia Blasters.

A run-scoring single by Vieira and a two-run double by Andrew Knapp gave Willow Glen a good start, but the Blasters scored four in the fourth to get the lead. That set the stage for a big rally in the fifth. Silverman ripped a three-run homer, and Vieira pounded a three-run double to spark the effort.

Willow Glen capped the win with three more runs in the sixth on a couple of walks, a double by Gallo and a triple by Ryan Schon.

Knapp and Durkin teamed up to toss the Red Sox to the victory. Durkin was the winning pitcher.

Willow Glen suffered its first loss of the tourney, falling 4-1 to the North Carolina Devil Rays. A single by Ralston was the only hit of the game for the Red Sox.

Hall tossed a strong game, going the distance for Willow Glen, but he was tagged with the loss.

Durkin got the Red Sox back on the winning track by tossing a two-hitter in a 9-2 win over the Louisiana State All-Stars. Durkin fanned nine in the win.

Louisiana scored a couple of runs in the second to take an early lead, but Willow Glen fought back for three in the bottom of the frame when Knapp reached on an error, Schon was hit by a pitch, Morgan singled in two and Koontz bounced out to drive in another run.

A two-run double by Knapp and an infield hit by Schon were key hits in a four-run fifth when Willow Glen iced the victory.

A perfect bunt single by Jeff Mispagel helped the Red Sox score the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh in an 11-10 win over New Jersey.

Schneider doubled home two in the first to stake Willow Glen to a 2-0 lead, but Jersey tied it in the fourth.

The Red Sox snapped the tie and jumped out to a 10-1 lead only to see Jersey fight back. The visitors scored six in the sixth and tied the game with two out in the seventh.

That just set the stage for Mispagel's seventh-inning heroics.

Guido and Schneider led the Red Sox with two hits apiece in the victory, and Hall picked up the pitching win.

A two-run double by Vieira and a three-run homer by Schneider helped the Red Sox pound the Chicago Titans 9-3.

The Titans led 1-0 in the third, but the Sox tied it in the bottom of the inning when Schon singled and later scored on Vieira's shot off the pitcher's glove.

A bases-loaded single by Knapp and a run-scoring double by Morgan gave the Sox a 4-1 lead, and they put it away with the five runs in the sixth.

Knapp and Durkin combined to toss a one-hitter. Knapp was the winning pitcher.

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