is arm, then took it back with his bat.
is arm, then took it back with his bat.
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Grant Holman almost gave away a crucial victory with his arm, then took it back with his bat. After being victimized for a three-run homer that put his Chula Vista, Calif., team in a hole on Wednesday night, the tall right-hander hit a three-run homer in the top of the ninth, and California rallied for a 6-3 victory over New England champion Westport, Conn., to earn a berth in the U.S. championship game at the Little League World Series. "All I wanted to do was hit it hard," Holman said, his right arm in ice after a 10-strikeout performance and winning reliever Rennard Williams smiling at his side. Micah Pietila-Wiggs laced a one-out single to left, his third hit of the game, to start the ninth and Jake Espinoza followed with a double to right-centre before Holman connected off reliever Alex Reiner. Chula Vistas bullpen came up big, shutting down Westport over the final five innings. "It was fabulous," Chula Vista manager Rick Tibbett said about his relief corps. "Thats what they do." Matt Brown hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth for Connecticut, and the Northeast champions seemed headed for a big victory. But California shortstop Nick Mora hit his second homer of the game to make it 3-2 with one out in the top of the sixth and Chula Vista tied it when Reiner threw a wild pitch with the bases loaded. The victory snapped Connecticuts 20-game winning streak. "Its disappointing, of course, to lose," Westport manager Tim Rogers said. "Its painful to be so close to winning and lose. Obviously, theyre a very talented team. Theres no holes in their lineup whatsoever. Well play tomorrow." Westport plays Northwest champion Sammamish, Wash., on Thursday. Sammamish (3-1) moved on to the matchup in the U.S. bracket by eliminating Nashville, Tenn., 6-5 on Tuesday. Westport was coming off a 9-7 victory over Sammamish on Sunday. Holman pitched 3 2-3 strong innings. Chasing his second no-hitter of the World Series, Holman had struck out nine -- including the first six batters he faced, swinging -- and was cruising when Max Popken drew a leadoff walk to start the fourth. Harry Azadian broke up Holmans no-hit bid with a single to right field and Brown then homered. TOKYO, JAPAN 5, TIJUANA, MEXICO 2 The big bats of Tijuana, Mexico, were silenced by Tokyo, Japan, in the first game Wednesday. When Brandon Montes crushed a home run off Japan starter Kazuki Ishida, the big bats of Mexico seemed ready to rumble again. "I definitely felt chills," Ishida said. "But I made sure to keep my composure and keep on throwing." And hitting. Taken out after three innings with an eye on a future game, Ishida slammed a tie-breaking home run in the bottom of the fifth inning and unbeaten Tokyo rallied past powerful Tijuana 5-2 on Wednesday to earn a berth in the international championship game at the Little League World Series. Westport, Conn., faced powerful Chula Vista, Calif., under the lights in Wednesdays other game in the double-elimination tournament. Ishidas blast came off Tijuana starter Ramon Mendoza. Kouyou Mizushima followed with an RBI single and pinch-hitter Kyousuke Kobayashi capped the winning rally for Japan (3-0) with an RBI double off the left-centre field wall. "Im glad that we won. Everybodys starting to get their groove back," said Seiya Nishino, whose pinch-hit home run tied it at 2 in the fourth. Mexico (2-1) still has a shot. It will play Aguadulce, Panama, on Thursday in a rematch. Mendoza hit two of Tijuanas five home runs in a 13-0 four-inning win over Panama on Sunday in the winners bracket. That game was stopped because of Little Leagues 10-run rule, the second time Mexico had done that in the World Series. Not on this day, though. Ishida and winning reliever Ryutarro Takeo kept the Mexican players off-balance with a variety of off-speed pitches, never allowing the Tijuana offence to get untracked. Mexico, which also beat Perth, Australia, 12-0 in 4 innings last week, managed just five hits against Japan. "They handle their pitchers well," Tijuana manager Francisco Fimbres said. "They paint the corners, a lot of breaking balls down low. Ill have to congratulate Japans pitchers. The first two games we hit great. It might have been a little bit of nervousness with the importance of the game." Mexico took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second. Axcel Mandujano reached on an error by third baseman Shunpei Takagi, who bobbled Mandujanos bouncer and threw wide of first as the Mexican player ducked under the tag. The call stood as ruled after a challenge by Japan, and after Jorge Romero bounced into a fielders choice, eliminating pinch-runner Luis Manzo, left-handed hitting shortstop Jorge Rodriguez doubled down the left-field line over the outstretched glove of Kobayashi to score Romero from first. Japan evened the score in the bottom of the second. Kouyou Mizushima had a hustling double to right centre and scored on a two-out single up the middle by Ryusei Hirooka. Montes, who homered on the fifth pitch of the game in Mexicos rout of Panama, struck again in the top of the third. He slammed an 0-1 delivery well over the fence in left-centre for a 2-1 lead. Mendoza got out of a big jam in the bottom of the inning as his pitch count mounted. He walked Ishida to start the inning and Sho Miyao followed with an infield single that caromed off Mendozas glove. That gave Japan two men on and nobody out, but first baseman Jorge Rodriguez robbed Shunpei Takagi with a beautiful stop behind the bag as the runners moved into scoring position and Mendoza induced two weak popups to escape. Mendoza ran out of luck in the bottom of the fourth when Nishino crushed a 1-0 pitch far over the fence in centre to tie it again. Mateo Musacchio Jersey . But San Diego had even more trouble against right-hander Tanner Roark, who pitched a three-hitter for the first complete game of his career as the Nationals shut out the Padres 4-0. The 27-year-old set down the first 16 batters before San Diego catcher Rene Rivera, an . Patrick Cutrone Jersey . Blown save in the ninth inning? No problem. http://www.authenticshopacmilan.com/c-3 ... ersey.aspx. - Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis said Wednesday hes "nodded off" during meetings, but he said its something every player does. Lucas Ocampos Jersey . Still, Inter moved one point ahead of Parma in the race for fifth place and the final Europa League spot. Udinese remained 14th, 11 points above the relegation zone. Inter was beaten 2-1 by Atalanta at home on Sunday and has won only seven of 16 matches at the San Siro this season, as the squad seems to still be searching for its identity under new owner Erick Thohir and first-year manager Walter Mazzarri. Gabriel Jersey . The 25-year-old Lu, a regular on the Japan LPGA Tour after giving up her LPGA Tour membership in 2010, shot an 8-under 64 in windy, wet conditions at Kintetsu Kashikojima. TORONTO -- A steady hand and cool demeanour helped Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers. Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge scored 25 points each as Portland shot its way to a 118-110 overtime victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. Nicolas Batum added a season-high 24, and the Blazers overcame a late push by Toronto to pick up their sixth straight victory. "We didnt have a reason to be all riled up," Lillard said. "They played well getting back into the game. I think we were calm because we knew what we needed to do to win the game and we were able to get that done." Portland (8-2) held a three-point halftime lead after giving up 58 per cent shooting to the Raptors (4-7) in the first half. Outscoring Toronto 22-15 in the third quarter, the Trail Blazers took a 10-point advantage into the fourth where they continued to connect from downtown. Despite leading by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter, they allowed the Raptors to get back into the game and Rudy Gay to force overtime with a buzzer-beating layup. Portland finished the game connecting on a season-high 14 three-pointers. "Its tough when theyre knocking down shots like that," Gay said. "No matter how much we rotate, move it around and switch, its tough to play when a team has it going. Im not happy they made shots, but Im happy with the effort we put forth." Portlands ability to heat up from three wasnt a surprise to the Raptors. Raptors coach Dwane Casey talked about Portlands potent offence prior to Sundays game. "(Theyre) one of the best offensive teams that weve seen," Casey said. "I think as far as scoring the basketball, averaging 103 points a game, they are a very explosive offensive team so weve got to be on point. Weve got to guard the three-point line." Gay tied a season-high with 30 points to go with 10 rebounds for the Raptors while DeMar DeRozaan scored 29 points.dddddddddddd Jonas Valanciunas added a season-high 19 points in the loss. "They got aggressive and we got passive," said Lillard. "They started to attack us on the offensive end. They got some and-ones and hit some threes and we struggled on offence. We started to stall, get a little passive, a few turnovers, missed shots and they found their way back into the game." The Blazers connected on a season-high 15 three-pointers, finishing 15-for-32 from beyond the arc. Toronto made just three three-pointers. While Portland looked shaky down the stretch, they were poised in overtime. Lillard was three-for-three from the floor in the extra period, while Batum scored on each of his three-point attempts. Mo Williams sealed the game at the free-throw line. "The overtime we played well, especially defensively," Portland head coach Terry Stotts said. "I was proud of the way we competed in overtime, made plays , and got the win." Toronto struggled to get going in the extra session, shooting just 2-for-12 from the floor as the Blazers continued to patiently move the ball and connect on 5-for-8 field goals. Lillard wasnt thrilled with the fourth quarter collapse, but was pleased that his team took care of business in overtime. "We could have folded," Lillard said. "Once we got to overtime on the bench we just said we need to get some stops, we need to execute and pull this game out. Then we went on the floor and we did it." Batum echoed Lillards statements and wanted his team to use the game as a lesson. "This wasnt the first time we have done it," Batum said. "Four or five times in a row weve had a good lead and had to close out the game and the other team came back. It paid off right now because we won in overtimeawhen you are up 15, 18 points with seven minutes to go, we have to close out the game." Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '