Cordero’s Two-Hitter Wins for Cypress, 9-0

Two-hit pitching from a player who is in only his second season of baseball and two home runs from a player who broke his leg earlier in the season propelled Cypress, Calif., into the Thursday’s American final of the 44th annual Little League Baseball World Series.

Kerrie Cordero struck out 12 and walked only two while getting strong bat support from teammate Eddie Zamora as Western Regional champ Cypress blanked Central Regional winner Brooklyn, Mich., 9-0, in Tuesday’s first round.

In an earlier game Tuesday, Canadian champion Trail, British Columbia, downed Latin American titlist Matamoros, Mexico, 8-3. Cypress plays the winner of Wednesday’s game between East champion Shippensburg, Pa., and South champ Mobile, Ala.

Cordero, a right-hander who moved to Cypress with his family from Brooklyn, N.Y., two years ago and never played baseball until last season, had a no-hitter for 4 2/3 innings before Chris Chesney blooped a single to left.

Brooklyn’s only other hit off Cordero was a one-out sixth-inning double by pinch-hitter Danny Lewis.