Cypress Out a Long Way From Home : Little League: Orange County team fails to squeeze home tying run in final inning of 5-4 loss to Shippensburg, Pa.

Twenty-five thousand spectators surrounded them. Network television cameras zoomed in. A couple of well-paid baseball analysts critiqued their every move and thousands of amateur analysts chimed in.

Despite the pressure-cooker conditions surrounding Saturday’s semifinal game at the 44th Little League World Series, the Cypress Little League All-Stars managed to look fairly calm and composed.

Then they took the field.

Six innings and four crucial errors later, Cypress had been eliminated, 5-4, by Shippensburg, Pa., the local favorite.

Shippensburg will play Taiwan, a 20-1 winner over Trail, British Columbia, for the Little League World Series title at 10 a.m. (PDT)today. Taiwan has produced 13 Little League World Series champions.

Cypress goes home, where it thought it would be long ago.

“I’ll tell you, being No. 2 in the nation isn’t bad,” said Cypress Manager Gary Shelton, referring to the fact that Saturday’s game determined the U.S. Little League champion.

But beating Shippensburg undoubtably would have been better.

Cypress, which led, 3-0, after two innings, had a chance for a dramatic rally in the bottom of the sixth.

Trailing, 5-4, Cypress seemed to have gotten a lucky break when Eddie Zamora led off by reaching third on throwing errors by pitcher David Orndorff and right fielder Chuck Halter.

With no outs and Zamora on third, Shelton brought in pinch hitter Joe Katchka, and signaled for a bunt. Katchka’s bunt rolled right to Orndorff, who looked to third, holding Zamora, and then threw to first.

Zamora hesitated, then took off for home, but first baseman Bobby Knox, taking several steps toward home, threw home and Zamora was tagged out.

The Shippensburg fans stood and cheered wildly, waiting for the final out. As Orndorff began his windup to Mark Slevcove, Shippensburg fans broke into a furious chant of, “LET’S GO SHIP! LET’S GO SHIP!”

Slevcove grounded to shortstop Scott Thrush, who made a routine throw to first for the final out.

“Eddie’s the fastest kid on our team,” Shelton said about the squeeze attempt. “We’ve scored on that play a thousand times.”

Said Shippensburg Manager Glen Orndorff, the pitcher’s father: “I said, ‘They’re going to squeeze it.’ I told my son to look the runner back, and they just executed.”

Although they managed a 3-0 lead in the second inning, and pitcher Bobby Brito did not allow a hit until the fifth inning, Cypress looked shaky defensively along the way. Many of the players blamed big-game jitters.

“I was real nervous,” first baseman Jake Koziel said. “When I got up to bat, I couldn’t even grip it I was shaking so much. I had to call time and step out of the box. . . I’ve never been like that before.”

Shippensburg scored two unearned runs in the third to cut its deficit to 3-2. In the fifth, Bobby Shannon gave the Pennsylvanians a 5-3 lead, hitting the first pitch over the left-field fence and scoring behind Orndorff.

Orndorff’s infield single had scored Jimmy Smith, who reached first and advanced on errors.

“Before he went up to bat, I told him to hit one,” Glen Orndorff said. “He looked at me and shook his head and just said, ‘OK.’ ”

Cypress’ Kerry Cordero hit a solo homer in the fifth over the left-field wall to cut Shippensburg’s lead to 5-4. Brito struck out three in the sixth, but Cypress could not score the tying run. in bottom of the inning.

In all, Brito allowed three hits and five runs (all unearned) and struck out 10. He walked three.

Orndorff gave up five hits and struck out eight.

“The pitching’s not what got us,” Shelton said. “It’s our blasted errors.”

Added coach Ron MacDonald: “I think they really felt the pressure today. There were too many simple mistakes. Our shortstop was extremely nervous before the game. All the players were.”

Cypress left fielder Matt Mims disagreed: “I wasn’t nervous. I know we can beat them. We just made mistakes. (Because of Wednesday’s and Thursday’s rain) we didn’t get to practice. . .

“But we made it this far. We’re second-best in the nation, and third or fourth in the world. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. I don’t think that would be possible.”

Little League Notes

Cypress Manager Gary Shelton had to remove his son, Matt, one of the team’s best hitters, from the lineup two hours before Saturday’s game because of a sore shoulder. “It’s tough to be told right before the biggest game in your life, especially by your own father, that you can’t play,” Gary Shelton said. . . . Shelton, looks forward to returning home after two weeks of tournament play on the road. “We’ve spent two weeks sleeping on cots, living in barracks with these kids. I want to sleep in my own bed. I want to shower in my own shower. My wife and I have been trying to fit in a trip to Vegas for the last two weeks, but we keep winning and keep canceling Vegas. Now if we go to Vegas, I’ll probably just sleep the whole time.”

Crowd reception of Taiwan improved a bit Saturday. During the week, many in the crowd booed Taiwan, which has produced teams that have won the Little League World Series 13 times. But after Taiwan defeated Trail, 20-1, Saturday morning, the crowd of about 7,500 gave the team a warm applause, and later a standing ovation when the Taiwan players gathered on the mound, formed a circle and bowed gracefully toward the stands . . . Taiwan’s 20-1 victory nearly matched Taiwan’s 21-1 victory over Northwood Irvine in the 1987 title game . . . British Columbia’s Kelly Craig, the only girl playing in the Little League World Series, did not fare too well. Craig started at first base, where she had a throwing error, was moved to catcher (two passed balls), and went 0 for 3, striking out twice.

Longtime Little League umpire Skipper Carillo of Laguna Beach was honored with an introduction during pre-game ceremonies . . . Little League baseball announced Saturday that an alcohol and drug abuse education program will be implemented in the league in 1991, with Dodger pitcher Orel Hershiser as its spokesman. . . Shippensburg will be the first Pennsylvania team to play in a Little League world championship since 1967. That year, Tokyo, Japan defeated Edgemont, Pa., 4-1 in the title game. Pennsylvania’s last championship came in 1960, when Levitttown, Pa., beat Ft. Worth, Tex., 5-0.