Philippines Beats Long Beach : Baseball: A seven-run first inning lets the Far East continue its domination of the Little League World Series, 15-4.

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — First, the team’s leader, power-hitting shortstop Sean Burroughs, became the fourth Long Beach player to come down with the flu-like illness that resulted in two German players being hospitalized earlier in the week.

Then, before 40,000 Saturday, Long Beach gave up more runs during the first inning of the championship game than it had during any game of its 21-game winning streak. The seven-run, five-hit attack spurred the Philippines to a 15-4 victory in the championship game of the 46th Little League World Series.

The Philippines is the eighth team from the Far East to win the Little League World Series in the last nine years. It was also the sixth rout in the last seven years in the series final.

“I’m sure everyone in the Philippines will be celebrating by this time,” Manager Rudy Lugay said shortly after the game.

It was the first time that the Philippines had qualified a team into the World Series and not much was known about the team when it got here, except that it had beaten powerful Taiwan in regional play. But the Philippines lost only once, in a meaningless round-robin game to the Dominican Republic, while earning the respect of many coaches for heady play.

“Our team realizes that it just plain got beat,” Long Beach Manager Larry Lewis said.

Long Beach, trailing by 8-0, got all of its runs during the bottom of the third inning when first baseman Ryan Stuart, a left-handed batter, hit a 1-and-0 fastball from Ian Tolentino over the left-field fence for a grand slam.

But from that point on the Philippines stymied Long Beach, which was batting .309 going into the game. Only two runners made it to second base after the third, as Tolentino confused Long Beach with a variety of pitches, struck out four and got several batters to pop out. Long Beach had only four hits.

Long Beach starter Ryan Beaver, who lasted four innings, gave up 13 runs and nine hits. He also threw three wild pitches and hit four batters.

“I was very surprised by the first inning,” Lugay said of the seven-run burst.

Stuart’s home run gave Long Beach life in the third, but the U.S. champions were through after that.

“When it got to 8-4, that scared us,” Lugay said, “but I told the boys just to make a hit. Don’t try to hit for the world, just get a hit.”

The Philippines, which was batting .271 entering the game, put it out of reach in the fourthinning by scoring five runs on four hits.

“I thought Beaver made some good pitches,” said Long Beach Coach Jeff Burroughs, father of Sean. “These guys, like they are capable of doing. . . . They just hit them.”

Sean Burroughs played despite his illness, going one for four.