Cypress Starts Fast in Easy Victory

The Cypress Federal Little League team defeated Murrayhill of Beaverton, Ore., 15-1, in the second round of the Western Regional Thursday at Al Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino.

Cypress scored eight runs in the first inning and four in the second on a grand slam by Patrick Cassa. Alexander Alba added a home run in the third to make it 13-0.

The game was called after four innings because of the mercy rule.

Left-hander Alba had a perfect game through three innings, striking out six. He gave up one hit and it eventually led to Murrayhill’s run, which scored on a passed ball in the fourth.

Cypress, undefeated in the double-elimination tournament, will play Eastdale of Albuquerque, N.M., at 8 tonight.

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The Arabian American Little League of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia swept the European championships in Poland with a 9-0 record to qualify for the World Series in Williamsport, Pa., Aug. 23-29.

It will be the third consecutive appearance in the World Series for Dhahran. The Saudi team is made up of children of American-born oil workers.

Kashima, Japan, won five games in a row to take the Far East title.

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Cypress Federal is attempting to become Orange County’s first league to have its all-star team appear twice in the Little League World Series.

The 1990 Cypress all-stars lost in the second round at Williamsport under the old single-elimination format. That format was scrapped in 1992 in favor of round-robin play.

Teams from Irvine (1987), Yorba Linda (1995) and Mission Viejo (1997) and Santa Ana-based Bolsa (1968) have also appeared in the series, but none have won the championship.

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Laguna Niguel’s Frank Robinson has been selected as an umpire for the World Series. He is one of two umpires from California on the 12-man crew, which includes eight from the United States and four from other countries.

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ESPN2 will telecast the Western Region tournament’s championship game, which begins at 7 p.m. Aug. 20.