Bronx Reaches Semifinals

Rolando Torres pitched a four-hitter and Tommy Guzman scored two runs Tuesday to lead the Rolando Paulino team from the Bronx to a 5-0 victory over Bainbridge Island, Wash., at the Little League World Series.

The victory gave the Bronx (3-0) first place in Pool B. The team plays Oceanside in a Thursday night semifinal game.

In today’s U.S. semifinal, Apopka, Fla., will play Brownsburg, Ind.

Bill Blankenship hit two of the four home runs by Apopka on Tuesday and the Florida team overcame a 3-0 deficit for a 10-3 victory over Davenport (Iowa) East.

The international semifinals will pit a team from Tokyo against a team from Matamoros, Mexico, today and a team from Hagatna, Guam, against a team from Willemstad, Netherlands Antilles, on Thursday.

In International division games Tuesday, Mexico was a 2-0 winner over Khovrino Moscow; Guam defeated a team from Calgary, Canada, 6-5, in nine innings; Japan was a 4-2 winner over Netherlands Antilles; and a team from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, was an 11-0 winner over Santiago, Panama, as Nikko Echevarria tied a Little League World Series record with three home runs.

For the Bronx team, Guzman scored the first run on a single by Carlos Garcia in the first inning. The New Yorkers broke open the game with three runs in the second. Guzman’s single drove in Francisco Pena, Reynaldo Guava scored on a sacrifice fly and Guzman came home on Danny Almonte’s single.

Torres struck out four and walked one against Bainbridge Island (1-2). Luis Zaragoza and Eduardo Flores of Mexico combined to strike out 15 and gave up only two hits against Russia.

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In International division games Tuesday, Mexico was a 2-0 winner over Khovrino Moscow; Guam defeated a team from Calgary, Canada, 6-5, in nine innings; Japan was a 4-2 winner over Netherlands Antilles; and a team from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, was an 11-0 winner over Santiago, Panama, as Nikko Echevarria tied a Little League World Series record with three home runs.

For the Bronx team, Guzman scored the first run on a single by Carlos Garcia in the first inning. The New Yorkers broke open the game with three runs in the second. Guzman’s single drove in Francisco Pena, Reynaldo Guava scored on a sacrifice fly and Guzman came home on Danny Almonte’s single.

Pena singled in the final run in the fifth.

Torres struck out four and walked one against Bainbridge Island (1-2).

Luis Zaragoza and Eduardo Flores of Mexico combined to strike out 15 and gave up only two hits against Russia.

Mexico (2-1) scored both runs in the third inning.

Flores came in to pitch in the third and all 12 outs he recorded were on strikeouts.