Red Sox top Mariners for double-A title

The Newport Beach Little League AA championship game was a matchup

between two teams riding hot streaks through the playoffs with the

Red Sox defeating the Mariners, 8-2, for the title last Thursday.

Both teams lost their first game in the double-elimination

tournament and won five games in a row to play in the championship

game.

The Mariners, seeded fifth in the tournament, had to defeat the

second-seeded Braves two games in a row and the Red Sox had to beat

the top-seeded Yankees twice.

Conor Roche and Walter Frome scored for the Mariners in the first,

then the Red Sox responded by loading the bases and then clearing

them on a line-drive triple into the left-center field gap by Chase

Favreau. The triple brought in Mason Case, Evan Harr, and Andrew

McCormack.

Baron Brown cracked a single to center to bring home Favreau and

the Mariners retired Liam Duddy to end the inning. The Red Sox

continued to battle offensively with runs being scored by Nicholas

Roy, David Weitz, and a second by McCormack, who completed his third

inning of pitching with the score 7-2.

The three-inning pitching of closer Mason Case (seven strikeouts)

and the clutch fielding by Spender Christoff and Matt VanRossem

assured a victory for the Red Sox.

Skyler Garn scored the Red Sox’s final run after Elliott Steele

moved him into scoring position.

The Red Sox finished the season 16-7-1.

Manager Tom Duddy of the Red Sox said: “The boys came together as

team when the playoffs started and to their credit made the big plays

when they needed. “