North Cumberland became second undefeated champ

North Cumberland L.L., of Upper Deerfield, N.J., won the 2008 Senior League Baseball World Series with a 10-8 win over Pabao L.L., of Willemstad, Curacao. North Cumberland became only the second team to go undefeated (6-0) in the World Series since the tournament moved to Bangor in 2002. Paraguana L.L., from Falcon, Venezuela, was undefeated in winning the 2006 title.

Not only did North Cumberland go undefeated in the World Series, it finished its tournament season with a perfect 23-0 record. In the championship game, played in front of a capacity crowd, North Cumberland scored three runs with two outs in the first inning as Pabao starting pitcher Dudley Leonora walked six consecutive batters in the top of the inning after retiring the first two batters. Pabao countered with two runs of its own with two outs in the bottom of the inning.

North Cumberland held a 9-5 lead after three innings before Pabao scored three runs in the fourth to make it 9-8. Darren Fischer led off the top of the seventh for North Cumberland with his second home run of the series to give his team a more comfortable two-run lead.

Pabao had threatened to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth inning before cleanup hitter Jonathan Schoop grounded into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded. North Cumberland turned another crucial double play with runners on first and second with nobody out in the bottom of the seventh.

While North Cumberland swept pool play to advance to the semifinals, Pabao needed the runs allowed per defensive innings played ratio tiebreaker to advance. Pabao, Tuscarawas County L.L., of New Philadelphia, Ohio; and Bryan National West L.L., of Bryan, Texas, each finished with 2-2 records behind North Cumberland in Pool B. Pabao had beaten Tuscarawas on opening night but lost to Bryan National West, while Bryan National West lost to Tuscarawas on the last day of pool play.

Tuscarawas County learned just how small the margin for error is in a short series, as its 4-3 loss to Pabao on opening night proved to be the team’s downfall. Tuscarawas had a 3-0 lead before Pabao strung together five consecutive hits in the fifth inning to score four times.

Whalley L.L., of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, finally made it to the semifinals after narrow misses in two previous trips to Bangor, in 2004 and 2007. The team lost to North Cumberland 1-0 in the semifinals after finishing pool play with a 3-1 record. North Cumberland’s run scored on an errant cutoff throw after a two-out triple in the first inning. It was North Cumberland’s only hit of the game.

Seven of the 23 games were decided by only one run, and only three games ended early because of the 10-run rule. Other notable one-run games were Pabao’s 8-7 win in the semifinals over East Boynton Beach L.L., of Boynton Beach, Fla., and Maine District 3 host Bangor East/West L.L., of Bangor’s 10-9 loss to East Boynton in pool play.

In pool play, East Boynton Beach needed extra innings to defeat the host, with the winning run scoring on an error. Bangor East/West was seeking to become the first Maine District 3 team to win two games in a series, as it had beaten Illam L.L., of Makati City, Philippines, 14-1 in five innings in its previous game.

In its 8-7 semifinal loss to Pabao, East Boynton Beach scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

East Boynton Beach’s appearance in the semifinal extended the U.S. South region’s streak of semifinal appearances to seven since 2002. It was the longest streak by a region since the World Series moved to Bangor in 2002.

The 2008 series was dedicated to assistant tournament director Dan Clifford, who died unexpectedly the preceding October. The first Daniel E. Clifford Memorial Sportsmanship Award, for the team best exemplifying Clifford’s credo of play hard, play fair, and have fun, as voted on by the umpires, was awarded to Bangor East/West.

Alumni from the 2008 series who went on to play professionally included Pabao’s Leonora (Baltimore Orioles),  Schoop (Baltimore Orioles), Aljeurrreau Bishop (Seattle Mariners), Curtney Doran (Boston Red Sox), Kevin Moesquit (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim), and Jurickson Profar (Texas Rangers).