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August 17, 2012 Guatemala and Lemon Grove pretty well matched Guatemala features dominant pitching; Lemon Grove features timely hitting
Guatemala’s appearance will mark the sixth appearance by Latin America in the title game. U.S. West teams are 2-4 in title games while Latin America is 3-2. Both regions have won the title in the last two years – Aruba South L.L., San Nicolas, Aruba, in 2010; and Hilo L.L., Hilo, Hawaii, last year. Guatemala and Lemon Grove are pretty evenly matched offensively, with Lemon Grove batting .360 as a team and Guatemala .347 as a team. Lemon Grove hitters have 11 doubles to Guatemala’s eight. However, Lemon Grove has played one more game than Guatemala, which had its last pool play game, against Maine District 3 host Hampden-Newburgh L.L., Hampden, rained out Thursday night. Both teams have stolen 10 bases, and both have had a runner caught stealing. Both teams also make opposing pitchers work, as Lemon Grove has drawn 21 walks in five games (4.2 per game) while Guatemala has drawn 18 walks in four games (4.5 per game). Top hitters for Lemon Grove are Ray Peterson, Esteban Lieras, and Deandre Simpson.
Lieras is batting .471 in the series (8-for-17), with one double, three RBIs, and eight runs scored. Deandre Simpson, however, may be Lemon Grove’s biggest threat offensively. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound right-handed hitter is batting only .286 (4-for-14). However, three of his four hits are doubles, including the dramatic game-winner on opening day against South Beaches/Greater West Melbourne L.L., Brevard County, Fla., on opening day. And he has made his hits count, driving in eight runs. Simpson has walked five times – including two intentional walks from Emilia L.L., Emilia, Italy, in Lemon Grove’s 5-4, eight-inning win over the EMEA champ. Simpson has struck out only once this week, so when teams do pitch to him, he puts the ball in play. As a team, Lemon Grove has stolen 10 bases and been caught stealing once. At the plate for Guatemala, Jose Quilo, Julio Alvorado, Fernando Valls, Juan DiegoMontes, and Gabriel Montenegro are the ones to look out for. That’s more than half of the lineup. None of the five has more than five hits, but that’s because Guatemala has played one fewer game than Lemon Grove. Quilo leads the team with a .556 batting average, as he is 5-for-9, with two doubles. Valls is right behind him with a .500 average (5-for-10), with three doubles. Alvorado has gone 4-for-8 (.500), with a double, four RBIs, and two stolen bases.
Montenegro has no extra-base hits to go with his 5-for-13 series (.385), but he has driven in five runs and worked three walks. As is so often the case, who wins the 2012 World Series title will depend on pitching. Guatemala’s pitching staff has been nothing short of dominating. With only nine hits in 26 innings, opponents are hitting a minuscule .106, with only one extra-base hit – a double. Opponents have managed to average a scant 0.77 base runners per inning on walks and hits, scoring only five runs – all earned. Guatemalan pitchers have struck out 25 in 26 innings of play and walked 11, for an average of about three walks per game. The team’s ERA is 1.15. Lemon Grove’s pitching staff, on the other hand, tends to give up a lot of hits, but that’s because its pitchers aren’t afraid to throw strikes. In 34 innings, opponents have racked up 35 hits against the U.S. West representative. However, Lemon Grove pitchers have issued only nine walks – an average of 1.85 per game. Opponents are averaging 1.27 runners per inning on walks and hits. Lemon Grove pitchers have struck out 20. The number of hits allowed should be of concern to Lemon Grove, against whom opponents hit .257. On the field, both teams are strong defensively, with Lemon Grove’s infielders making quite a few spectacular plays this week, thanks to good range. However, the team has committed six errors in the series. Guatemala also features sound defense, with its fielders having committed only two errors all week. Historically, U.S. West is 5-3 against Latin America. The only other region with a winning record against Latin America is U.S. Southwest, which is 6-3 against the region. |
For the seventh time in the 11 World Series that have been held in Bangor, a U.S. West team
will play in the title game, as Lemon Grove L.L., Lemon Grove, Calif., takes on Latin America’s
Juvenil de Guatemala L.L., Guatemala City, Guatemala, at approximately 2:07 p.m. Saturday.
Peterson is hitting 7-for-12 (.583) in the series, with four of his hits doubles. He has driven in
nine runs and stolen six bases. His slugging percentage is .917, and his on-base percentage plus
slugging percentage is 1.496.
DiegoMontes may be Guatemala’s biggest threat, though. He has four hits in 10 at-bats (.400),
hitting for the cycle in the series – one single, one double, one triple, and the series’ only home
run. He has driven in six runs – three on the home run against Notre-Dame-de-Grace L.L.,
Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Monday night. He has two stolen bases as well.
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