Babe Ruth World Series Day 1 Roundup: Gonzalez impresses as Lexington shuts out Canada

Lexington’s Giancarlo Gonzalez throws a pitch against Canada during the Babe Ruth World Series on Friday, Aug. 9, at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

Giancarlo Gonzalez turned in the most impressive pitching performance of the first day of the Babe Ruth World Series on Friday, Aug. 9, at Cape Central High School.

Gonzalez threw a complete game shutout with 12 strikeouts to lead Lexington (KY) to a 3-0 win over Canada.

The Ohio Valley representatives certainly needed Gonzalez’s arm to make it through the pitchers’ duel. Canada countered with Wyatt Sadleir, who threw five innings and allowed only one earned run and two hits.

However, Sadleir’s eight walks proved to be his undoing, and defensive miscues proved to be Canada’s. Lexington scored the first run on a wild pitch in the third inning and two more runs on a series of errors in the fourth.

Stamford, CT 13, Mountain View, CA 5

Nikolas Christian went 4-for-5 with a double, triple, and four RBI to lead Stamford to a 13-5 blowout over Mountain View in the first game of the Tournament. Thomas Passamano started the game on the mound for Stamford, going 5.1 innings allowing five runs on five hits with six strikeouts. Brayden Martinez led Mountain View with two hits and two RBI.

Altoona, PA 6, Netherlands 0

Altoona rode a four-run second inning to a 6-0 win over the Netherlands. Eric Ulery was the player of the game for Altoona, hitting a double, scoring a run, and started the game on the mound with three scoreless innings and four strikeouts. Elijah Shade and Leland Baer combined to throw four innings without giving up a hit.

Mid-County, TX 5, Aruba 4

Jackson Yoder set the tone for Mid-County with a two-run triple to give the team from Texas a 3-0 lead in the second inning after Jaxon Sylvester plated the first run of the game with a single in the first. Despite giving up four runs, Cade McNeely turned in five no-hit innings with eight strikeouts to earn the win.

Alabama 7, Mexico 3

Connor Fadalla led the Alabama Raw Dogs with a 2-for-3 night and a two-run double in the fourth inning. Quincy Walters set the tone for the Raw Dogs with an RBI triple to highlight a three-run rally in the first inning. Will Thomas led Alabama on the mound, throwing a complete game with three runs allowed and four strikeouts for the win.

Kelso, WA 12, Salina KS 0

Despite no extra-base hits, the Kelso line dominated Salina pitching by slapping six hits, drawing 10 walks, and capitalizing on three errors to win by an overwhelming margin. Boston Caron led Kelso with two hits and two RBI. Noah Newton started the game on the mound and turned in five scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Branded Swearington came in relief and pitched two no-hit innings to close out the game.