Jun 29, 2008

Ramkumar pitches PA American by SM National

Right-hander delivers a 5-hit shutout in playoffs

By John Reid / Daily News Staff Writer

Palo Alto American's Rohit Ramkumar stalked off the mound, then pounded his glove for a job well done. Within seconds, Ramkumar was mobbed by teammates.

The first to greet him was battery mate Thomas Park, who gave Ramkumar a bear hug. Ramkumar had just tossed a five-hit shutout as PA American defeated San Mateo National 9-0 in a Little League District 52 11-and-12-year-old All-Stars Tournament first-round game at Middlefield Ballpark in Palo Alto.

Ramkumar struck out eight. His only feaux paux was hitting SM National's Daniel Catbagan in the first inning.

"Rohit was on fire," PA American manager Steve Sinchek said. "He mixed up his change and curveball and located his fastball. It was a great start for us."

"Rohit threw some nice curveballs on 0-2," Park said. "And he located his fastball on the inside to their big hitters."

PA American meets San Mateo Americn Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Hoover Park.



SM National's Blake Peters was locked in a duel with Ramkumar for the first three innings. In fact, Peters, a hard thrower, had nine strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings, but had to be removed because of the 85-pitch limit.

"Peters pitched an awesome game," SM National manager Frank Poss said. "He just ran out of pitches."

With two outs in the top of the third, PA American's Jordan Cano reached first on one of three SM National errors. Ravi Levens singled to left, but Cano was thrown out at third base on a strong throw by Steven Callas to Taran Poss, who applied the tag.

PA American broke through in the fourth inning. Park hit the first pitch into left field for a single, and Chris Smith walked. A passed ball moved up the runners before Matt Crist walked to fill the bases. Park scored on a wild pitch, then Ramkumar's grounder plated Smith. A play by SM National at third base to get Crist backfired as the throw got away, allowing Crist to score the unearned run.

PA American added six unearned runs in the top of the sixth, a fielding error to start the inning causing the armor to crack for good. Cano's two-run double with the bases loaded helped give PA American some breathing room. Levens followed with a three-run homer to center field to break the game open.

"We played five good innings," Frank Poss said. "Their pitcher pitched a great game. The fact he only pitched 72 pitches meant two things. One, he threw strikes. Two, we weren't patient enough at the plate. I tip my hat to PA American. They played a great game."

"Peters pitched well," Sinchek said. "He mixed up his pitches. We tried to work the count on him. We did a good job of that."



Elsewhere

In other D-52 11-12-year-old all-star games:

n Hillsborough blanked Belmont/Redwood Shores 12-0 at Hoover Park on Saturday.

n Foster City blanked Redwood City American 16-0.

n Highlanders clipped Pacifica National 2-1.

n San Mateo American routed Redwood City National 14-3.

n Pacifica American used a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to stun Menlo-Atherton 10-9.

n San Carlos used three pitchers to throw a four-inning no-hitter against Ravenswood in a 12-0 win. Mark Concilla got the victory for San Carlos with help from Danny Cody and Connor Sick. Kyle Barret's three-run homer in the second inning helped San Carlos' cause.



E-mail John Reid at jreid@dailynewsgroup.com.



PA American 000 306 - 9 6 0

SM National 000 000 - 0 5 3

Ramkumar and Park; Peters, Ratcliffe (5), Tyo (6), Poss (6) and Catbagan. WP-Ramkumar. LP-Peters. 2B-Cano (PAA). HR-Levens (PAA). 2 hits - Cano, Levens (PAA); Peters (SMN). 3 RBI - Levens (PAA). 2 RBI - Cano (PAA).