Mtn. View wins Junior League World Series

TAYLOR, Mich. - Winning a world championship still hadn't sunk in for Grant Martinez.

"It's pretty insane," said Martinez, the winning pitcher for Scottsdale Mountain View after Saturday's 9-1 win over Oranjested, Aruba, in the title game of the Junior League World Series. "We thought winning our regional was a plus. But this? Wow."

Martinez lasted into the sixth inning, keeping Aruba's potent offense at bay, allowing only two hits. Ryan Riggs finished with one-hit relief to close out the win.

Mountain View jumped to a 4-0 lead in the second, the big blow coming from Jimmy DiTroia's three-run home run.

"That was a big boost for us," Mountain View Coach Steve Erickson said. "That was huge. We thrive on getting a lead."

Later, Luc Trotta's RBI groundout scored Michael Salazar, upping the lead to 5-1 in the fourth. In the fifth, Martinez broke it open with a two-run single, scoring Cody Erickson (two hits) and Dylan Cozens. Salazar followed with a two-run shot for extra insurance.

Aruba committed five errors. By contrast, Mountain View played error-free ball.

"Pitching and defense have been our key," Steve Erickson said. "But our bats really came alive at the end. They started out slow, but finished strong."

Mountain View's eight-hit attack was more than enough to back Martinez. He struck out only one, but the defense took care of the rest.

To get to the title game, Mountain View had to play the U.S. title game early Saturday after having it postponed from Friday due to a curfew and a rain delay. It worked out fine, though, as Mountain View topped Middlebury, Ind., 6-2.

Middlebury jumped to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but Cozens looked strong and was in control the rest of the way and was the winning pitcher.

A Trotta sacrifice fly in the second inning tied the game a 1-1. Cozens put his club up 2-1 the next inning with an RBI single. In the fifth, Cozens plated DiTroia with an RBI single. Later, Cody Erickson scored on a throwing error.

The Junior League World Series is the tournament for players 13- and 14-years old. During the weeklong series, Mountain View scored wins over Middlebury (4-0), Easley, S.C. (10-1), Albuquerque (7-4) and Jackson, N.J. (10-8).

What seemed like a negative in having Friday's U.S. title game with Indiana postponed until Saturday was actually a plus.

"Both those guys (Cozens and Martinez) threw 95 pitches each," Steve Erickson said. "We were sitting around last night, waiting to play. But I think that benefitted us, having a couple of good pitchers like we have."