Southwest pitches a win
By Ryan Saxton
Staff Reporter

USA Southwest starting pitcher Amanda Hinojosa (above), and Southwest pitchen Bianca Idar (below), toss a 9-0 win against the EMEA team, Windmills Den Bosch, in the series opener. Photo by RUSLANA LAMBERT

Hailing from the Netherlands and led by coaches Lucien Hekker and Annie Jonkers-Hekker and manager Hannie Mulders, the team earned the right go to to the World Series when they defeated Italy, the Ukraine and Poland with combined scores of 47-9 in the opening rounds of the EMEA championship in Ramstein, Germany, in July.

The hosting German team dished the Windmills their lone loss, on the second day, but the Netherland team triumphed 5-1 in a rematch that saw the teams heads-up in the championship game.

The first day of the World Series at the Pyle Center in Roxana introduced the Windmills to a commanding San Antonio, Texas, team from the USA Southwest region. Playing host of their qualifying tournament, the Southwest regional champs, members of the Northwest Little League, went undefeated in their single-elimination tournament, before defeating Texas East 7-3 and securing their spot in the Series this week.

Once on the field, the San Antonio team performed as if they were still hosting to a sell-out crowd. Southwest pitcher Amanda Hinojosa started things off right for her team when she shipped in three quick strike-outs in the opening inning of the ballgame. Southwest was able to take an early lead in the first as a triple from left-fielder Jacqueline Gonzalez brought in the first run of the game. Southwest upped their lead again in the third when a double from Amanda Delgado brought in two more runs.

Three consecutive walks in the top of the fourth inning and no outs on the board, however, put San Antonio in a compromising position. “I started getting frustrated,” said Hinojosa. “I was pretty pumped after how I was throwing in the first inning, then I started dying down. Some of the calls were getting to me.”

Bases were loaded and their 3-0 lead, which had initially looked comfortable, was suddenly lingering in jeopardy. A quick pitcher change saw Blanca Idar head to the mound. She fired in three immediate strike-outs to close the inning and followed them up for the remainder of the game with six more.

Idar only allowed one runner on base. Windmills third baseman, Zoë Anasagasti, sent a shot to centerfield for a single in the sixth inning, though the team from Netherlands was unable to develop anything.

Gonzalez and Delgado each brought in three RBI’s to help the Southwest walk off with the first win of the World Series, 9-0. Centerfielder Marie Mousseau-Rioux and catcher Ashley Perez each helped knock in a run, while pinch-hitter Angel Escobedo stole home late in the sixth inning to score the final run for Southwest.

San Antonio was able to cycle through their players, with a total of 32 at-bats in the seven-inning game.

“Our hitting was there,” said San Antonio Coach Leonard Jimenez. “We wanted to jump on them, but we didn’t want to get too high too quick.”

When asked about his decision to place Idar on the mound, he replied, “At that point, I turned to [manager Joe Leal] and said we needed to do something. That’s not the first time she’s thrown like that. She always pulls through for us. We’re lucky to have these talented pitchers.”