Patterson wins twice, advances to semifinals

In a day filled will upsets in the 12U bracket, the Patterson All-Stars avoided a letdown with two wins to advance to the one 12U semifinal game Thursday at 10 a.m.
Patterson, the No. 3 seed, defeated Bonkid, China, 16-0, in its first-round game Wednesday morning before defeating South Bend, Indiana-based East Side All-Stars, 7-3, Wednesday afternoon.
“We’re doing very well,” Patterson Head Coach Harris DeHart said of his team’s performance in the tournament thus far. “We came out (in) pool play fielding the ball, hitting the ball. Defense is phenomenal, and we’re really hot on the bats right now hitting the ball. It doesn’t matter how they’re pitching it. If they’re lobbing it in, we’re hitting it. If they’re burning it in, we’re hitting it. … When we’re in the field, our pitchers are doing a good job, and if they’re hitting the ball, we’re fielding it, so as of right now, we’re where we need to be.”
Patterson faced No. 7 Kentucky-based J-Town All-Stars Thursday morning. J-Town had one of Wednesday’s biggest upset victories as it knocked off No. 2 Lincoln, West Virginia, Lazers, 6-2. Lincoln and top-seed Shenandoah, Virginia, who had won last year’s 12U World Series, both fell in their lone games Wednesday. Because they were the top two seeds, each had first-round byes.
The two upset wins were among four recorded by lower seeds in nine games played Wednesday.
The losses mean that No. 3 Patterson is the highest-ranked team remaining in the 12U bracket.
The winner of the Patterson-J-Town contest will meet the winner of the Vineland, New Jersey, All-Stars-Jefferson Parish Recreation Department East winner Friday at 5 p.m. for the Babe Ruth World Series title.
The losers of the two semifinal contests will play Friday at 1 p.m. in the third-place game.
Patterson is in the same position as it was a year ago when it advanced to the semifinals. However, the set up was much different with games played on time limits on the final day due to rain hampering much of the tournament. Patterson won three games on the tournament’s final day to advance to the semifinals where it fell in a 3-2 contest.
After that loss, DeHart said the team planned to come back. They have and are in the same position, albeit with different circumstances as they are undefeated and have to play just one game Thursday.
“It’s a great feeling," he said. "These girls are very excited about what we’re doing. Some of them have been here before. Some of them, it’s their first year, but overall, they’re having a good time and really enjoying themselves. They’re looking forward to winning the championship to bring back to Patterson.”
In Wednesday’s win against East Side, Patterson never trailed as it took a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first. The local squad scored its first three runs via errors, while a fourth run scored on a passed ball.
East Side scored a run in the top of the third when Hailey Charmat doubled to leftfield, scoring Emme Denison to cut Patterson’s lead to 4-1.
Patterson got the run back in the bottom of the fourth when it scored a run on Emily Lipari’s single to right field that brought home Maggie Lemoine.
East Side scored a run in the top of the fifth when Charmat scored on a passed ball, while in the bottom of the fifth, Patterson scored runs on a single by Hailey Skiles and when Laila Dugar reached on an error for a 7-2 advantage.
East Side scored a run in the top of the sixth inning.
Olivia Black earned the win. In six innings, she surrendered three runs (two earned) on six hits with one walk and fanned one.
Skiles led Patterson’s offense as she finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Other top Patterson offensive contributors included Mikah Ortiz, 2-for-3 with a run scored; Emily Lipari, 1-for-3, an RBI; Lemoine, 1-for-1, a run scored; Amaya Williams, 1-for-3, a run scored; and Dugar, three RBIs.
Savannah Hamilton suffered the loss. In five innings, she surrendered seven runs (four earned) on seven hits with two walks and fanned three.
Charmat led East Side with a 2-for-2 performance with an RBI and a run scored. Other top East Side offensive contributors included Hamilton, 2-for-3; Denison, 1-for-3, an RBI and a run scored; and Erin Rudge, 1-for-3, a run scored.
Against Bonkid, Patterson pitchers Dugar and Hilary Pillaro combined for a no-hitter. Dugar pitched two innings and fanned four, while Pillaro pitched an inning and walked two and fanned three.
Offensively, Patterson scored eight runs apiece in the first and second innings.
Kamille Lightfoot led Patterson with a 2-for-2 performance with four RBIs and two runs scored. Other top Patterson offensive contributors included Lemoine, 2-for-2 with three RBIs and two runs scored; Ortiz, 2-for-2, two RBIs and two runs scored; Bryleigh DeHart, 2-for-2, two RBIs and two runs scored; Abbie Scully, 1-for-1, three RBIs and a run scored; Skiles and Lipari, each 2-for-2 with two runs scored; Ana Vaccarella, 1-for-2, an RBI and a run scored; and Williams, an RBI.
Yichen Shen suffered the loss.