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Hastings Little League punches ticket to World Series

Team faces powerhouse Japan on Friday

Double-digit fireworks be damned, the Hastings Little League baseball team leaned perfectly on one of sport鈥檚 oldest clich茅s when it mattered most.

Defence indeed won the day on Saturday, as the Vancouver-based club claimed national supremacy with a 1-0 win over Whalley in the finals of the Little League Canadian Championships.

The team of 11-to 13-year-olds left Sunday to Williamsport, Pa., where they host Team Japan on Friday in the opening contest of the Little League World Series.

Saturday鈥檚 national final featured razor-thin margins: scoreless in the fifth, Nicola Barba knocked home the game鈥檚 lone run on a 3-2 pitch that drove home Matteo Ripoli to seal the win.

鈥淚 was just thinking put the ball in play, see what I can do,鈥 Barba said. 鈥淚 just battled鈥 This team is so good, it鈥檚 unbelievable.鈥

Starting pitcher Loreto Siniscalchi tossed a veritable gem, striking out 13 without conceding a hit. Stefano Dal Sasso came on in the sixth to preserve the win in front of an estimated crowd of 4,000 at Hastings Park.

鈥淚 just tried to find my groove, my preferable spot with the ball and once I found it, I found my groove [and] I was more into the game,鈥 Siniscalchi said. 鈥淚 was going to do as much as I can. It took a team effort and everyone did their best, the best job they could do. We won as a team.鈥

It was Vancouver鈥檚 closest margin of victory throughout the 10-day tourney: while they had previously recorded a 5-4 win over Whalley in round robin play, their remaining contests were won handily by double-digit scores.

Hastings advanced to the final by way of a 9-0 win over Team Alberta Friday, and collectively outscored its opposition 73-9 over the course of a perfect eight-game run.

The club鈥檚 latest national crown is its third since 2009. Hastings finished 1-2 at the Little League World Series in both 2009 and 2013.

As for the tournament leaderboard, Siniscalchi led all comers in homeruns (five) and finished tied for first in RBIs alongside Barba with 17. The 13-year-old surrendered just one hit and no earned runs, while striking out 31 opposing batters, good for second place among all pitchers. Barba fanned 32 batters to lead the tournament.

Hastings now turns its attention to the international scene and takes on the Japanese entry from Chofu Little League, a team from Tokyo, at 11 a.m. PST Friday.

Japanese teams have claimed the Little League World Series title in four of the last six years.

鈥 with files from the Burnaby Now.

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@JohnKurucz