This kid was bringing it to the plate at 73mph last night against Japan. That is like a ML pitcher brining it over 100! To top it off, he crushed a home run to score the only run of the game. Congrats to the kids from Kentucky. <img border="0" alt="[Bow]" title="" src="graemlins/bow.gif" />

Alvey cranks homer, sets two pitching records

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Associated Press


SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Aaron Alvey homered and set two pitching records as Louisville, Ky., beat Sendai, Japan, 1-0 Sunday night to win the Little League World Series.

With one out in the top of the first, Alvey sent the first pitch he saw 250 feet -- the outfield wall is 205 -- to center field to put Louisville in front. He then struck out 11 on his way to setting World Series records for strikeouts (44) and scoreless innings (21), and tying the mark for consecutive no-hit innings (12).


Yuuki Chiba kneels on the field after Sendai lost to Louisville in Sunday's title game.
Louisville is the first U.S. team to win the title since Tom's River, N.J., beat Kashima, Japan, 12-9 in 1998.

"Me and my teammates worked really hard since it started,'' Alvey said. "Me and my teammates are really, really happy that this happened."

Alvey experienced shoulder pain midway through the game, and received heat treatments in the dugout.

"My shoulder starting hurting a little bit ... then it started feeling good,'' he said. "I went back out there to do my thing.''

Alvey walked Yoosuke Katoh with two out in the sixth inning, putting Tatsuhiko Numakura -- who had three home runs in the series -- at the plate. But Numakura's line drive was caught by first baseman Casey Jordan to end the game.

When Jordan caught the ball, Alvey blew out a huge sigh of relief.

Alvey struck out Yoshinori Satoh in the second to break the 31-year-old record for strikeouts. Mu-Hsu Chin of Tainan City, Taiwan, struck out 36 in two games in 1971, including 22 in nine innings in Tainan City's 12-3 championship victory over Gary, Ind.

Alvey tied the record with 12 consecutive no-hit innings -- one against Clemmons, N.C., nine against Fort Worth, Texas, and the first two against Japan. Sean Burroughs also had 12 consecutive no-hit innings in 1993 for champion Long Beach, Calif.

On Wednesday night, Alvey threw a no-hitter through nine innings in Louisville's 2-1, 11-inning victory over Fort Worth in the U.S. semifinals. Although Little League rules required that Alvey be replaced in the 10th inning, his performance was recorded as a no-hitter, the longest no-hitter in Little League history.

Before Yuuki Chiba's line drive to center field to lead off the third, the last hit Alvey allowed was Andrew Biancardi's infield single leading off the sixth inning for Aptos in Louisville's Aug. 17 series opener.

The last run Alvey allowed scored on Biancardi's RBI double in the first. Burroughs had shared that record with Art Deras, who pitched for Hamtramck, Mich., in 1959.

Chiba finished with two of Japan's three hits, and Katoh had 10 strikeouts.

In the third-place game, Willemstad, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles beat Worcester, Mass., 9-1.

It was the second consecutive year Curacao played in the consolation game. Last year, Curacao lost 9-1 to the Bronx, but later was awarded third place when the New York City team forfeited because pitcher Danny Almonte was too old to play.

Hairo Polonius hit a two-run double, and Dennis Neuman struck out nine for Curacao.