Feb 07, 2012
Pearlanders make big impression in two wins
August 25, 2010
WILLIAMSPORT, PA — When Pearland's Little League team smashed Fairfield 14-1, those watching on TV didn't realize the difference in the size of the players until the two teams formed a single line to shake hands at the end of the game.
The image of David and Goliath came to mind as most of the players from Connecticut were a good head taller than the "little" boys from Pearland. But when it came to swinging a mean stick and making the plays in the field, Fairfield was no match to their smaller opponents who play bigger than life.
And the national news media is also impressed when they see Pearland swing the bat and blast the ball over the fence or scatter their hits to drive in runs.
Even the announcers are beginning to make predictions as to who they believe is the favorite to win the 2010 Little League World Series.
But manager Mike Orlando is not letting his players look beyond their next opponent. The play one game at a time is the general approach and the Pearland players reiterate that vision every time they are featured on ESPN or the local news media.
Pearland took an early 8-0 lead over Minnesota in the first game and then had to hang on for a 10-8 victory.
Minnesota was able to make a game of it largely because of Pearland manager Mike Orlando's decision to watch the pitch count for each of his pitchers to allow them to be available for the next game.
Pearland pounded out 13 hits with Beau Orlando, Blake Tolar, Jake Orlando (Beau's cousin) and Pryce Beshoory all collecting two hits each.
Catcher Jake Orlando (manager's son) has the hottest bat of the series going 6-for-6 (1.000) with a walk which means he has reached base every time he has come to the plate in two games.
The game against Fairfield wasn't even close as Beau Orlando, the coach's nephew, launched a huge home run over the centerfield fence to get things started for a 1-0 lead.
The second inning proved to be the killer as Pearland scored seven runs to increase the lead to 8-0.
The Pearland offense was led by Jorge Gutierrez who had a two-run double while Beau Orlando, Hunter Smith, and Beshoory all had RBI hits.
"We hit the ball hard. That's all you can ask for," Mike Orlando said. "If it doesn't go into someone's glove, we are going to score some runs."
Unlike the previous game against Minnesota, the boys from Pearland continued the onslaught with four more runs in the third inning and two in the fourth for 14 runs.
Fairfield scored a run in the bottom of the third to get on the scoreboard.
Pearland finished with 13 hits while Fairfield had only four base hits.
For the second straight game, Mike Orlando did a masterful job of watching the pitch count of his pitchers to keep them all eligible for the next contest. He kept pitchers Mason Van Noort, Jaron Roblyer, and Beau Orlando under the regulations to have them eligible for the next game. Van Noort has won the first two games on the mound.
Rain washed out Monday night’s Little League World Series games, meaning Pearland will not play Tuesday night as originally scheduled.
The Fairfield, Conn. vs. Auburn, Wash., game Monday night was postponed until 8 p.m. ET Tuesday night because of rain. Since Pearland is waiting to face the winner of that game, the 2-0 Pearland All-Stars will instead have to wait until 6 p.m. ET Wednesday at Volunteer Stadium for the game that will be televised by ESPN.
Pearland, the Southwest Region Champion, needs one more victory to advance to the U.S. Championship Game on Saturday.