Brooklawn to play for American Legion championship on Tuesday
The result of Monday's game mattered little as Brooklawn's impressive run had already sealed the team's berth in Tuesday's championship game.
The result of Monday's game mattered little as Brooklawn's impressive run had already sealed the team's berth in Tuesday's championship game.
The Brookers played Petaluma (Calif.) on Monday night in Shelby, N.C. The game ended too late for this edition.
Brooklawn entered Monday 8-0 and has won all three of its games in Shelby. Tuesday's championship game will be the Brookers' second-straight appearance. They fell last year to New Orleans.
Brooklawn clinched the berth Sunday behind the pitching of Tyler Mondile as well as the bats of Anthony Harrold and Pete Farlow. Mike Mercer sealed the 7-2 win over Gonzales (La.) with an easy 21/3 innings.
Mercer has pitched in four games, allowed no runs and fanned eight. Harrold is hitting .500 with nine RBIs and a pair of doubles. Farlow has five RBIs and 10 total bases.
They opened tournament play on Friday with a 5-4 win over Waipahu (Hawaii). Farlow scored the winning run on a wild pitch. Brooklawn then cruised past Burnsville (Minn.), 8-1, on Saturday behind Harrold and Phil Dickinson's two RBIs each.
John Murphy pitched eight shutout innings for the win. He has a 1.72 era in two starts and 16 strikeouts. Mike Shawaryn has appeared in three games and recorded 25 strikeouts in 17 innings.
Brooklawn last won the World Series in 2001, a team that featured current assistant coach Mike Rucci.