WATERVILLE — A go-ahead home run by Carter Davis in the third inning, followed by a four-run outburst in the fourth inning, pushed Andy Valley past Laguna, California, 8-3 on Thursday in the Cal Ripken 12U World Series championship bracket at Purnell Wrigley Field.  

Andy Valley (5-1) will face East Side, Indiana, (5-0) in the semifinals on Friday at 5:30 p.m.  

The scoring started in the top of the first, when Laguna leadoff hitter Andy Liu doubled to left field. Landon Tucker drove in Liu with a bunt, and then Tucker scored on a passed ball later in the inning, making it 2-0 in favor of Laguna.   

Laguna’s two-run lead marked Andy Valley’s largest deficit of the tournament, but manager Joe Trybus knew exactly what to say to his players. 

“If you know anything about this age group, it’s child psychology as much as it is coaching,” Trybus said. “We brought them in, and we just reminded them that we hadn’t batted yet, and that’s one of the things we do best. Our motto is ‘win or tie every inning,’ and that’s what we were gonna do. We huddled up and regrouped, and they were all set after that.” 

Andy Valley responded in the bottom of the first. A double from Davis, a walk from Jacoby Boyce, and singles from Aidan Bean and Tucker Hilden led to three runs for Andy Valley, giving the Oxford Hills-based club a 3-2 lead.  

Then, singles by Juan Lugo and Jayden Murray of Laguna tied the game at 3-3 after the top of the second inning. The three runs marked the most that Andy Valley has given up in a game so far this tournament, and equaled the combined total from the team’s five pool-play games.  

Scoring briefly halted until the bottom of the third, when the home run by Davis put Andy Valley up 4-3.  

“First pitch, see ya. That was big. It jolted the rest of the team,” Trybus said. 

Andy Valley extended its lead in the bottom of the fourth. Singles by Shawn West, Sawyer Poland, Ethan Godomsky, Davis, Boyce and Derrik Trybus resulted in four runs, pushing the lead to 8-3.  

“We had one of those innings where we did what we do,” Trybus said. “(The singles) were all hard-hit, which is why they were only singles. That was huge. The home run gave us the lead, but that sealed it.” 

Both Boyce and Rowen Pulkkinen pitched three innings apiece, giving up a combined six hits and one earned run for Andy Valley. 

“We have five or six kids that we trust at any time.” Trybus said. “Pulkkinen came in after Boyce struggled, and he just pounded the zone and we made the plays we needed to.” 

East Side, Indiana, which Andy Valley will face for the first time in the semifinals, will be an interesting test for the Oxford Hills/Poland area boys. 

“From what I’ve seen, they’re solid defensively. They’re very much like us, actually.” Trybus said. “It’ll be like playing someone in the mirror. You don’t get this far without playing tough teams.” 

ARARAT ADVANCES

Another Maine team, Ararat, is moving on in the Cal Ripken 12U World Series.

Ararat, the Maine state champion, beat Green County, Kentucky 5-2 on Thursday at Purnell Wrigley Field. Ararat has now gone 4-1 in the tournament, with the team’s only loss coming at the hands of East Side, Indiana.

Earlier in the day, Waterville fell 5-3 to Shenandoah, Virginia, while West Hartford, Connecticut, dropped a 5-3 game to Meridian, Idaho.

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