No small task ahead

At every stop along the way this summer, the Walpole American 12-year-old All-Stars baseball team has relished in the role of the underdog.

As the Americans start their quest in the Little League World Series, nothing has changed in that regard.

At every tournament, whether it be the district, section, state or New England playoffs, Walpole manager Brian Oberacker has remarked at how his players are the smallest in physical stature in the field.

"I will say this again, we're the smallest team here," said Oberacker during his team's practice before today's pool play opener against the Great Lakes representative, West Side of Hamilton, Ohio.

"But you don't need the biggest guys. We're not playing smashmouth football, we're going out to play a Little League baseball game. We like our chances and whatever happens we're going to have fun."

And while the coaches were given a preliminary scouting report that includes box scores from West Side's state and regional tournaments, Oberacker has tried to keep the focus on the basics.

"It's the same thing as any team. We're going to take it one game at a time and we're trying to focus on Hamilton and we're going to have to go right at Oregon and Georgia," said Oberacker. "We have Sam (Falkson) on the mound. We're pretty confident. He's gone in big games in the past and we're going to go out and do it again."

Falkson was brilliant in regional play, tossing 12 innings and allowing just one earned run in three appearances, two of them wins. The right-hander fanned 17 and walked four.

"I think the coaches know a little bit about them," said third baseman Matt Bender. "Hopefully if we just go out and play our game we can come out with a 'W.'"

Oberacker has also taken the words to heart of the last Massachusetts team to make it this far.

"That guy's advice, the coach from Saugus' advice, was pretty good. He said make sure the kids have fun and go out and play your game. We're going to do whatever got us here," said Oberacker. "And that's keep the kids loose, go back to fundamentals and preach pitching and defense. If we can get the same production out of our bats, we'll be able to stay in the game with some of these guys."

Shortstop Johnny Adams led the squad in regional play with a .500 average (9-for-18), three home runs and 11 runs scored. Matt Bender paced the team in RBI with seven while Mike LaVita also hit at a .500 clip (7-14) for a diverse American attack, which saw eight different players strike for its 11 home runs and outscored opponents 54-20.

West Side ran through state and regional play unbeaten, outscoring opponents 59-12 in Great Lakes play, capped off with a 6-1 win over New Albany (Indiana) in the championship. Kyle Cotcamp pitched in that game and threw a complete-game, two-hitter with 11 strikeouts and one walk. Cotcamp, a 5-foot-3, 153-pound left-handed, picked up three wins in the regional, striking out 33 batters in just 16.2 innings against five walks, allowing three earned runs.

He bats third behind leadoff hitter and shortstop T.J. Nichting, who has seven home runs in the last two tournaments combined and scored 13 runs while going 9-for-19 at the plate. Double-play partner Tyler Richards bats behind him and also had a big regional with four home runs, nine RBI and eight runs scored. Each player also pitches, with Richard posting a pair of wins in the sectional.

In all, West Side blasted 14 homers in the Greak Lakes Regional, matching Lubbock, Texas for the most of team in the LLWS. The Americans all expect their toughest competition to date.

"They're probably going to be better than all the teams in Connecticut, I would say," said Walpole American leadoff hitter Tim Sullivan. "Better pitching and better all around because you have to be good to make it here."

Another adjustment the Walpole American players will have to face is the new dimensions. The fences, after sitting back at 200 feet in Bristol, move to 225 feet. There is a lot more foul ground to cover, especially behind the plate. For today's game, the backstop is roughly 20 feet behind the plate and it is on a downward slope.