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Louisville goes home as world champs Posted: Monday August 26, 2002 5:08 PMUpdated: Tuesday August 27, 2002 1:57 AM
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) -- Louisville's Little League team was headed home to a warm welcome on Monday, but first there were a few stops to make -- obligations as the new world champions of youth baseball. "I haven't soaked it in yet," said 12-year-old Aaron Alvey, who hit a first-inning home run to beat Sendai, Japan, 1-0 in Sunday's championship game. "Me and my team's glad for each other that we won. We never thought we'd win." Alvey, who also was the winning pitcher Sunday to follow up his nine-inning no-hitter last week in the U.S. semifinals, talked with Good Morning America host and Louisville native Diane Sawyer on Monday. Alvey also appeared on Today with teammate Casey Jordan, who caught a line drive to end the game against Japan, as well as manager Troy Osborne and coach Dan Roach. Alvey was asked whether he was nervous late in the game. "Yes, if Casey Jordan didn't catch that, there would have been a new ball game," Alvey said. Back home in Louisville, a rally was awaiting the team at Cardinal Stadium after the players were scheduled to return Monday night. "They're definitely the buzz around here," said Debbie Mercer, principal of Conway Middle School, where Alvey and two of his teammates go to school. "Everybody's tired. We wore ourselves out watching that game last night." On Sunday, Japan had a runner on first and Tatsuhiko Numakura, who had three home runs in the series, at the plate. Worcester, Mass., advanced to the U.S. championship with a home run in the bottom of the sixth to beat Harlem.
Even Alvey was nearly matched in his nine-inning no-hitter by Fort Worth's Walker Kelly, who struck out 21 and pitched nine scoreless innings. "I think if we played this tournament again, we could have any number of different outcomes, the field was so balanced," Little League spokesman Lance Van Auken said. Alvey started rewriting Little League's record books during the U.S. semifinals. Pitching against Fort Worth, Alvey threw a no-hitter through nine innings in a game Louisville eventually won 2-1 in 11 innings. Although rules required that Alvey be replaced in the 10th inning, and Osborne got the victory, Little League credited Alvey with the first nine-inning no-hitter in the organization's history. In Sunday's championship game against Japan, Alvey picked up where he left off, striking out 11 and hitting what turned out to be the game-winning homer. When it was over, Alvey had set series records for strikeouts (44) and scoreless innings (21) and tied the mark for consecutive no-hit innings (12). Japan's manager, Kazutomo Takahashi, said his players weren't used to a fastball like Alvey's. "I think he is just an all-around wonderful kid," Takahashi said. In a show of sportsmanship, Louisville's players invited Japan to join them on their victory lap around the field. "That was the coaches' idea, and we all thought it was a good idea," Alvey said. After a hectic, emotional week, the players were eager to return home. "We've been away for a long time now, but from what I'm hearing, it's going to be pretty crazy," Osborne said. "I'm real excited to get back home. I think all the kids are. They deserve everything they get." |
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Lousiville manager J. Troy Osborne puts his team's victory into perspective. 
