Berlin Little League Dominates Early

BERLIN- Two of the Berlin Little League teams competing in the District 8 playoffs are off to fast starts with both the Major League and Minor League teams sitting at 2-0 in pool play after their first two games.

The Minor League team, made up of 9-10-year-olds, has given up just one hit and zero runs in two games in Pool B after beating East Wicomico, 10-0, last Saturday and following that up with a dominating 12-0 win over Princess Anne on Monday. Berlin is now 2-0 in pool play and appears on target to reach the District 8 semifinals next week.

The top two teams from each pool reach the semifinals and Berlin is atop of the standings in Pool B with the 2-0 record with two games to go. None of the other teams in the pool have more than one win thus far and a couple of been eliminated. Berlin played West Salisbury last night in a game played too late to be included in this edition. The 9-10 team will play its final game in pool play tonight on the road against Pocomoke.

In the 10-0 win over East Wicomico on Saturday, Berlin starting pitcher Andrew Bunting pitched a no-hitter and struck out eight. Justin Meekins led the offense in the East Wicomico game, collecting three hits including a double, while Chase Coursey reached base three times.

Berlin followed the win over East Wicomico with another dominating performance on Monday with a 12-0 win over Princess Anne. Grant Donahue gave up just one hit and no runs on the mound while striking out eight.

While Berlin’s 9-10 team has been dominating in all phases of the game thus far, the Major League team, made up of 11-12-year-olds, is also 2-0 in pool play, but has taken a different route to the top of the standings. The 11-12 team squeaked by East Wicomico, 6-5, in the opener and followed that up with a come-from-behind 13-4 win over Delmar on Tuesday.

Berlin spotted Delmar an early 3-0 lead before starting pitcher Jason Stitely settled down and regained his dominating form. After that, the Berlin bats awoke and piled on 13 runs on the way to a 2-0 record in pool play. Berlin sits atop the Pool B standings with two games to go and appears to be a lock to advance to the district semifinals. The 11-12 team played Pocomoke on the road last night and will host Willards on Saturday before the finals get underway next week.