ESPN.com - MORESPORTS/LLWS00 - Texas wins opening game

 Monday, August 21
Texas' Haggard flirts with perfection
 
 Associated Press

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Ross Haggard slightly hung his head and wiped his brow after losing his no-hit bid in the sixth inning. It didn't matter much as he settled for a one-hit, 12-strikeout performance leading Bellaire, Texas, to a 3-0 victory over Goffstown, N.H., Sunday in the Little League World Series.

 
TEXAS 3
NEW HAMPSHIRE 0

  R H E
  New Hampshire
Texas
0
3
1
8
1
0
  Ross Haggard threw 6 innings of 1-hit ball.
Haggard was untouchable before losing his bid for a perfect game and no-hitter with one out in the sixth inning.

Goffstown's Alex Sobolov walked and then Eric Szumiesz followed up with a bloop single that fell just out of second baseman Mitchell Malone's reach.

Prior to that, Haggard had not allowed a ball out of the infield.

 
  Ross Haggard lost his bid for a no-hitter in the 6th inning.

He settled down, striking out Stephen Desjarlais and ending the game by getting Jonathan Berube to line out to first base.

Since 1992, when the Series went to pool play, only five pitchers have thrown a no-hitter, the last being Sean Burroughs who pitched two of them in the same series leading Long Beach, Calif. to the title in 1993.

Bellaire's Drew Zizinia had three hits and an RBI, while Malone had two hits and scored once.

Goffstown pitcher Ben Collins went the distance, allowing three runs - two earned - and eight hits. Collins walked three and struck out nine.

Bellaire opened the scoring in the second inning when Drew Zizinia's single scored Haggard.

Bellaire, courtesy of a Goffstown error, went up 2-0 in the fourth inning. With two outs and the bases loaded, Michael Johnson hit a grounder that bounced up and off of Goffstown shortstop Josh Gregory's foot, allowing Mitchell Malone to score.

Bellaire then added an insurance run in the fifth on Zach Jamail's single that drove in Terrence McConn, who singled, took second base on a passed ball and then stole third.
 



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AUDIO/VIDEO
video
 Ross Haggard gets the one-hit shutout on Jonathan Berube's line out to first.
avi: 647 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

 Eric Szumiesz denies Ross Haggard's bid for a no-hitter in the 6th.
avi: 733 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

audio
 Texas' Ross Haggard talks about flirting with a perfect game against New Hampshire.
wav: 133 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6