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West Side wins one for coach

All-Stars roll past North Canton into state championship game

The Hamilton West Side Little League team celebrates Wednesday during an 8-3 defeat of North Canton at Centennial Park in Englewood. The tournament championship is Friday. Contributed photo by Robert Leifheit

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By Jay Morrison, Staff Writer 12:09 AM Thursday, July 28, 2011

ENGLEWOOD — Hamilton West Side Little League coach Josh Sams made an unusual request of his players prior their state tournament winners’ bracket final Wednesday night against rival North Canton.

“I’ve never asked the boys to win a game for me before, but (Tuesday) night I told them, ‘I want you to win this one for me,’” Sams said. “They said ‘We’ve got ya, coach.’ And they came out and put it to them.”

After falling behind by two in the top of the first inning, West Side scored eight straight runs on the way to an 8-3 victory at Centennial Park.

The win not only moved the team into Friday’s 2 p.m. championship, it avenged the loss West Side suffered against North Canton in come-from-behind, walk-off fashion in last year’s state championship game.

“This is one I’ve waited a year for, ever since that walk-off,” Sams said. “All the sleepless nights. All the hard work. This is a big relief.”

Shaun Brandenburg hit a pair of two-run home runs, Austin Broshear launched a towering two-run shot of his own and Jake Pennington threw four innings of two-hit relief to put West Side one win away from a trip to the Great Lakes Regional in Indianapolis.

“We wanted to win it for us and for coach, but I think it was more for him because this is his last year coaching,” Pennington said.

Brandenburg got the start on the mound, but he lasted just two-plus innings. He surrendered the two runs in the first in large part because of a misplayed fly ball and a wild pitch, but he got the team even with his first two-run homer in the bottom of the first.

Brandenburg took a 3-2 lead into the third, but he walked the first batter and hit the next one, prompting Sams to bring in Pennington.

“I didn’t pitch well, but I got out the bat,” Brandenburg said.

Both of his home runs were no-doubters, with the second coming on a 3-0 fastball right down the middle to cap the scoring. Broshear’s homer was no cheapie, either, going well over the fence in left field to put West Side up 5-2 in the third inning.

Cameron Stapleton added a pair of singles and an RBI for West Side, and Vince Sanford also singled in a run as part of the team’s 11-hit attack against five North Canton pitchers.

North Canton will face Eaton in the losers’ bracket final today. The winner will need to beat West Side twice Friday to win the tournament.

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