Reston American Tops McLean American

Reston American defeated McLean American 13-7 in the District 4 Little League All Star semifinals Saturday at Fred Crabtree Park.

Reston American now advances to the championship game Sunday at 1 p.m. at Yeonas Field in Vienna against Great Falls.

McLean opened the game with 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Reston answered with a solo home run on the first pitch to leadoff batter Ryan Alcorn who finished the day 3-for 3. Reston’s Jack Kidd tied the game in the bottom of the first by stealing home on a passed ball.

Reston American took the lead for good in the bottom of the second when Ethan Sullivan also scored on a passed ball capitalizing on his double to right field earlier that inning. With two on and Jack Kidd at the plate, McLean intentionally walked Reston’s number 3 hitter and Jack Curcio responded with a grand slam to pull Reston ahead 7-2.

Kidd pitched four strong innings allowing only three earned runs against a strong McLean lineup, striking out eight batters and keeping McLean players off balance with a nasty curveball. Richie Smiechowski relieved Kidd in the top of the fifth and pitched two strong innings to close out the game. William Waggoner caught the entire game with only one passed ball holding McLean’s base runners at bay.

Reston’s defense played well all game with only one error and several key defensive plays including Jovani May’s stop at first base on a hard ground ball in the top of the third.

After McLean pulled within three in the top of the third inning, Reston responded with back-to-back doubles by Tommy Smith and Josh Gjormond and a sacrifice fly by Alcorn to bring the score to 9-4. Reston added two additional runs in the bottom of the fourth on hits by Kidd, Curcio, Smith, and Jack Dooley.

In the top of the fifth, McLean hit their third and final long ball of the day when David Seigel hit to centerfield to bring the score to 11-7. Reston finished off the scoring in the bottom of the fifth with RBIs by Kidd and Curcio driving in Alcorn and Joe Wright, who doubled and singled respectively earlier in the inning.

Smith and Kidd went two-for-two at the plate and Curcio led the team with five RBIs. McLean scattered eight hits across six batters, with two walks and ten strikeouts.