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Richard Stevens: Why the mercy rule? Teams like Roswell
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It's probably safe to say that the Little League eyes in Texas are upon Roswell.
And maybe shaking in their cleats at what they see.
Consider what the Roswell Noon Optimist Little League is doing at the Little League Majors Baseball Regionals being played in Waco, Texas:
Game 1: A 10-0, no-hitter, mercy-run win over the Arkansas state champions.
Game 2: An 11-0, no-hitter, mercy-run win over the Mississippi state champs.
Game 3: A 13-0, 1-hitter, mercy-run win Monday night over the Oklahoma state champs.
Oh, you want some more stats?
The New Mexico Majors (11 to 12 years old) champs have pounded out 27 hits in 13 innings, scoring 34 runs. They have committed no errors. They have walked only two opposing batters and have seen only three base runners in their three pool games.
In their 10 games in All-Star play (district, state, regional), they have only played the full six innings twice and one of those was a 17-2 romp.
And Roswell is only two wins away from Williamsport, Pa., where Noon Optimist could be the first New Mexico team to win the Little League title since . . . Lions Hondo Little League out of Roswell did it in 1956.
It makes you wonder if maybe the aliens that crashed in Roswell long ago left some magic dust lying around for Roswell manager Dino Wilcox to sprinkle over his kids.
"We have been working for this for two years," said Wilcox. "We knew we had something pretty special coming. I've coached ball for 13 years, and this is by far the best team I've ever coached."
The pre-tourney word in Waco was that Texas West out of Lubbock and Louisiana out of Lafayette would be the two teams to beat.
And that might still be true.
Texas West and Louisiana play today with Roswell getting the loser on Wednesday in the first-round of a single-elimination tournament featuring four teams. Arkansas will play the Texas/Louisiana winner.
Texas West beat Texas East 6-0 and beat Colorado 10-0. Louisiana beat Colorado 17-1 and beat Texas East 18-4.
The Southwest Regional championship game - the ticket to Williamsport - will be played at 7 p.m. Friday on ESPN. That game was supposed to feature Texas West and Louisiana.
But suddenly, it is the Roswell team that is turning heads in Texas - for at least two reasons:
Roswell pounds the heck out of the baseball with 37 home runs in their 10 Little League playoff games.
Roswell has three pitchers who throw the ball in the 70s (mph) and three pitchers who throw the ball in the high 60s (mph).
The only hit off Roswell so far in Waco came Monday when Wilcox put his catcher on the mound as the fourth pitcher in the four-inning game.
The Roswell Stars, who rolled away from Albuquerque's Altamont Little League as the New Mexico state champions, look a lot like the Eastdale Little League Stars that featured James Parr, Jordan Pacheco, Zach Arnett and Matt Quillen.
But Roswell has an advantage. The Eastdale Stars went to a regional in California and couldn't get past the California talent. The Waco regional supposedly is an easier path to Williamsport.
And this Roswell team is loaded.
The Roswell ace on the mound is Austin Rader, who consistently throws around 75 mph. Caelin Wilcox is a close second. Caelin's fast ball hovers around 72 mph, as does the heat thrown by Nik Aston.
Coach Wilcox also has talent in the bullpen in Ryan Greene (68 mph), Austin Hankins (66 mph with a nasty curve), Mark McCool (63 mph) and Josh Quiroz, the catcher who gave up the lone hit on Monday.
Roswell's domination in Waco has Wilcox looking at a fresh pitching staff for the two-game, single-elimination tourney.
"Lubbock still might be the team to beat, but they know now that we are legitimate," said Wilcox. "They have been scouting our practices, as well as our games. I think there will be a collision between us and them.
"We know we can win this thing, and we know we need a little bit of luck, but we have packed expecting to go from here to Williamsport."

