Laguna Assured Of Semis In Ripken World Series

The Laguna Bandits pretty much assured themselves a spot in the semi-finals of the U.S. Championship in the Cal Ripken World Series. They defeated a team from Meridian, Idaho, 12-5 in an early game on Monday.

The Bandits, representing the Pacific Southwest region, are now 3-0 in pool play.

Laguna started the game strong scoring six runs in the first on an RBI single by Cole Bendle, a wild pitch, a two-run double by Carson Stevens, a sacrifice fly by Christopher Long and an RBI double by Riley Sikora. In the second, Meridian answered with a run by Carson Smith, followed by a run from Nicholas Romano. Smith was in control on the mound and managed to hold Laguna hitless over 1 2/3 innings, allowing no earned runs. Meridian refused to give up the game and scored in the third and fourth to narrow the score to 7-5. But, the Bandit’s strong offense came back to score five additional runs in the top of the sixth to end the game.

"When you go up and score six runs in the first inning, you stop swinging for base hits and start swinging for home runs," Bandit's coach Mike Stevens said afterwards. "It's a never give up. Work hard and wins will come."

The Bandits will take on a the Southwest Regional champion from Mountain Home, Arkansas, at 2 p.m. ET today. You can follow the game live via the Cal Ripken website.