The Coquitlam All-Stars are off to the Little League Baseball World Series in Williamsport, Penn., thanks to the arm and bat of Matthew Shanley.
Shanley struck out 13 and hit a two-run homer as Coquitlam defeated Mirabel, Que., 6-3 in the final of the Canadian championship in Ancaster, Ont., Saturday. Shanley hit his home run in the bottom of the third as the B.C. team took a 3-0 lead. They extended it to 6-0 on a three-run blast by Timothy Piasentin in the fifth inning. Piasentin finished the game on the mound after Shanley was pulled in the fifth because he had exceeded his mandatory pitch count.
It is the 14th title in 15 years for British Columbia, although it is the first for Coquitlam during that stretch.
The world series starts Thursday, but Coquitlam’s first game isn’t until Friday when the All-Stars will take on the Mexican champions.
