Will Lucas will consider a crazy dare. But he's not that crazy.
He said third baseman Kevin Oricoli dared him in the top of the sixth inning to throw a knuckleball as their Fairfield, Conn., team led Great Lakes champ New Castle, Ind., Monday night.
But Lucas continued to use the pitches he knows best, finishing off a no-hitter in the bottom of the sixth inning as Fairfield advanced 4-0 in a Little League World Series elimination game at Lamade Stadium.
"If I threw a knuckleball, our manager would probably come onto the mound and tackle me," Lucas said, while manager Bill Meury shook his head a few feet away and muttered how that scenario could have played out often earlier in the season.
The no-hitter advanced Fairfield into another elimination game today against West champ Petaluma, Calif., which defeated Parsippany, N.J., 5-4.
Both International games were one-run affairs, as Willemstad, Curacao, defeated Vancouver, B.C., Canada, 4-3, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, topped Taoyuan, Taiwan, 4-3.
Earlier Monday, Kearney, Neb., won 17-1 in 4 innings over Ramstein AFB, Germany, in a consolation crossover game interrupted by a 90-minute rain delay.
Today's games pit Monday's winners against each other, as Mexico plays Caribbean and West plays New England. Those winners will play again Thursday against the teams that lose Wednesday's games between teams with 2-0 starts.
