World Series Hunt Ends for Winchester Duo

The road to a Babe Ruth World Series title isn't easy. Just ask Winchester's Matt Asdornvuttikrai and Luke Pashos.

With some of the country's most talented 16-18-year-olds converging on Newark, Ohio two weeks ago for a shot at the championship, Asdornvuttikrai and Pashos got a first-hand view of what top competition looks like as part of the Middlesex all-star team.

But after tearing through the first two rounds of the tournament with a 9-0 win against Mt. Vernon, Ohio and an 11-8 win against Weimar, Texas, the road to glory ended with a 4-3 loss to tournament host Licking County, Ohio on Tuesday.

"Every game was huge," said Asdornvuttikrai, who plays catcher. "There were big crowds everywhere. Everyone was cheering. Every time a run came across the plate the parents would be going crazy. It was high intensity from the first pitch to the last pitch."

Middlesex jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning in their elimination game, but Licking County tied it at 2-2 in the third and then took the lead in the fifth on a two-run home run to go up 4-2.

Middlesex got a run back in the sixth, but pitcher Justin White shut the door on Middlesex to preserve the 4-3 win.

Despite the loss, Pashos said he was happy just to be playing in the tournament.

"It was great," said the short stop. "It's completely different from what we've been doing in Winchester. We just play the same teams pretty much every game. We just had a blast."

The Middlesex team was made up of the area's best players from Cambridge, Arlington, Melrose, Malden, Winchester, Woburn, Medford, Belmont and Reading.

After winning the Eeastern Massachusetts finals, the team went to play the New England championship in Stanford, CT. before heading to Ohio to play in the national spotlight.

With such a huge pool of players to choose from, both Pashos and Asdornvuttikrai said they never expected to make the cut.

"We were both pretty surprised that we made the team," said Asdornvuttikrai . "We were happy to be on the team. We knew we were going to be playing with a lot of great players from Middlesex. That was a lot of fun. Everyone was getting along with each other and we all had a blast."

"We were so pleased that Matt and Luke have put in so much effort," said Luke's father Chris Pashos. "To see them recognized, it's really very satisfying to see that commitment pay off."

Both Pashos and Asdornvuttikrai will have to wait until spring before getting back on the diamond. Only this time it will be for Winchester High School. But even though the Babe Ruth World Series will be a thing of the past, both players hope to build off the success they saw this summer as they enter their final year at Winchester.

"The entire tournament changed everything," said Asdornvuttikrai. "A lot of great players were around. Just seeing all the skills that they have, it's just amazing.  Luke and I definitely are going to be working as hard as we can next year to become one of those big players."