and whether he wins or loses, he leaves his mark every play

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- Make room, David Ortiz. Theres a mini "Big Papi" swinging a big bat for Nashville, Tenn., at the Little League World Series. With the bases loaded and fans chanting "Big Papi! Big Papi!" Trae McLemore hit a 1-1 pitch over the fence in centre to cap Nashvilles 10-2 victory over Corpus Christi, Texas, in an elimination game Saturday. McLemore, who was nicknamed in honour of Ortiz by his parents, finished with two hits and drove in six runs. And he had his mother, Brenda Gonzalez, in tears as he rounded the bases in the top of the sixth. "When I hit that grand slam, it was just energy running through my body," said the 5-foot-11, 209-pound player. "Its been one of my dreams to come and play in this tournament. Another one was to hit a home run. After that, I looked at my mom, and she was crying." Pausing, before breaking into a smile, McLemore added: "And I was like, Oh, thats awesome." Ben Pickman struck out 10 and allowed three hits over five innings for Nashville (1-1), which stayed in contention in the double-elimination tournament. The Southeast champion opened with a 3-2 loss to Westport, Conn., on Thursday. The one scare for Nashville came in the sixth inning when infielder Knox Preston fell awkwardly and hit his head while stumbling awkwardly into first base on a ground out. Preston was examined on the field, and required assistance to get to his dugout. Nashville manager Randy Ramirez said Preston was being tested for a possible concussion. It was two-and-done for Corpus Christi (0-2), which failed to get its offence on track. The Southwest champion will conclude the tournament playing Perth, Australia (0-2), in a consolation game Monday. Perth was eliminated following a 4-0 loss to San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico, earlier in the day. The one bright moment for Corpus Christi was how Jared Cruz responded after giving up the home run to McLemore. Cruz hit a one-out solo homer to centre in the bottom of the sixth to round out the scoring. And it came off McLemore, who relieved Pickman. "It just shows that these guys didnt give up," manager Randy Ramirez said. "That was a good way to show it, more so for Cruz, because he came back and hit if further." The game began as a pitching duel. Both Pickman and Corpus Christi starter Jesus Ortiz did not give up a through three innings. That changed when Pickman fouled off three consecutive pitches before hitting a single down the first base line. Christopher McElvain followed with a double to right, and McLemore drove both home with a one-out single up the middle to key a three-run inning. Nashville manager Chris Mercado credited Pickmans single for getting his offence going. Once we started hitting the ball, I feel like the other guys feel it, and feel more positive," Mercado said. "I was trying to get them fired up, get them going. And when they did, it was fun." Nashville scored three more in the fifth, and McLemores home run in the sixth rounded out the scoring. He hit the 46th grand slam in series history, and first since Yoshiki Suzuki hit one on Aug. 18, 2011, for Hamamatsu City, Japan. It was the first grand slam by an American player since Andy Rios hit one in 2009 for Chula Vista, Calif. "I call him Pops. Hes just the big daddy," Pickman said. "Everybody loves him. Hes out front, encouraging, loud. He helps fire up the team." PUERTO RICO 4, AUSTRALIA 0 Pitcher Tommylee Sierra shut out Australia for 5 2-3 innings in keeping San Lorenzo in contention in the international bracket of the tournament. Sierra fell one out short of a complete game because he reached the Little League limit of 88 pitches per game when he recorded his 10thstrikeout of the game in the top of the sixth inning. Leonardo Lizardi got the final out for Puerto Rico, which scored three times in the fourth inning to break a scoreless tie. Australia, which was making its first LLWS appearance, was eliminated from title contention. Maverick Hamilton pitched a five-inning complete game for Australia and gave up seven hits. Air Force 1 07 Norge . Obasi chested the ball past one defender, prodded it past another and then rounded the keeper before scoring from a tight angle in the 16th minute. Seconds after the restart, Obasi set up Klaas Jan Huntelaar for the Dutchmans 11th goal from 13 games this season. Nike Tanjun Norge . -- Tony Finau won the Stonebrae Classic on Sunday for his first Web. http://www.airforce1norge.com/ . In their first meeting for six years, the Frenchmen dropped serve twice in the first set, but Giquel broke Simon two more times in the second. Gicquel moves on to face sixth-seeded Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, who advanced with a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) win against wild card Pierre-Hugues Herbert, despite the Frenchmans 23 aces. Nike Air Force 1 Salg . Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Fiorentina levelled on aggregate in the 14th minute when Joaquin Sanchez Rodriguez headed back a long ball from David Pizarro and Pasqual smashed home an angled volley. Air Force 1 Norge . The San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders are giving it a try, too.Quite surprisingly, this is the first time since 1986 that the Argonauts and Ticats have met in the Eastern Final. The Hamilton Spectators Steve Milton also points out that, even more amazingly, this is the first time the Argos and Ticats have each had at least 10 wins in the same year. Rookie Shane Horton starts at middle linebacker for all-star Robert McCune, who will miss the game with a shoulder injury. Horton was a safety at USC and has played both outside linebacker and rush end for Toronto this year. He took at least 90 per cent of the snaps at MLB during practices this week. Another rookie will start at the boundary halfback position. Neiko Thorpe, a member of the 2010 NCAA champion Auburn Tigers, played well replacing Pat Watkins at cornerback when the two teams played last month in Guelph. Hes a big DB at 62". Hell line up next to the 65" Watkins. Both Romby Bryant and Jason Barnes are listed as backup receivers. Head coach Scott Milanovich said earlier in the week that he didnt plan to dress five import receivers. With Chad Owens, John Chiles and Dontrelle Inman listed as starters, one can assume that either Bryant or Barnes is out. Barnes did take more reps with the first team this week than Bryant did. Kicker Swayze Waters had a very good week at practice. The yard lines were not drawn on the field during Fridays workout, but Waters hit what appeared to be a 60-yard field goal at the end of a special teams session and was mobbed by his teammates. While punting from sideline to sideline with Noel Prefontaine during practice, Waters kicked one from one sideline, across the field, over the head of some media members and over the players bench. It went roughly 75-80 yards in the air. Jerious Norwood gets the start at running back for the injured Chad Kackert. Norwood is coming off a game against Montreal where he carried the ball eight times for 102 yards and caught four passes for 62 more. A kick return specialist in the NFL, Norwood said his fastest time in the 40-yard dash was 4.33 seconds. Aaron Maybin gets the nod at DE. His only start of the season came in the season finale against Montreal. The most obvious thing about Maybin is how quickly he gets off the ball. The Argos have not had a great pass rush this season and Maybins presence may help. Ticket demand was such that an additional block of upper-deck seats was made available Saturday afternoon.ddddddddddddThe latest estimate is that around 40,000 will be in attendance. Glen Johnson will be the referee for the game. TSN.ca asked some of this years East Division All-Stars which players they thought had a chance to be the star on Sunday. Chad Owens: "Ricky Ray. Hes been our most consistent player, hes probably been the most consistent player in the whole league and hes poised for these moments. I think hes going to continue to be Ricky Ray and help us win." Khalif Mitchell: "Neiko Thorpe. Hes been more sound in the stuff that hes been doing as far as film and knowing his assignments. Hes the first one talking whenever a coach is asking about whats going on (in practice) or whats supposed to happen in a situation. Hes the first one to be vocal about it and that shows his confidence and that hes been studying off the field." Pat Watkins: "Mr. Ricky Ray. I mean, thats a sure bet. Born a star, been a star. Continuing to grow, a leader. Hes the man to get this while team going. If he plays well, well rally behind him." Chris Van Zeyl: "Khalif Mitchell. Hes dominant. When you watch him on film, theres not an offensive line, when he puts his mind to it, that can stop him. Ive watched him all year terrorize the guys on our team and whether he wins or loses, he leaves his mark every play. Hes a fiery guy, he brings emotion to the game and the defence feeds off him". Jeff Keeping: "Andre Durie. Hes been great this year and has been one of our best players. He works hard all the time, does everything the coaches ask him to do, and that exemplifies what this team is all about." Ricky Ray was asked three different times in three different ways and still wouldnt talk about one specific player. When teased afterward that he was incredibly boring, he laughed and said "I know". Scott Milanovich acknowledged that he had a gut feeling that one of his stars would step up. When asked which one, he chuckled and said "Ill tell you after the game". Mike Hogan is the play by play voice of the Argos on TSN 1050 radio in Toronto. The pre-game show for Sundays game is Noon et, with a 1pm kickoff. You can listen online at TSN1050.ca. ' ' '