Lewisberry, Pennsylvania’s Jaden Henline is mobbed by teammates and coaches after hitting a walk-off three-run double in the sixth inning of a baseball game in United States pool play against Taylors, South Carolina at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pa.
Lewisberry, two hours from Williamsport, won with the three-run inning after squandered a 6-0 fourthinning lead. Henline hit the walk-off double after allowing four two-out runs in the top of the inning.
Lewisberry advanced to Wednesday’s winner’s bracket final against Pearland, Texas.
Kaden Peifer led off the sixth with a home run that pulled Lewisberry within a run. Adam Cramer walked, Braden Kolmansberger doubled and Cole Wagner walked before Henline slammed a 2-0 pitch down the left-field line and brought most of the fans to their feet.
“We talk about this, everyone has a dog pile at third on Jaden, and me and Cole are on the side doing a happy dance,” Komansberger said. “Then I gave Jaden a high-five. I didn’t want to be on the bottom of that because I didn’t want to get hurt.”
Taylors, which plays an elimination game Monday against Bowling Green, Kentucky, scored four runs each in the fourth and sixth innings to take an 8-6 lead against a team that had won every game by seven runs or more this summer. Alex Edmondson hit a three-run, fourth-inning home run and Brock Myers hit a two-out, three-run triple in the sixth to put Taylors ahead for the first time.
Lewisberry scored five first-inning runs and led 6-0 after two innings. Ethan Phillips highlighted the first inning with a three-run double. Cole Wagner struck out 10 in five innings for Lewisberry.
Pearland beat Bonita, California, 8-4.
In international games Sunday, Tokyo beat Mexicali, Baja California, 3-1; and Barquisimeto, Venezuela, topped Kampala, Uganda, 7-0.
PEA RLAND, TEXAS 8, BONITA, CALIFORNIA 4
Ben Gottfried hit a two-run homer and threw 4 2/3 innings of three-hit ball to help Pearland, Texas, beat Bonita, California, 8-4 on Sunday to improve to 2-0 in the Little League World Series.
Gottfried allowed no earned runS, struck out seven and stifled a team that had hit 90 home runs during 17 straight all-star wins. His sixth-inning home run made it, 8-1.
Isaac Garcia closed out the win for a second straight Series game despite allowing a Dante Schmid three-run, sixth-inning home run.
“We have a really good team,” Pearland manager Andrew Solomon said. “We might not hit the most home runs or have a kid that throws 82 mph, but we are a very good, fundamentally sound team.”
Pearland scored five third-inning runs, four with two outs. Pinch-hitter Raffi Gross provided the big blow, driving the first pitch he saw well over the left-field fence for a two-run home run that put Pearland up, 4-0. Garcia then added an RBI single and another runner scored on an error.
Zack Mack had two RBIs for the Southwest champions and his first-inning RBI single put Pearland up to stay. Levi Mendez hit a third-inning RBI double for Bonita, which dropped into the loser’s bracket and will play Monday against Cranston, Rhode Island.
TOKYO 3, MEXICALI, BA JA CALIFORNIA 1
Pinch-hitter Fukutaro Kiyomiya homered in the bottom of the fifth inning, and Tokyo pitchers Nobuyuki Kawashima and Daiki Fukuyama shut down Mexicali Baja California.
Kabu Kikuchi gave Japan a 2-0 lead in the first when he singled home Shingo Tomita and Yugo Aoki. Aoki finished 3 for 3, all singles.
Kawashima struck out five and walked none in four shutout innings for the win. Jose Reyes took the loss for the Mexican team, allowing three runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings before leaving at 87 pitches. Gerardo Lujano homered for Mexicali Baja California in the sixth.
Japan improved to 2-0. The Kitasuna Little League also represented Japan in winning 2001 and 2012 LLWS titles, with return trips in 2007 and 2014. Mexico dropped into the elimination bracket to face Australia on Monday.
BA RQUISI METO, VENEZUE LA 7, KAMPALA, UGA NDA 0
Luis Castillo pitched a one-hit shutout and also hit a two-run home run for Barquisimeto.
Kampala struggled to make contact off Castillo, who allowed four fair balls, four foul balls and struck out 14.
Castillo finished the shutout two pitches short of Little League’s 85-pitch limit after his defense caught Joshua Olara in a rundown to end the game. Castillo also went 2 for 3 at the plate and scored twice.
Joel Flores hit a first-inning grand slam to give Venezuela an early lead.
Felix Canpara had Uganda’s lone hit, a single to center field in the fifth.
Venezuela will play Wednesday against the winner of Japan vs. Mexico, to be played later Sunday. Uganda remained alive in this modified, double-elimination tournament, playing Monday vs. Taiwan.
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