Brisbane Australia scored three times in the bottom of the first inning and eliminated Brno Czechia from the Little League Baseball World Series with a 5-3 victory.
Czechia pitcher Mikulas Barta struggled with his control in the first inning. After loading the bases on two walks and a single, he uncorked two wild pitches to Braxton Black, scoring a pair of runs. Another run crossed the plate on a passed ball while Black was batting.
Czechia got a run back in the top of the second, but Barta walked in two additional Australian batters in the bottom half of the inning.
After cutting the deficit to 5-2 in the fifth, Barta hit a sacrifice fly to plate David Cana in the sixth inning. Czechia had runners at third and second with one out, but the game ended as Mikulas Balog was picked off of third after center fielder Averey Griffin caught a fly ball.
Massachusetts 7, Texas 3
Left fielder Sam Trotta had two doubles and two RBIs, keeping the Braintree LL team, representing the New England region, alive with a victory over the Lamar LL team, which represented the Southwest region and was eliminated with a 0-2 record.
Texas took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a pair of RBI singles from Brayden Carlisle and Luke Helmke. However, that lead was erased with a three-run bottom of the first from Massachusetts which was sparked by a two-run triple to right off the bat of Caden McCarthy.
Trotta finished Massachusetts’ scoring with a two-run double in the third. Frankie Fasoli III got the start and recorded the win, allowing three runs on eight hits over 4 1/3 innings.
The Texas team committed four errors, contributing to Carlisle, who started on the mound, lasting just 1 2/3 innings and allowing five runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks with one strikeout.
Mexico 11, Puerto Rico 5
Chihuahua Mexico exploded for 11 runs over the fifth and sixth innings to eliminate Yabucoa Puerto Rico.
First baseman Gregorio Madrid accounted for much of this offense by himself, mashing two home runs and totaling seven RBIs in the comeback victory. Madrid got Mexico on the board with a grand slam in the fifth inning to tie the score at 4-4. The following inning, he hit a three-run homer to cap off Mexico’s scoring.
Puerto Rico opened the scoring with a four-run third inning, all of which came with two outs. Sebastian Colon Rivera put his team on the board with an RBI triple, and Azariel Alvarado Medina finished the big inning with a two-run homer to left.
Medina also got the start on the mound for Puerto Rico, tossing four scoreless innings. Three Mexico pitchers combined to allow just two earned runs over six innings, with seven of eight strikeouts coming from starter Brandon Acevedo.
Illinois 3, Pennsylvania 2
Brody Herold delivered a six-inning complete game to keep his Clarendon Hills LL team’s season alive with a narrow victory over the Glenmoore Eagle LL team, which was eliminated.
Herold, who was also Illinois’ leadoff hitter and had an RBI single in the third inning, needed 84 pitches to finish off the game. He was tagged for two runs in the fourth inning, which cut the lead to 3-2, but stranded two runners on base over his scoreless final two innings to preserve the victory.
Aiden Mercer put Pennsylvania on the board with an RBI double in the fourth inning, and Justin Shaw plated a second run two batters later with a single to right.
Frankie Kolter took the loss on the mound, allowing three runs on six hits over three innings of work.
–Field Level Media
