Brooks Cameron hit a walk-off single in the seventh inning and kept Alabama alive in the Little League Baseball World Series with a 6-5 comeback victory over Pennsylvania on Monday in South Williamsport, Pa.
The Southeast Region representatives from Phenix City, Ala., knocked out the Mid-Atlantic team from West Chester, Pa., and advanced in the lower bracket to face Washington on Tuesday. Kinley Rasmus pitched the final 4 2/3 innings for Alabama and limited Pennsylvania to two hits and no walks while striking out six.
Alabama fell behind 5-0 in the top of the third before scoring five runs in the bottom half. Cooper Champion and Easton Allen hit consecutive two-run singles, and Rasmus brought home the fifth run on another base hit. All eight of Alabama’s hits were singles.
Cole Warner hit a two-run homer among his two hits, Dillon DiGiulio had a two-run triple and Ryan Donnelly added two hits for Pennsylvania.
Ohio 6, Texas 1
Zach Hilton hit a two-run single, Bob Frazier threw 4 2/3 clean innings and the Great Lakes Region representatives from Hamilton, Ohio, knocked out the Southwest Region team from Boerne, Texas.
Frazier struck out four while scattering three hits and three walks for Ohio. Josiah Infante had an RBI hit to open the scoring before Hilton’s big swing in the second inning. Ohio’s other runs came home on a pair of wild pitches and a fielder’s choice.
Carson Patrick hit an RBI single with Texas down to its last out, and teammate Lyle Fischer went 2-for-2. Ohio will face New Jersey in the third round of the U.S. lower bracket on Tuesday.
Canada 3, Panama 2 (7 innings)
Connor Ross cracked an RBI single for his team’s only hit of the game, and Canada did all its damage in the top of the seventh inning to eliminate Panama.
Panama pitcher Obed Fuentes struck out 12 and walked two while holding Canada hitless through six innings, but his team could not plate a run in regulation, either. After automatic runner Jacob Massel took third on a wild pitch and Jean Ramos walked, the team from Vancouver scored runs on three straight plays: a fielder’s choice bunt by Connor Matsuda, the single by Ross and another fielder’s choice courtesy of Jason Mezzarobba.
The third run was critical, as Panama scored twice in the bottom of the seventh. Jeickot Sanchez hit an RBI double and later scored on a wild pitch before Canada reliever Cruz Krpan shut the door. Massel struck out seven over five scoreless frames as the starter for Canada, which advanced to face South Korea in the third round of the International lower bracket on Tuesday.
Japan 3, Czech Republic 2
Yunosuke Yabe blasted a pair of solo homers to lift Tokyo’s Joto Little League to the elimination-round victory over the South Czech Republic Little League from Brno.
The Czech Republic took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on Jan Luksicek’s double, but Japan responded in the bottom half of the inning with homers from Takeru Yorozu and Yabe. Vojtech Kaspar scored on a Yabe wild pitch in the fourth to forge a 2-2 tie, but Yabe answered in the bottom half with a homer to center for the winning run.
Yoruzu and Yabe each pitched three innings and combined for 13 strikeouts and no walks while scattering five hits. Japan advanced to face Mexico on Tuesday.
–Field Level Media
