WILLIAMSPORT, PA — The kids from Peachtree City got the full major league experience in their first game of the Little League World Series. Above, Peachtree City Little League’s Tai Peete delivers a pitch during the Little League World Series in Williamsport. Photo/Brett R. Crossley. Peachtree City went the full distance plus two extra innings as it battled the West through the longest recorded game in World Series history. In the end, a walk-off home run from Aukai Kea gave the West a 2-0 win over Peachtree City in 11 innings. Despite the loss, which puts Peachtree City into a game later today (Saturday) against the Northwest, manager Patrick Gloriod still took a lot of positives away from the game. Peachtree City will play the Northwest tonight (Saturday) at 8 p.m. “He didn’t do anything wrong, he got those kids out the first time through the lineup,” Gloriod said of Ben Traxler. “Kea, who hit the home run, we don’t know how to pitch him. We scouted all of their kids and had a plan for most of them, but he’s just such a good hitter. He hits curveballs and fastballs. Our kids were hitting their spots and he was just getting to the ball and hitting it. You just have to tip your cap to him.” Kea had two hits, scored one and hit in another two runs. Gloriod’s scouting wasn’t that far off as Peachtree City did manage to strike him out three times. Kea also pitched 6 1/3 innings, striking out 10 batters while not giving up a run. The Southeast countered with Jansen Kenty, who went 5 1/3 innings to open the game. He struck out 12 batters in the process of keeping one of the hottest lineups in the tournament scoreless through most of regulation. “His fastball has been overpowering especially since it’s something he can throw from the left side,” Gloriod said. “His curveball wasn’t really working in the first inning, but overall we rely on the fastball.” Peachtree City turned to Tai Peete, Connor Riggs-Soper, and Ben Traxler to finish the game. The trio combined to keep the West at bay until Kea’s shot ended the game with one swing. Despite the loss, Peachtree City’s deep pitching staff was on display. The West stranded 14 baserunners in the game. That included leaving the bases loaded twice in the game. In the first inning a single, double, and walk loaded the bases as the West looked poised to put some runs on the board. Kenty reared back and fanned two consecutive batters to end the inning. It was the beginning of the what would go on to become a marathon, 11-inning contest that saw eight different pitchers. “You always trying to think about whether you’re playing Saturday or Sunday,” Gloriod said of his deep pitching staff. “In a game like that you don’t know which way it’s going to go. It allowed me be more flexible with the pitching staff if I didn’t like the matchups.” Kenty, Chase Fralick, Wills Maginnis, and Ben Traxler all recorded singles for Peachtree City in the loss. It will have to get the offense moving as it failed to advance a baserunner past second. ================================== West 2, Peachtree City 0 (11 innings) SE 000 000 000 00—0 4 2 WE 000 000 000 02—2 8 0 Jansen Kenty, Tai Peete, Connor Riggs-Soper, Ben Traxler, and Chase Fralick. Aukai Kea, Ka’olu Holt, Sean Yamaguchi, John De La Cruz, and Bruce Boucher. WP: Yamaguchi. LP: Traxler. Top Peachtree City hitters: Jansen Kenty 1-4. Top West hitters: Aukai Kea 2-6, run, 2 RBI. Records: Peachtree City 0-1. West 1-0. ================================= Reported by BRETT R. CROSSLEY, Special to The Citizen<doc-sep>After a rough first inning, Peachtree City pitchers Tai Peete and Ben Traxler didn't allow more than four New York batters to come to the plate for the final six frames. This Peachtree City team has experienced a spectrum of situations during this tense and hectic Little League World Series run. **Fall behind early, rally for a win. **Get ahead early, hold on tight for the victory. **Go scoreless well into extra innings, before incurring a walkoff defeat. **Being one out away from elimination, in advance of staging a furious comeback win in extra innings—with a viral home-run celebration video, to boot. So, we'll cut the kids some slack for repeating certain flow patterns, provided they keep living the impossible dream of capturing a LLWS title, after the heartache and subsequent drudgery of overcoming a tournament-opening defeat (more games, more tension, less rest). After all, Thursday's 7-3 victory over the Mid-Atlantic squad (New York) served as Peachtree City's fifth game in seven days. By this point, you would think the Georgia hitters would be leg-weary for Game No. 5, or the pitchers would be on the brink of exhaustion. And yet, Peachtree City was easily the dominant club on this night, even after spotting New York a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning. Peachtree City is headed to the United States Championship! #LLWS pic.twitter.com/7TJb9knJXb — Little League (@LittleLeague) August 24, 2018 With this prime-time win, Georgia now advances to Saturday's U.S. championship round, taking on an undefeated Hawaii squad that has fresh legs and fresh pitchers—the happy result of dominating their competition by a cumulative score of 20-3. Of course, there's an advantage to Saturday's matchup, even though Peachtree City will likely be prohibitive underdogs. Last Friday, Georgia and Hawaii staged an epic scoreless duel for many innings, before the West squad produced a 2-0 walkoff victory. So, in that vein, there shouldn't be any so-called fear factor with the Georgia kids. They know the feeling of battling with Hawaii for a sustained period, amid tremendous pressure. Regarding Thursday's win, Peachtree City pitcher Tai Peete endured a rough start in the 1st, surrendering a leadoff single and then four more hits in the middle of the New York batting order. The damage could have been worse, if Peete hadn't ended the inning with a caught-looking strikeout. Little League WS: Peachtree City 4, Grosse Pointe, Mich. 3 1/8 2/8 3/8 4/8 5/8 6/8 7/8 8/8 1 / 8 Peete would garner an immediate chance for retaliation, though. Batting in the 2-hole, his double and Jansen Kenty's triple trimmed the deficit to 3-1. Kenty then scored on a fielder's-choice play in the infield, converting a great baserunning jump into Peachtree City's second run. In the second inning, Peachtree City technically registered two hits and two runs; but New York arguably committed three fielding gaffes during this frame—two by the left fielder and one by the shortstop. With these gifts, Georgia owned a 4-3 lead it would never relinquish. The third inning was similarly fruitful, with Peachtree City plating a pair of runs for the third consecutive frame. The big blow: Connor Riggs-Soper's two-run double expanded the lead to 6-3. Peachtree City would add an insurance run in the 4th, but it wasn't really necessary. After the first inning, the pitchers Peete and Ben Traxler didn't allow more than four New York batters to come to the plate for the final six frames. As for Saturday's American championship game, it's too early to tell which Peachtree City pitchers will be eligible for mound duty against the vaunted Hawaii squad, since Little League rules are rather strict with pitch counts and rest.<doc-sep>WILLIAMSPORT, PA — Heads were hanging, calls weren’t going the team’s way, and the opening inning of Peachtree City’s elimination game against the Mid-Atlantic could not have opened with more adversity. Above, Peachtree City’s Connor Riggs-Soper runs home after reaching base with a double during the second inning of a Little League World Series game against the Mid-Atlantic. Photo/Brett R. Crossley. In what’s becoming a trademark of the team, clutch hits and timely outs allowed it to get right back into it. After retaking the lead, it was all up to Tai Peete to close things out. The growing superstar lived up to the hype as he was nearly untouchable throughout the remainder of the game. Peete went five innings and recorded five strikeouts as Peachtree City outlasted the Mid-Atlantic for a 7-3 win. It was the third consecutive win for Peachtree City, which advances to face the West in the United State Championship Saturday at 3:30 p.m. In Thursday night’s win, Peachtree City received help from just about every player on the team. The bottom two slots in the order proved to be valuable as they finished a combined 4-for-5 with two runs scored and another three driven in. Connor Riggs-Soper, the likely starter in Saturday’s U.S. Championship, connected with a double in the second and a single in the fifth. He was pinch-hit for in the third by James Hooper, who entered to hit a double and score two runs. “I’m super proud of James and Connor,” Peachtree City Manager Patrick Gloriod said. “They’ve been struggling a little bit, but it’s really cool to see them keep battling. They maybe get one at bat a game and then coming through like that meant a lot to the team.” Hooper only had the one at bat in the game, but used his chance to the fullest of his ability. “I’ve been feeling pretty good in the cages and during my at bats all week,” Hooper said. “I’ve just been waiting for it to happen and I finally got a nice hit. It felt pretty good.” The Mid-Atlantic’s offense opened strong with three of the first four batters reaching base safely. Chris Bedford and Derek Mendez hit singles and Steven Martinez connected with a double. All three runners scored as the Mid-Atlantic built a three-run lead in the first inning. Peachtree City didn’t even blink as Peete hit a double and Jansen Kenty hit a triple in the bottom of the frame to score two runs. Riggs-Soper opened the second with a double and Traxler, who already has a walk-off hit in the Series, laced a ball into left field for a triple and tie score. “It was really hard when they scored three runs, but I just had to get used to the umpire’s strike zone,” Peet said. “It was tight at the beginning, but once I loosened up it just seemed to get bigger and bigger.” The run support was there for Peachtree City as it added runs in each of the first four innings of play. Singles from Chase Fralick and Jack Ryan helped add two runs in the third and a lead-off singe from Peete in the fourth helped score another run. As the run support came from Peachtree City’s offense, Peete found his groove as he retired nine of ten batters through the second, third, and fourth innings. Three outs came by strikeouts as Peete let his defense take care of the rest. In the second, after a lead-off walk, Peete received a boost when Willis Maginnis broke across the infield to snag a ball, tag second, and throw to first for a double play. Maginnis completed a similar play in the fifth to end the inning. He only needed one out this time as the inning came to a close with a Mid-Atlantic runner stuck at third. “I just knew we were going to win that game after we scored once,” Peete said. “We just kept going and scoring.” Peachtree City posted hits and put runs up as nearly every batter in the order contributed. The bottom three slots connected with two doubles, a triple, and scored two runs while driving two more in. Hopper came off the bench in the third to hit a two-RBI double. Hopper entered for Riggs-Soper, who hit a double and scored in the second and later came back with a single to open the fifth. “These kids don’t get down on themselves,” Gloriod said. “I had a good feeling coming into the game and it was awesome to see them bounce back the way they did. We felt good about it.” Peete carried the rosin bag from the game into the press conference after his five-inning gem against the Mid-Atlantic. “When I finished the inning, the umpire asked me if I wanted to keep the rosin bag, and I told I wanted to leave it out there for Traxler,” Peete said. “He used it and struck the batter and I told them it was lucky. You’re going to see it against Hawaii.” — Reported and photographed by BRETT R. CROSSLEY, Special to The Citizen ====================================== Peachtree City 7, Mid-Atlantic 3 MA 300 000—3 7 2 SE 222 10X—7 8 0 Derek Mendez, Logan Castellano (3), Steven Martinez (5), and Chris Cancel. Tai Peete, Ben Traxler (6), and Chase Fralick. WP: Peete. LP: Mendez. Top Mid-Atlantic hitters: Steven Martinez 2-3, 2B, run. Top Peachtree City hitters: Tai Peete 2-4, 2B, run, RBI; Jansen Kenty 1-4, 3B, 2 runs, RBI; Connor Riggs-Soper 2-2, 2B, run; James Hooper 1-1, 2B, 2 RBI. Records: Mid-Atlantic 2-2. Peachtree City 3-1. Next: Peachtree City vs. Honolulu at Lamade Stadium, Saturday, 3:30 p.m.<doc-sep>Enter Jansen Kenty. The left-hander hit a two-out, two-run home run to tie the game at 5-5 as Peachtree City erased the three-run deficit while down to its final out. Kenty delivered with two strikes with a blast to left centerfield. Peachtree City had two runners on in the bottom of the seventh inning but could not push across a winning run. Texas scored in the top of the eighth inning to bring home the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly. Peachtree City put runners on first and second with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning. On a ground ball to shortstop, Texas got a force out at second base but an errant throw trying to complete a double play allowed the tying run to score. Georgia advanced a runner to third base with two outs before that rally ended. Peachtree City had one more rally left – a winning rally – and its hope for a Little League World Series title remains alive.<doc-sep>
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Post Oak was within one out of advancing twice before having its Little League Baseball World Series come to an end Monday night with a heartbreaking, 7-6, nine-inning loss to Southeast Regional champion Peachtree City, Ga. Peachtree City scored three times in the bottom of the sixth, tying the game on a two-run Jansen Kenty homer, to force extra innings. The three-run rally started on a two-out, bases-empty error. “You have to get the last out,” Post Oak manager David Rook said. Post Oak went ahead again in the eighth. A throwing error while attempting to turn a difficult, game-ending double play instead allowed Peachtree City to tie the game again. Ryan Selvaggi went 4-for-4 and Kaleb Rook pitched five strong innings for Post Oak, which had its series end with a pair of one-run losses. Selvaggi had a two-run homer for a 4-0 lead in the fifth. He also tripled and scored three runs, including the go-ahead score in the eighth inning on an Andy Guy sacrifice fly. Rook, who became the starting pitcher in a last-minute, pregame switch, held Peachtree City scoreless through four innings. He allowed two runs in his fifth and final inning. The runs were technically earned, but they were the result of a pop-up falling between two fielders on what would have been the final out. David Rook said he warmed up five pitchers and went with his son, who had not pitched since the regional semifinal because of tendonitis, which he has been receiving treatment for since coming to Williamsport. Post Oak opened the scoring on an unearned run in the top of the second. Selvaggi tripled and scored on a Richie Klosek single in the third. Peachtree City got within 4-2 on back-to-back RBI singles by Connor Riggs-Soper and Wills Maginnis in the fifth inning. Mathew Hedrick went 2-for-3 with a sacrifice for Post Oak. He tripled with two out in the top of the sixth and came around to score on a wild throw, building the lead to 5-2. That lead got away with the error that opened the door for Kenty’s homer. “It’s a wave of emotions,” David Rook said. “The good news is they got their emotions under control after that home run and battled and got the lead back.” After Peachtree City’s two rallies for ties, the winning run scored with the help of a hit batter, fielder’s choice, wild pitch and sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth. “I was a lot more upset (Sunday) than (Monday),” the manager said of a 2-1 loss to Mid-Island from Staten Island, N.Y. “We battled. We came to hit. We did what we expect the boys to do offensively. “The pitching was really good. The boys that pitched today, the defense sort of let them down.” With the completion of Monday’s four games, half of the field has been eliminated and half remain in contention. Little League's postgame press conferences traditionally involve just the manager from the losing team, but David Rook brought his son Kaleb with him. "We started Little League together and we're going to go out together," David Rook said. Kaleb Rook did his best to sum up the feelings of the players. "I bet we'll remember it fondly," Kaleb said, "but I bet everybody's really sad right now. We're all probably going to look back on this and think it's really cool."