WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — The Canadian Little League team that could from Whalley, B.C. ran out of big pitches and timely hits against Puerto Rico Wednesday afternoon at Volunteer Stadium, losing 9-4 and ending what's been a remarkable run for the boys from British Columbia. It was an emotional and somewhat disappointing ending for a team that quickly became fan favourites for their great baseball and constant displays of sportsmanship. Fittingly, after the teams shook hands at the end of the game, the 13 Canadian boys ran in front of the Puerto Rican fans, took their hats off and tipped their caps. Their parents were next, as they raced to the other side of the diamond and tipped their hats once again. Their final act was heading back to the infield to scoop up some dirt — walking away from a ballpark with a fist full of sand that will hold memories for a lifetime. "We told the boys at the beginning of the summer this could be the summer of their lives," head coach Mike Marino said after the game. "I think it's lived up to that and they all believe it's been the summer of their lives. I'll be honest, I don't think I've had a better summer in my life." Watch highlights of Canada's final game at the LLWS: Game Wrap: Canada beats Mexico, stays alive at Little League World Series Sports 1:34 Canadian squad wins 6-4, next faces Puerto Rico in another must-win game. 1:34 Many were calling the Canadians the underdogs heading into the elimination game on Wednesday — the team didn't believe it, with their confidence bolstered by a stunning win over Mexico just two days earlier. Over the first few innings, it looked as though the Canadians might just find a way to win after all. It was 2-1 Canada heading into the third inning. That's when Puerto Rico's power started to show. They rallied to score four in the top half of the inning. Canada never quit though. In fact, the Whalley boys cut the Puerto Rico lead to 5-4 after Dio Gama ripped a double to the wall with the bases loaded in the bottom half of the third. That was as close as Canada would get, with the Caribbean Region representatives adding two more runs in the fourth to increase their lead to 7-4. They never looked back. Puerto Rico's Carlos De Jesus (17) high-fives his coach as he rounds the bases after his home run against Canada in the first inning. (Tom E. Puskar/The Associated Press) Marino says he'll be thinking about the game for a long time and took some of the blame for the aggressive base-running which resulted in a Canadian runner being thrown out at the plate. "I'm sure when I go back and think about it there will be a ton of moments I'll remember but right now it's tough because we really thought we could win that game," Marino said. Thrilling victories along the way For as disappointed as the team is right now, the Canadians will always have two thrilling games to look back upon and remember fondly. In their second game of the tournament, in a must-win situation against Spain, Whalley was able to capture a heart-stopping 2-1 victory. In a game that lasted three hours and 20 minutes and went 10 innings, Joey Marino, the coach's son, hit a walk-off single up the middle. It sent the team and parents into a frenzy. Mike Marino said he had tears in his eyes watching his son score the winning RBI. And nobody will ever forget Canada's stunning 6-4 victory over Mexico to also avoid elimination. With the bases loaded and two out, and the Canadians clinging to a two-run lead, pitcher Nate Colina made a sensational scooping catch to save the game. The team once again bolted out of the dugout and piled onto one another in the infield. The thrilling victories shined a spotlight on the Canadian team and highlighted the magic of the Little League World Series. Watch highlights of Canada's win over Spain: LLWS Game Wrap: Canada Walk-off Spain in Little League World Series thriller Sports 2:45 Joey Marino supplied the heroics for Canada in a must win game against Spain with a walk-off single in the 10th to win 2-1. 2:45 Family affair Above all, what the coaches, players and parents say about the Whalley Little Leaguers is that they're a family. They spent more than a month on the road together as they competed through their provincial playdowns, the national championship and the Little League World Series. The parents of the team stressed to their sons to always maintain grace and poise in victory and defeat — that was evident throughout, including a tip of the cap to a Mexican opponent by pitcher Zaeden Pleasants after he hit a home run off of him. The story of Dio Gama perhaps best of all highlights the story of Whalley. It didn't look as though the 13-year-old would be able to wear the Canadian jersey at the World Series because of immigration issues. But parents, coaches and many more rallied behind Dio and his family prompting Canada's Minister of Immigration to grant him a temporary visitor permit to play. Against the odds, Dio Gama walked out onto the field and played for Canada. The Canadian underdogs played their hearts out and did their country proud.<doc-sep>(Courtesy of Little League Baseball and Softball) The dream ended Wednesday afternoon in Williamsport, PA for the boys from Surrey, BC as Canada dropped a 9-4 decision to Puerto Rico and was eliminated from the 2018 Little League World Series. Canada finished the tournament with a 2-2 record, having lost its opener to Panama before staving off elimination with a pair of dramatic victories which included an upset of Mexico. Wednesday's game -- delayed 24 hours because of rain on Tuesday -- was played under perfect weather conditions and saw Canada left-hander Jordan Jaramillo toss 4.2 innings. He allowed seven runs as Canada let an early 2-1 lead slip away in the third inning when Puerto Rico scored four times with two men out to grab a 5-2 lead. The Canadian boys answered back with a pair of runs, but never got closer than 5-4. Carlos DeJesus homered twice for Puerto Rico, the first player in the tournament to accomplish that feat. Puerto Rico (3-1) advanced in the international bracket and will play either Japan or South Korea on Thursday. Sporting News provided live updates throughout the game. Bottom Sixth Inning Tip of the cap. Indeed. Incredible performance by the Canadian @WLLBALL sluggers at the 2018 Little League World Series. pic.twitter.com/tuOuINz6XN — Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) August 22, 2018 Ty Grewal strikes out looking. Three outs. Puerto Rico wins 9-4 Cole Balkovec also grounds out to the pitcher. Two outs. Dio Gama leads off and taps back to the mound. One out. Top Sixth Inning Canada three outs away from elimination. P uerto Rico leads 9-4 Carlos DeJesus absolutely crushes two-run home run to center. His second bomb of the afternoon. Puerto Rico leads 9-4 Bottom Fifth Inning Runner left at second base. Canada needs a last-inning rally. Puerto Rico leads 7-4 Top Fifth Inning Following a stolen base, the inning ends on a comebacker to the mound. Puerto Rico leads 7-4 Jordan Jaramillo is done after throwing 88 pitches for Canada. He tosses 4.2 innings, leaves with a runner on first. Cole Balkovec moves from 3B to P. Bottom Fourth Inning The first 1-2-3 inning of the afternoon. Puerto Rico leads 7-4 Top Fourth Inning Smash to shortstop, force play at second, throw to first not in time, run scores, second runner thrown out at plate to end inning. Puerto Rico leads 7-4 Luis Rivera RBI single to center, bases still loaded. Puerto Rico leads 6-4 Bloop single loads the bases. PR gets two runners on with one out. Bottom Third Inning Tying run stranded at second, but Canada is right back in it. Puerto Rico leads 5-4 Two-RBI double by Dio Gama, though runner from first thrown out at third. Two outs. Puerto Rico leads 5-4 One-out single to right by Joey Marino. Bases loaded. Leadoff double by Colina, followed by an error. Two on, nobody out for Canada. Top Third Inning Jaramillo finally gets out of the inning for Canada. P uerto Rico leads 5-2 Bloop single to center for Yadiel Delgado drives in another run. Puerto Rico leads 5-2 Eric Rodriguez a booming two-out two-run double to center. Puerto Rico leads 4-2 RBI single to center for John Lopez. Game Tied 2-2 A hit batsman puts two runners on with two outs for PR. Bottom Second Inning Puerto Rico turns a huge double play to end the inning. Grounder to third, throw to first for one, throw home and the tag play ends the inning. Canada leads 2-1 After an infield fly then there's a wild pitch to plate Canada's second run. All runners move up. Canada leads 2-1 Jaren Ashbee fouls off a pair of tough 3-2 pitches to draw a walk. Bases loaded. Canada gets two on with nobody out. Top Second Inning A two-out HBP and an infield single give PR a scoring opportunity. However, a force out at second ends the inning. Tied 1-1 Bottom First Inning Nate Colina singles to right and Juco scores on another error by the PR right-fielder. Game Tied 1-1 Canada's leadoff hitter Andre Juco reaches on a two-base error. Top First Inning A two-out solo home run by Carlos DeJesus gives Puerto Rico an early lead. PR leads 1-0 Wednesday 2:45 Canada's starting lineup: Andre Juco - C Nate Colina - 2B Ian Huang - 1B Kai Sheck - RF Joey Marino - SS Dio Gama - CF Cole Balkovec - 3B Jaren Ashbee - LF Jordan Jaramillo - P 2:15 It's been an amazing experience @LittleLeague so far, can't wait for 3pm today. As Coach Marino @WLLBALL says, "Why not us?" #FamilyFirst pic.twitter.com/nD3UEMwcsp — Maco Balkovec (@MacoBalkovec) August 22, 2018 1:15 Getting loose in Williamsport. Canada’s Jordan Jaramillo gets the start on the mound today against Puerto Rico. Here he is warming up as we are now two hours away from first pitch. 3pm ET @cbcsports @CBCVancouver @WLLBALL pic.twitter.com/8F4jr2s6l6 — Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) August 22, 2018 1:00 No rain Wednesday, so Canada and Puerto Rico should be good to go. HERE COME THE CANADIANS 🇨🇦 @WLLBALL Focused squad as they head to the cages for batting practice. Some of the fans wishing them good luck. They’ve become fan favourites here. @cbcsports @CBCVancouver pic.twitter.com/iuQpRQLImv — Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) August 22, 2018 Tuesday 3:00 Tuesday's game is officially postponed until Wednesday at 3:00 pm EST because of rain. 2:20 Not looking good weather-wise in Williamsport.... There are still a lot of people waiting to find out if the game is going to go ahead... should I break the news to them? pic.twitter.com/EFEyBL1Z52 — Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) August 21, 2018 1:20 Despite the rain, the boys are getting ready! Warming up for batting practice. This Canadian squad seems relaxed and focused again today. I have a live update across our @CBCNews TV Network at 1:20pm ET. Talk to you soon from the Little League World Series. pic.twitter.com/g4S6EanEJc — Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) August 21, 2018 1:00 Raining in Williamsport. Will this game be played today?<doc-sep>
WILLIAMSPORT, PA.—Canada’s run at the Little League World Series came to an end Wednesday with a 9-4 loss to Puerto Rico. The Whalley Major Allstars from Surrey, B.C., entered the game with confidence after a 6-4 win over favoured Mexico on Monday. But they missed a chance to take control of Wednesday’s game when they managed just one run with two on and one out in the bottom of the second inning. The lack of run production came back to haunt Canada. The Puerto Ricans broke the game open with four runs in the top of the third inning to take a 5-2 lead. Canada scored twice in the bottom of the third to cut the lead to one run, but the Caribbean representatives sealed the win with two in the fourth and sixth innings. Safety measures mean fewer home runs at Little League World Series B.C. team looks to make history at Little League World Series Puerto Rico will move on to face the loser of a game later Wednesday between Japan and South Korea in the international semifinal. Carlos De Jesus led Puerto Rico with three hits and three runs batted in, including a solo shot in the first and a two-run homer in the top of the sixth. Dio Gama had a single and a double, drove in two runs and scored on a wild pitch for Canada. Nate Colina also had two hits, including a double. Canadian starter Jordan Jaramillo allowed seven runs (five earned) on eight hits and struck out six in 4 2/3 innings in picking up the loss. Cole Balkovec gave up one hit — De Jesus’s sixth-inning homer — over 1 1/3 innings of relief. Eric Rodriguez earned the win for Puerto Rico, striking out six and allowing one earned run over 4 1/3 innings. The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday before being postponed due to rain. After De Jesus opened the scoring in the top of the first with his first home run of the game, Canada tied it at 1-1 in the bottom of the inning when Andre Juco scored on an error. Canada had the chance to do some damage in the bottom of the second, but settled for a 2-1 lead when Gama scored on a wild pitch. That set up runners on second and third with one out for Canada, but Juco grounded to the third baseman for a double play. Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Puerto Rico scored four in the top of the third for a 5-2 lead, highlighted by Rodriguez’s two-run double. Gama’s two-run double in the bottom of the third cut the lead to 5-4, but Puerto Rico restored the three-run advantage with two in the top of the fourth. After a scoreless fifth, De Jesus’s second homer of the game capped the scoring.