It took nine innings into their 21st game this summer, but Westport Little League finally has lost.
The Connecticut 11- and 12-year-olds fell to Chula Vista of California, 6-3 in nine innings, last night in the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pa., after blowing a two-run lead in the sixth inning.
Chula Vista’s Grant Holman delivered the deciding blow, a three-run blast to center off Westport reliever Alex Reiner.
Matt Brown staked Westport (20-1) to a 3-1 lead with an opposite-field, three-run homer in the fourth. It looked like it would stand up, before Chula Vista rallied for two runs in the sixth off Harry Azadian, Max Popken and Reiner.
Azadian, one of Westport’s co-aces, came on for star right-hander Chad Knight in the fifth, and allowed a solo homer to Nick Mora with one out in the sixth. He was pulled at that point with 20 pitches, to make sure he was available to pitch today under pitch-count rules, but Max Popken and Reiner were unable to hold the lead.
“We had a plan when we started the inning: If he got to two outs with nobody on, we would roll the dice,” Westport manager Tim Rogers said of Azadian. “But they’re too good of a team. If another guys squares one up and hits one out, we would have really regretted that.”
Westport will now face Sammamish (Wash.) in an elimination game tonight at 8 p.m. and have Azadian ready to take the ball. Westport beat Sammamish, 9-7, on Sunday. The winner advances to face Chula Vista in the United States championship Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
“We knew there were two paths to get to the championship game on Sunday,” Rogers said. “We were looking to be on one path, now we’re on the other path. We have to focus back on Washington and get ready for [tonight].”
Japan 5, Mexico 2
Kazuki Ishida homered to center field in the bottom of the fifth inning to snap a 2-all tie and spark a game-changing rally, and Japan beat Mexico 5-2 to earn a berth in the international championship game.
Mexico (2-1) will play Aguadulce, Panama, today in a rematch. Mendoza hit two of Tijuana’s five home runs in a 13-0 four-inning win over Panama on Sunday in the winners’ bracket.