Ohio Bounces Back To End Torrance Little League’s Run
- Updated: August 26, 2021
(Ohio players celebrate on Thursday, after eliminating Southern California Champion Torrance Little League from the Little League World Series. Photo courtesy of ESPN.)
A team from Ohio on Thursday accomplished a feat that no others before it were able to do. Ohio eliminated Southern California Champion Torrance Little League of Torrance. Yes, Ohio snapped Torrance’s amazing Summer 2021 run. Lunada Bay Little League of Palos Verdes Estates and Chula Vista’s Eastlake Little League each had Torrance on the ropes. Those teams came close. But, they each fell short. No one at the West Region tournament was able to do it. And, with only five teams still competing in the Little League World Series, finally, Ohio’s boys finished the task.
Hats off to West Side Little League of Hamilton, OH. That team bounced back after suffering a brutal one-sided loss to Torrance on Aug. 22. Southern California beat Ohio that day, 9-0. West Side then took a page from SoCal’s own playbook. It seems as though Torrance avenged its losses by winning rematches all summer long. Those SoCal boys got it done the hard way. That is why I call them “The Comeback Kids”. Well, Ohio earned that nickname Thursday. Not only did West Side’s boys win the rematch, but they came from behind on the scoreboard to get it done.
Me oh my oh, rockin’ Ohio.
After falling behind, 2-0, and entering the fifth inning still trailing, 2-1, Ohio mounted its comeback. Chance Retherford belted a two-run triple to give Ohio a 3-2 lead. Noah Davidson singled home Retherford to make it, 4-2, and that turned out to be the final score. With the win, Ohio qualified as one of the final four all-star teams competing in the Little League World Series. West Side is set to square off on Saturday against a team representing South Dakota. The winner of that contest shall play in the United States championship to be held on Sunday. This weekend’s games shall be single elimination. Meaning, every team that loses a game shall be eliminated. The winner of the Ohio vs. South Dakota match shall face on Sunday the winner of Saturday’s battle between teams representing Hawaii and Michigan. Honolulu Little League of Honolulu represents Hawaii. Honolulu hails as this year’s West Region champion. That league also won the 2018 world championship, and ranks as the last West team to win a U.S. title.
(Chula Vista’s Eastlake Little League, California’s last United States champion. Photo courtesy of Eastlake Little League.)
After losing to Ohio, Southern California finished the Little League World Series tied for fifth-place in the U.S., with a record of 2-2. Torrance finished the summer with a record of 18-6. That league’s run ending means Eastlake remains California’s last United States champion, and Northridge City Little League of Northridge remains the last one from Los Angeles County.
How did we get here?
Hawaii, Michigan, Ohio, and South Dakota, are the only four teams still competing for this year’s U.S. banner. Little League’s flagship ballpark, Howard J. Lamade Stadium in South Williamsport, PA., shall host this weekend’s games. How did those four reach this point? To answer that question, let us review this past week’s action. We shall start from where we left off in my prior article. In Home Run Hays Smashes Southern California Into Final Six, I wrote that Torrance would face the winner of a game scheduled between South Dakota and a team from Oregon. Well, South Dakota shut out Oregon, 3-0, on Aug. 23. So, Southern California faced South Dakota on Aug. 25 at Little League Volunteer Stadium. That contest turned into a pitchers’ duel.
A pitchers’ duel.
South Dakota’s Gavin Weir threw a no-hitter as his Sioux Falls Little League of Sioux Falls, S.D., shut out Torrance, 1-0. Weir pitched phenomenally. He only allowed one batter to reach base. That came on a first-inning walk. After that, Weir was perfect. He threw a complete game, and finished with 14 strikeouts. Meanwhile, Southern California’s ace pitcher was also lights out. Again. I’m referring of course to Gibson Turner. I need to start referring to him as Gibson “Lights Out” Turner. Against Sioux Falls, Lights Out pitched a gem. Turner worked four innings, scattered three hits, all of which were singles, and did not issue any walks. Sioux Falls’ only run came unearned. One of Turner’s eight strikeouts resulted in a passed ball on the third strike. The batter reached first base. Instead of two outs with no runners on base, suddenly South Dakota had a runner at first with only one out. That runner eventually scored Sioux Falls’ only run of the game.
(The ball gets thrown to Southern California’s Gibson “Lights Out” Turner, after his first strikeout, Aug. 25. Photo courtesy of ESPN.)
With the win, Sioux Falls improved its record in South Williamsport to 3-0. All three victories came as shutouts. Yes, that team has not allowed a run during the Little League World Series. South Dakota’s pitching is fire. By beating Southern California on Aug. 25, Sioux Falls qualified for Saturday’s showdown. With the loss, SoCal’s record at the Little League World Series dropped to 2-1. Overall, Torrance fell to 18-5. Losing to South Dakota forced SoCal to play Thursday’s do-or-die elimination game against Ohio. Lamade Stadium hosted the rematch.
Aloha.
Now, let us discuss Hawaii’s team. In Home Run Hays Smashes Southern California Into Final Six, I mentioned that Honolulu was set to face the winner of a contest to be held between teams representing Michigan and Texas. Well, on Aug. 23, Michigan beat Texas, 6-5. So, on Aug. 25, Michigan played against Hawaii. And, Honolulu’s boys shut out Taylor North Little League of Taylor, MI., 2-0. Lamade Stadium hosted the event. With the win, Honolulu improved its record to 3-0 at the Little League World Series, and to 13-1 on the year. During its three wins in South Williamsport, Hawaii outscored its opponents by a whopping combined total of 22-4. That is fire.
(Michigan players salute Hawaii’s team after losing to it, Aug. 25. Photo courtesy of ESPN.)
After Texas lost to Michigan on Aug. 23, it defeated a team from New Jersey, 2-1, on Aug. 24. The next day, Wylie Little League of Abilene, TX., faced a team representing Nebraska. Texas shut out that team, 10-0. With the victory, Wylie qualified to play a rematch against Taylor North. Lamade Stadium hosted that contest Thursday. Michigan’s boys won, 15-6. That eliminated Texas, and sent Taylor North into a rematch against Hawaii on Saturday. Until then, stay tuned !!
Never too old to learn something new.
Rabbi Rabbs is never too old to learn something new. In Home Run Hays Smashes, I mentioned that Ella Bruning played for Texas. I should now mention that Ella’s brother also played on her team. I noticed, however, that Wylie lists Dillon Bruning as a member of its 11-and-under all-stars. Dillon is not listed on that league’s 12-and-under squad. So, how did he play in the Little League World Series? I researched the rules, and here is what I discovered: “A player may be named to the roster of, and practice with, only ONE Little League International Tournament Team at a time . . . until the team is eliminated from the Tournament. Once the team is eliminated from the Little League International Tournament, players from that team may be added to the affidavit of a second team so long as . . . There is space on the team affidavit for an additional player … ”
(Texas’ 14. Photo courtesy of Little League.)
Okay, so that means that Wylie’s 11-and-under team finished its play, whether it won the Texas championship, or got eliminated during district tournaments, or whatever. Wylie’s 11U season ended, thus Dillon became eligible to join his sister’s team from that point forward. I then counted Texas’ players. I saw 14 on the current roster. That means the roster contained 13 prior to Dillon joining, so he did not take away anyone’s roster spot. Hence, Wylie added Dillon within the rules.
What if?
So, with all of that in mind, let us further examine the possibilities. Let us circle back to articles I wrote earlier this summer. Readers might recall that last month, Chula Vista’s Park View Little League sent a team to the Southern California Division 11-and-under tournament, and another team to SoCal’s 10-and-under tourney. Park View’s 11U squad won the SoCal championship. That league’s 10U boys finished tied for fifth-place in SoCal. Not that those 11U champions needed any additional help, but theoretically, for the sake of discussion, let us say that Park View wished to beef up its 11U roster. Well, theoretically, provided that Park View’s 11U team had space available in its lineup to do so, once the 10U kids got eliminated, they could have joined the older boys, and helped them win Southern California’s banner. In fact, let us go a bit further.
(Park View’s 11-and-under Southern California champs. Photo courtesy of Beatriz Napoleon.)
Park View’s 11-and-under all-stars won Southern California’s championship on a Sunday. Let us say that league’s 10-and-under team had also played in a championship, and that it was held a day earlier, on that prior Saturday. Whether the 10-and-under players would win or lose that tournament’s final game, either way, Park View’s best 10U players would be eligible to assist the 11-and-under squad on the following day. Thus, it is possible for a player to win two SoCal crowns in two days. And there you have it. I hope that makes sense to everyone. Any questions?
Let’s Go SoCal !!
In any event, despite Southern California’s tournament action ending, I still plan to continue writing about Little League in coming days or weeks. Last month, I started on a couple of feature stories related to this year’s SoCal tournaments. I need to now follow up on those articles. Plus, I might publish a My Two Shekels opinion piece. We shall see. Until then, Let’s Go SoCal !!
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