Sweetwater Valley eliminated from Little League World Series after loss to Alabama team

Phenix City keeps LLWS run alive with dramatic comeback win

The team from Phenix City, Alabama, advanced to the next round of the Little League World Series after a 6-5, extra-inning victory over West Chester, Pennsylvania, on Monday night. The win came after Phenix City rallied from a 5-0 deficit, the largest comeback in series history for an Alabama team, according to al.com.

The decisive hit came from Brooks Cameron, whose bases-loaded single in the bottom of the seventh inning drove in the winning run. Phenix City had fought back from a five-run hole earlier in the game, scoring five runs in the bottom of the third inning to tie the game.

The rally began when, after a hit-by-pitch, singles by Jerry Taylor and Cooper Champion and a walk to Layton Burt brought the first runs in. Easton Allen then lined a two-run single, and Kinley Rasmus followed with a single to plate the tying run.

Rasmus, who entered in relief in the top of the third with Phenix City trailing 5-0, pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out six. She also drove in the game-tying run and recorded a double play to end the top of the third. Her six strikeouts gave her 14 for the tournament, tying the record for most strikeouts by a girl in a single LLWS, previously set by Mo'ne Davis, according to al.com and Bleacher Report.

West Chester, from Pennsylvania, had taken a 5-0 lead by the third inning. Cole Warner, the West Chester pitcher, also had a strong performance, striking out six over three scoreless innings in relief, including a four-strikeout inning with bases loaded, and hitting a home run earlier. However, West Chester lost its first game to Bayonne, New Jersey, 3-1 on Friday night, and the second loss ended their season, as reported by Patch.

The game entered extra innings with West Chester having a runner on third with one out in the top of the seventh. But a heads-up play by Phenix City's Easton Allen triggered a run down, and Rasmus struck out the final batter to end the threat.

Phenix City will next play the team from Tacoma, Washington, at 2 p.m. Central on Tuesday, according to al.com.

Sweetwater Valley eliminated in run-rule loss

Earlier, Sweetwater Valley, the team from Bonita, California, was eliminated from the Little League World Series on Saturday with a 12-2 loss to Phenix City, a game ending with the run rule, as reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune. Sweetwater Valley scored first in the second inning when singles by Sebastian Pino and a triple from Tempe Tran brought in runs. In the fourth inning, Tran hit a triple and scored Isaac Ramírez. But Phenix City scored three runs in the bottom of the second, four in the bottom of the third, and four more in the bottom of the fourth to end the game after four innings.

Sweetwater Valley coach Steve Winnick expressed pride in his team, saying, “Getting to coach that group of boys, that was special. I hope that I get to coach them in the future again at some point, but coaching them this season was by far the highlight of the season.” He also noted the team's performance: “Obviously it’s not the result we wanted. I told them it wasn’t our best baseball playing out here, it was actually probably our worst baseball of the entire All-Star season. But the overarching theme I told them was we could talk about all the mistakes we made today, but the overarching theme was how proud I am of them.”

Pitching and offensive highlights for Phenix City

In Saturday’s run-rule win, Urijah Berklite pitched all four innings, allowing six hits and striking out six, throwing 85 pitches, according to al.com. Cam Lee hit Phenix City's first home run of the LLWS and had a team-high three RBIs. The team recorded six hits and benefited from four California errors, only six of their runs being earned. Phenix City’s 12 runs were distributed among 10 different players, with Easton Allen and Kinley Rasmus scoring twice each.

The runs came in a burst: three in the second, four in the third, and five in the fourth, with Watson landing early in the fourth. The earlier report noted that Phenix City overcame the scoring total with a run-rule victory. California scored once in the top of the second before the Phenix City offense burst.

After the loss, Sweetwater Valley’s season ended. The team's run through the tournament included notable performances, but the elimination game proved too difficult to overcome.