New Castle (Ind.) Little League earned its first berth in the Little League Baseball World Series this afternoon as they came back from a four-run deficit to score a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to earn a 6-5 victory over Warren County Southern Little League from Bowling Green, Ky. The victory gave New Castle (Ind.) the title of the Great Lakes Region Tournament, which was played at the Reuben F. Glick Little League Center in Indianapolis, Ind.
New Castle Little League opened the scoring with a single tally in the first inning with the run scoring on a wild pitch. The Kentucky State Champion then scored all of its runs in the top of the second inning as Matthew Mitchell had an RBI single to start the scoring and Adam Smiley stroked a two-out, two-run single to center field to close out the scoring in the inning. In between the RBI hits, Warren County Little League scored on a fielder’s choice and a walk that forced in a run.
The Indiana State Champions then closed to within one run with three tallies in the third inning on an RBI double by Mason Gillis and an RBI single by Jarred Porter that were sandwiched around a run that scored on a ground out. They pulled even two innings later as Hunter McCubbins led off the fifth inning with a home run.
That set the stage for the bottom of the sixth inning when New Castle Little League loaded the bases on a single, walk and hit batter with two outs before Gillis delivered the game-winner, a sharp single to left field. Gillis had three hits in the game as New Castle Little League ouhit Warren County Southern Little League, 13-6.
Bryce Pinkard earned the win in relief going the last four innings allowing only two hits and striking out seven.
New Castle Little League, the 15th team from Indiana to earn a World Series berth, defeated top-seed Eau Claire National (Wis.) Little League in the semifinals, 2-1, while Warren County Southern Little League earned its spot in the championship game with a 4-3 victory over Streator (Ill.) Little League.
New Castle Little League joins Aguadulce Cabezera Little League from Aguadulce, Panama, the Latin America Region Champion; Kitasuna Little League from Tokyo, Japan, the Japan Region Tournament Champion; Asia-Pacific Region Champion, Kuei-Shan Little League from Taoyuan County, Chinese Taipei; Pariba Little League from Willemstad, Curacao, the Caribbean Region Champion; Middle East & Africa Champion, Lugazi Little League from Lugazi, Uganda; Mexico Region Champion, Oriente Little League from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico; KMC American Little League from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, the Europe Champion; and McAllister Park National Little League from San Antonio, Texas, in the 16-team Little League Baseball World Series field.
The new Great Lakes Region champion will play its first game in the World Series, Aug. 17, against the Northwest Region Champions.
The 66th Little League Baseball World Series, for 11-12-year-olds, will be played in South Williamsport, Pa., Aug. 16-26. Sixteen teams from around the world will vie for the coveted title of World Champion.
The World Series will use the same format as last year with the teams split into two eight-team brackets – a U.S. bracket and an International bracket.