With their backs against the wall at the Little League World Series on Wednesday evening, the team from South Carolina looked to be finished.
However, the young men from the Columbia region of Irmo refused to give up, even after allowing five runs to South Dakota in the top half of the seventh inning, falling behind 6-1. South Carolina answered with six runs of their own in the last half of the seventh to clinch a thrilling 7-6 victory and remain in contention at the LLWS.
Now, they stand just three wins away from capturing the LLWS championship.
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South Carolina had to engineer multiple comebacks to keep moving forward. South Dakota maintained a 1-0 advantage as the game entered the bottom of the sixth inning, the last scheduled half-inning.
South Carolina found themselves down to their final out with runners occupying first and second base. A sharply hit single by Ryder Tillitz filled the bases, but didn’t produce a run. However, Jacob Gibson drew a full-count walk to force in the tying run, ultimately pushing the game into extra innings with the score even at 1-1.
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Unbelievable seventh inning
That’s when the excitement reached fever pitch. South Dakota managed to score a run with one out, gaining a 2-1 lead before a line drive from Connor Felderman resulted in the second out. From there, South Dakota tacked on four runs with two outs, appearing to have firmly seized control of the contest.
But South Carolina scored three runs before the first out was recorded in the bottom half of the seventh, narrowing South Dakota’s lead to 6-4 courtesy of a bases-loaded walk. Next, with one out already registered, Brady Westbrooks earned another bases-loaded walk after seeing five pitches, further trimming the deficit to 6-5 and setting the stage for Andrew Bogan’s game-winning moment.
Bogan connected with a 2-2 pitch, sending it down the right-field line where it barely eluded the grasp of a diving Grayson Rehfeldt, the right fielder. Two runs crossed the plate, and the South Carolina dugout erupted as players stormed onto the field to celebrate the dramatic, come-from-behind triumph.
This stunning turnaround brought heartache to South Dakota, whose LLWS journey concluded with this elimination-game defeat. South Carolina now advances to another elimination showdown on Thursday, facing off against Las Vegas.
The victor of that game will move on to battle Connecticut for the U.S. championship. The winner of that contest will then go on to play the international champion for the LLWS title.
