The final elimination game of Day 5 of the 2017 Little League World Series saw the Northwest, represented by the Walla Walla Valley Little League of Walla Walla, Washington, facing off against New England, represented by the Fairfield American Little League of Fairfield, Connecticut, at Howard J. Lamade Stadium.
The game was scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. first pitch, but mother nature returned to the Little League World Series complex for the second time today, forcing a pregame delay of one hour and seven minutes.
When action finally began, both offenses cam out of the gate slow as the Northwest went down in order, while New England got a one-out baserunner from a Michael Iannazzo, who was left stranded at first after his single.
The second inning would see Northwest strike first, as Joe Baffney reached on a fielder’s choice and Landon Welter reached on a walk. Baffney would score the games first run on an RBI single from Carson Jones. Landon Welter would score on the same play, thanks to an E9, bringing the Northwest lead to 2-0 after a half-inning.
New England would respond in the Bottom of the 2nd, as Andrew Cutler reached on a single, followed by Aidan Rivera reaching thanks to a Northwest error. Two batters later, Owen Kalagher would hit a 2 RBI single to score to score Cutler and Rivera, tying the game back up at two a piece after two innings.
The Northwest offense would come back out hot in the top of the third inning as Drew Coleman lead off with a single, followed up with Andrew Hall reaching on a hit by pitch. Keegan Weston would then single, scoring Coleman, and giving the Northwest the lead back at 3-2. Both Hall and Weston would score two batters later as Hayden Lomeli hit a 2 RBI single, pushing the Northwest lead to 5-2.
Things would quiet down until the Bottom of the 4th Inning as New England sent 13 players to the plate and brought eight around to score on just four hits, capitalizing on two Northwest errors. The eight runs would be highlighted by Christian Smith lifting a three-run home run to straight-away center field, scoring Sean O’Neil and Anthony Fallotta. Through four innings, New England would be leading the way over the Northwest 10-5.
The Northwest would try to respond in the Top of the 5th, getting a two-out solo shot from Caiden Thomsen to close the gap to 10-6, but that would be all they would get as New England robbed a home run from Hayden Lomeli to end the threat.
New England would tack on four more insurance runs in the bottom of the frame, highlighted by Ethan Righter leading off with a triple, and scoring on the next at-bat as Michael Iannazzo drove a 2-2 offering into the batter’s eye for a two run home run.
The Northwest would be down to their final three outs, trailing by eight runs. Unfortunately for the Northwest, they would be retired in order, and see their World Championship hopes come to an end as they fall to New England 14-6.
For New England, they advance into an elimination game against the Mid-Atlantic on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Howard J. Lamade Stadium. For the Northwest, their life in the 2017 Little League World Series comes to an end with a record of 1-2.
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