Zach McWilliams of the Southeast and Zach Reynolds of the Northwest were locked in a pitchers duel all night long, but in the end, it was Reynolds' team who came out with the victory. 

Robert Carroll hit a walkoff double with the bases loaded for the kids from Tennessee, which led to a 3-2 victory. Southeast will now face Mid-Atlantic in the next round, and the Northwest will look to stay alive with a battle against Rhode Island

Both teams get on the board in the third after starting out slow

McWilliams did not have an ideal beginning to his first outing in the Little League World Series, as he hit Julian Mora to open up the ballgame. However, McWilliams would bounce right back, as he retired the next three hitters to retire the side. He picked up his first of nine strikeouts on the day, as he set down Isaiah Jensen on strikes, an event that occurred twice more during his outing. 

Reynolds looked sharp as well, picking up two strikeouts while retiring the Southeast hitters in order. 

McWilliams kicked off the second inning the same way he did in the first, hitting the first batter. Blaine Causey was the victim this time around, but would go no further than second base as McWilliams struck out the next three hitters in the inning. Reynolds also looked sharp once again, overcoming a one-out single to Ethan Jackson to set down the Little Leaguers from Tennessee. 

But in the third, both offenses overcame their big stage jitters. Oddly enough, McWilliams hit yet another batter to open up the inning, this time plunking Braeden Intlekofer. This brought up the top of the order, and Mora reached base again, this time via a walk. He would strike out Jensen and force Bowmen Nelson to lineout, but the opposing pitcher, Zach Reynolds, tripled home both Intlekofer and Mora to make it a 2-0 game. 

However, Southeast would answer right back. With two away in the inning, Tanner Jones connected with his first dinger of the tournament, sending a home run over the 225-foot wall in center field. His twin Tyler Jones followed with a single, but McWilliams struck out to end the inning. 

Both pitchers stay sharp

In the fourth inning, the leadoff hitter would not be hit by McWilliams as Sam Renner flied out to be the first out of a 1-2-3 inning. Reynolds also followed with a 1-2-3 inning of his own. 

Both teams stayed hitless in the fifth, though Joe Schultz of Oregon reached on an error by second baseman Easton Dillard. In the top of the sixth, Reynolds recorded his second hit of the contest with a one out single, but did not advance any further. Reynolds recorded both of Oregon's two hits on the night. 

McWilliams night on the bump was finished, going all six innings yielding two hits, two runs, one walk, hit three batters, and struck out nine. He pitched the maximum 85 pitches, and will need four days rest. 

Zach McWilliams was brilliant for the Southeast.  (Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo)
Zach McWilliams was brilliant for the Southeast.  (Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo)

Zach Reynolds came back to pitch in the bottom of the sixth to protect a one run lead, a decision that ended up costing Northwest manager Steve Mora

Walk off at Lamade

The top of the order was due up for Southeast, meaning the Jones twins would try to get things going for their team. They did just that, as both brothers singled to open up the inning. On Tyler's single, Tanner advanced to third, and Tyler advanced to second on the throw to third base. 

McWilliams followed, looking to secure a victory for his pitching record, but he grounded out to first base. Carson Recker was next, and he hit a grounder to shortstop, but Julian Mora threw home, and everybody was safe. 

This loaded the bases with one out, the tying run at third base and winning run at second base. Reynolds reached 85 pitches, forcing Steve Mora to make a pitching change. Reynolds finished 5.1 innings surrendering five hits, three runs, and struck out seven.

Bowmen Nelson was faced with the tough task, and struck out the first batter he saw, Ethan Jackson. However, both Jones brothers would score at last, as Robert Carroll doubled them both home to win the game. It was a wild one, but both teams showed they could go far in Williamsport

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About the author
Oliver P. Gold
A Providence, Rhode Island based sports journalist and blogger with expertise in baseball and basketball. Includes MLB, NBA and NCAA College Basketball. New England sports fan of Boston Red Sox, Boston Celtics and Providence Friars.