After one week of play, the 2016 Little League World Series is finally down to the final four teams, with the team from the Southeast region grabbing the final spot with an 8-4 win over the Great Lakes region on Thursday night.
First run goes to Great Lakes
Great Lakes got on the board with two runs in the bottom of the first after Devin Obee led off with a double to right-center field. He scored when Spencer Newman also doubled to right-center field. Newman scored when John Guthrie singled to right field, and advanced to second on the throw, which came into the plate.
Southeast got those two runs back in the second inning when Robert Carroll led off the inning after being hit by a pitch. Carroll scored when Ryan Oden doubled to left-center field and advanced to third on the throw. He scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at two.
Great Lakes retook the lead in the third when Newman led off with a single to center field. Newman advanced to second when Guthrie drew a walk, both advanced to third on a wild pitch, and both scored on an error by the third baseman to put them up 4-2.
Southeast breaks the game open
Southeast responded with five runs in the top of the fourth, and it all started when Easton Dillard was hit by a pitch to start the inning. He advanced to second when Tanner Jones singled, advanced to third when Tyler Jones walked, and all three of them scored when Zach McWilliams hit a grand slam to center field to put them in the lead.
They picked up another run when Carson Rucker singled, advanced on a wild pitch, moved to third on an error, and scored when Oden hit a sacrifice fly to right field to put them up 7-4.
Southeast tacked on an insurance run in the sixth when Ethan Jackson led off with a single, advanced to second when Carroll walked and scored when Jon Luke Simmons singled to left field to give them a four-run lead.
Great Lakes had a rally going in the bottom of the sixth when Davis Moran led off with a walk. Although he was retired on a fielder's choice hit by Hanks, Hanks advanced to second on a wild pitch, and advanced to third when Payton Forbes singled. They were left on base when Obee struck out looking with a full count to end the game.
Coming up
Southeast now looks ahead to a Saturday afternoon rematch with the Mid-Atlantic team, with the winner advancing to the United States Championship game against the winner of the International Championship game. Great Lakes, meanwhile, is done with Little League Baseball for the season.