LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Summerlin South will play in the Little League Baseball World Series championship game Sunday after defeating Connecticut Saturday 8-2, avenging its only loss of the tournament.
Nevada got into a jam in the bottom of the fifth inning, with opposing players on first and second, before Nevada’s right fielder gunned down a runner heading home, triggering a rundown that left Connecticut unable to score in the inning.
The team from Summerlin South’s journey to the U.S. Championship game in the Little League World Series began on Aug. 13, when Nevada defeated Illinois in blowout fashion by a final score of 16-1.
Next, Nevada faced Washington on Aug. 15, clinching a 5-3 victory that led to a showdown against South Carolina.
The Aug. 18 pitchers’ duel saw South Carolina’s Joe Giulietti throw a six-inning no-hitter — but for naught, as Nevada got over the hump with a walk-off 1-0 victory in extra innings.
Two days later, Nevada took its first loss of the Little League World Series, falling to Connecticut 7-3. That loss sent Summerlin South to the elimination bracket, where it would play for its tournament life in a rematch against South Carolina.
The second contest against South Carolina, on Aug. 21, proved nearly as intense as the first. The tightly competitive game came down to a late-inning home run by Garrett Gallegos, which put the team from the Las Vegas Valley up 5-3 and into Saturday’s U.S. Championship game.
Eddie Gallegos, father of the player who hit Thursday’s decisive three-run homer, said it’s been tough to put into words watching his son, Garrett, compete in the Little League World Series.
“Somebody told me, ‘Do you guys realize how big this is?’ But it’s like, no, we’re here,” Eddie Gallegos said. “We’re in another world. We’re in another world out here.”
Nevada will take on Chinese Taipei on Sunday in the Little League Baseball World Series championship game.
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