WILLIAMSPORT, PA — The Council Rock Newtown Little League team avoided elimination from the Little League World Series with a resounding victory over New England on Saturday night.
Coupled with a strong pitching performance from Tyler Neeld throughout the game, Pennsylvania built a strong four-run lead in the fourth inning to pull off an impressive 5-0 victory over Salem, New Hampshire.
The win came a day after the team suffered a crushing 9-0 loss to the Southwest Region in the first batting inning of the series.
Before Saturday’s game, coach Brad Hamilton refrained from giving the players a fiery speech and instead limited himself to the essentials.
“That’s what we do. We play baseball,” he told his players. “You learn to bounce back in those situations. You learn to get back up. I didn’t give them ‘the’ talk. I just told them, ‘You know what to do.’ I told them Ty’s getting the ball and guys, you’re behind him. Let’s go out there and play Newtown baseball. And that’s what they did.”
The team took the lead first with a one-run third inning, which proved to be the deciding factor in Saturday’s victory. One inning later, Newtown scored four more runs to increase its lead to 5-0.
Tyler Neeld. (Courtesy of Little League Baseball and Softball)
While the team was getting hits, pitcher Tyler Neeld kept New England in check on the pitching side. Neeld pitched almost the entire game before Coach Hamilton tapped the pitcher on the shoulder in the bottom of the sixth inning and sent him to the dugout for some much-needed rest.
Neeld posted an impressive 70 percent strikeout rate against the New England team, leading his team to victory in Williamsport and avoiding elimination.
“When I heard I was getting the ball, I was excited. I knew I was going to throw strikes and that my defense had my back,” Neeld said. “Whenever I hear I’m getting the ball or just going in, I’m happy and excited because I know I’m going to do well, even if I score a couple runs or whatever, it doesn’t matter. The next batter, I just keep doing the same thing.”
Neeld said one of the key moments that gave the team the momentum it needed was shortstop Brayden Peiffer’s incredible catch while playing shortstop.
“When he hit the ball, I was a little mad because I left it a little over the plate,” Neeld said. “Then when I saw it pop out, I was excited.”
Newtown Shortstop Brayden Peiffer. (Courtesy of Little League Baseball and Softball)
“Brayden had a strikeout in the first at-bat. He had some tears in his eyes and was emotional. But I said that was the catch that changed our momentum,” Hamilton said. “And Ty picked up on that. He felt the momentum.”
Peiffer added: “It motivated the team, the spectators and everyone else. It gave me a good feeling.”
The runs were scored by Peiffer, Neeld, Saverio Longo, Gavin Caudill and Brody Gage. On the pitching side, Neeld recorded eight strikeouts and one walk.
The Mid-Atlantic now advances to a Sunday afternoon game against Puyallup, Washington, at 1 p.m.
