After his team won the U.S. championship game on August 3, Eastbank Little League (Louisiana) manager Scott Frazier said he expected an easy game for his team in the championship game of the Intermediate Baseball World Series on August 4 at Max Baer Field.
That prediction was certainly correct, as Eastbank took a 5-0 lead over West Seoul Little League (South Korea) before needing some heroics in the final inning to secure an 8-7 victory.
“I’m just so happy for the kids,” Frazier said. “To play a game like this against a world power like the South Korean team … it’s like a dream, you know, it’s awesome.”
West Seoul cut the lead to 5-4 in the bottom of the fifth inning and tied it at 7-7 in the next inning. But Eastbank wasn’t done yet.
In the seventh inning, Jackson Cantrelle hit a line drive over the third baseman’s head for a leadoff single. Baylen Millet followed with a hit-and-run single to left field, and two throws later, a double steal put the baserunners on second and third base. With two outs, Cantrelle scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch.
Strong relief pitcher John Alexander, a 6-foot-2 13-year-old, shut down West Seoul in the seventh inning to clinch the world championship. He also scored a run with a double in the sixth inning and finished 1 for 3 with two runs scored and a stolen base.
“I was excited because I like these kinds of games, these decisive games,” Alexander said of what was going through his mind as he stepped onto the mound. “Seven-seven, final seven, that’s my game.”
Eastbank, which beat Livermore 3-1 on Aug. 3 to win the U.S. championship, scored one run each in the first, second and fourth innings before scoring two runs in the fifth inning. There was only one inning in which Eastbank did not score.
“We said all the time, ‘Full throttle, no brakes,'” Frazier said. “We tried to keep putting pressure on the guys because we know they like to put pressure on other teams, which they did on us. But we put pressure on them, too. We scored a lot of runs by putting pressure on them.”
Eastbank took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Beau Stevens got a walk, got to second base on a passed ball, got to third base on a ground out, and scored when the first baseman tried to double him on an errant throw from third base. In the second inning, Cantrelle got a walk with two outs, got to second base on a passed ball, and scored on a hit-and-run RBI single to left by Millet. Cantrelle was 2 for 2 in the game with two runs scored and a walk. Millet was also 2 for 2 with a walk and a run scored.
In the fourth inning, Eastbank extended its lead to 3-0 when Alexander scored on an RBI single by Weston Poirrier. In the fifth inning, Eastbank’s lead grew to 5-0 after an error and a double steal.
But West Seoul nearly tied the game in the fifth inning. They managed three consecutive hits and five total in the inning, including RBI singles by Heegeon Moon and San Lee. Moon was 2 for 2 in the game with one run scored and one RBI.
Alexander’s double gave Eastbank a 6-4 lead in the sixth inning. He then used a nifty baserunning move to quickly run away from third base to distract the pitcher and scored when the next pitch was a passed ball, giving Eastbank a 7-4 lead.
West Seoul showed a clever baserunning move of their own. After scoring runs on a sacrifice fly by Donghyeon Kim and an error, U Seok Jang tied the game when he suddenly charged home from third base while the pitcher was on the mound, forcing a high throw.
West Seoul manager Moonsang Kim said through an interpreter that his team had practiced the move a lot and that it was common in Korea. He also said that he was really proud of his team and that they had a great experience at the tournament.
The age range of the Intermediate Division is 11 to 13 years, with the majority of players being 13 years old.
