The South Hill team from Washington has made it to the championship round of the 2024 Little League Baseball Northwest Region Tournament. The playoff, which will be held in San Bernardino, California, is a crucial step for teams looking to secure a spot in the prestigious Little League World Series.
The final game was postponed due to inclement weather until Friday, when South Hill will play Idaho for the title. A win there would not only crown them champions of the Northwest Regional, but also secure them a spot in the Little League World Series, which is scheduled for August 14-25.
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South Hill was strong throughout the tournament. They competed against teams from Idaho, Oregon, and Alaska. In their final game, South Hill beat Oregon 14-5 to secure a spot in the championship game.
The opening game was a thrilling duel between South Hill and West Valley-Idaho. In the end, West Valley emerged victorious with a 6-4 victory.
“We’ve been together for five years, we believe in each other, and a couple of times this summer we’ve been way behind and come back,” catcher Owen Westly said on ESPN.
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Coach Kevin Louwsma agreed with Owens and emphasized the team’s resilience.
“We’ve fought our way through district and state championships every year,” he told ESPN. “We used to play against older teams and win, so we always had that determination and grit. I had no doubt that we would come back after being down 3-2, because that’s normal for us. We may fall behind, but our guys never give up, and that’s the good thing about us.”
The second game of the tournament pitted Bend North-Oregon against Abbott-O-Rabbit-Alaska. The score was tied 2-2 after the first inning, but Bend North pulled ahead by four more runs to secure a 6-2 victory.
Matt Gylling, manager of Bend North, looked back on his team’s journey to the regional.
“It’s been a long journey,” he told ESPN. “We just came together as a team and it’s been great.”
Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X, formerly known as Twitter, Here and send him an email here.
