SOUTH HILL, Wash. — A Little League team from Puyallup has claimed the Northwest Championship and clinched a berth in the World Series.
The South Hill Little League team beat West Valley Little League of Idaho 13-7 on Thursday. The regional tournament took place in San Bernadino, California.
South Hill coach Derek Jennings said the experience has been “surreal” and one of the most exciting moments of his life
“Just really having a tough time soaking it in right now,” Jennings said. “Still pinching myself hoping to not wake up.”
South Hill scored eight runs in the final inning, completing a stunning comeback to capture the championship.
Headed into the sixth inning, Puyallup was down by one run, and West Valley got two outs on the first two batters.
“A lot of us were nervous,” said first baseman Brayden Blair. “Everyone was getting scared that our season was over, and then once Rawly (Jennings) got that hit, the rally started, and we started combining hits.”
Connor Morey, Kohen Wills and Deegan Rowley all singled, bringing in three runs. When South Hill was up by two, Jett Taylor hit a home run, driving in three runs and sealing the win. South Hill also scored when Blair stole home. The final run came off an error.
South Hill dropped its first game of the tournament against West Valley on Saturday. However, they went on to win games against Abbot-O-Rabbit Little League of Alaska and Bend North Little League of Oregon before beating West Valley in the rematch.
“My first game at regionals I was pretty scared,” said Rawly Jennings, whose father is the coach. “But then I realized it wasn’t that scary. Then we started to mesh together as a team.”
Making the Little League World Series was a big dream for the South Hill players and is a big deal for the club. There are nearly 6,000 Little League teams across the country, and just one team from each of the 10 regions across the U.S. gets to compete in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
“I’m really excited for it,” said Taylor, a third baseman. “I love having everybody watching me. It gives me that adrenaline. It makes me more pumped up to do better.”
The Puyallup squad gets a first-round bye in the Little League World Series. In their first game, they will face off against the winner of the Southeast and Midwest game, which is happening Aug. 14. The South Hill game gets underway Aug. 16 at 3 p.m. Pacific. It will be broadcast on ESPN.