AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
The 2021 Little League World Series entered its second day Friday in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
This year’s installment is a little different since it’s missing both live fans and international teams due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But that still represents an upgrade over 2020, when there was no tournament at all.
Here’s how the action unfolded in the Hank Aaron and Tom Seaver championship brackets.
Friday Scores
Lake Oswego LL (Oregon) def. Upper Providence LL (Pennsylvania), 8-2
Taylor North LL (Michigan) def. Martin County North (Florida), 8-0
Sioux Falls LL (South Dakota) def. Lafayette LL (Louisiana), 2-0
Wylie LL (Texas) vs. Eastlake LL (Washington), 7 p.m. ET
Full bracket available at LittleLeague.org
Recap
Things started off well enough for Pennsylvania as Jalen Bowman scored in the first inning on an error by Crew Corry.
Then Ben Robertson happened.
In addition to allowing two earned runs on three hits and striking out four over 3.1 innings, the Oregon starter launched a three-run home run to left field in the third inning.
Oregon plated another five runs in the bottom of the fourth. Robertson and Kell VanDehey both came home on walks, and a pair of errors allowed Nate Cook, Ryan Warhank and Ellis Bayne to score.
As a team, Oregon had just three hits and drew two walks. Lake Oswego Little League capitalized on six errors by Pennsylvania players.
Michigan followed a more traditional route for its eight-run outing against Florida. Taylor North Little League scattered 12 hits across six innings.
Lucas Farner led off the bottom of the first with a single and made his way home to score on a base hit by Jackson Surma. By the time the inning ended, Michigan held a 3-0 lead.
A five-run explosion in the fifth extinguished any hopes of a comeback.
Max LaForest had a two-run single, and that was followed shortly thereafter by an RBI single by Gavin Ulin. LaForest came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Cameron Thorning before a wild pitch allowed Farner to make it an 8-0 game.
Ethan Van Belle set the tone for Michigan. He struck out six and surrendered three hits on 71 pitches over four innings.
LaForest and Jakob Furkas combined to finish things up and preserve the victory.
South Dakota edged out a win over Louisiana on a strength of a combined no-hitter by Gavin Weir and Cason Mediger.
Weir did the bulk of the work and recorded all but one of the 18 outs. The southpaw also recorded an eye-popping 15 strikeouts on the mound. His pitch count (88) prohibited him from seeing out the complete game.
Mediger needed six pitches to strike out Nick Brown and wrap up what Weir had started.
Brown spun a gem of his own in a losing effort. He went the distance for Louisiana and registered eight strikeouts.
Noah Kuenzi had one of Sioux Falls’ four hits to plate Boston Bryant in the first inning. North Dakota doubled its lead in the sixth on a fielder’s choice by Weir.
That was all the offense Weir needed.
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