BERLIN- The Berlin Little League’s Intermediate team’s dream of a World Series championship ended with a heartbreaking 6-5 loss to West champion Nogales, Arizona in the U.S. final on Sunday, but the sad ending did little to tarnish what was a remarkable run for the local 13-14-year-olds.
Berlin swept its first two in the Little League Intermediate World Series in Livermore, Calif. last week, beating Central region champion Taylor Little League, 8-2, last Monday, followed by an 11-8 win over Southwest region champion Midland, Texas on Wednesday. With the two early wins, Berlin reached the Intermediate Little League World Series semifinal against West champion Nogales last Friday night.
The interest in the Berlin Intermediate team’s wild success piqued late last week with local residents from Berlin, Ocean City and all over northern Worcester County and beyond tuning in to see of the team could continue its impressive All-Star season run. The Berlin team featured the same core group of players that have won four straight District 8 championships and four straight Maryland championships.
Berlin had gone undefeated in the District 8 championship tournament and swept through the Maryland state championship with its record untarnished. Berlin then swept the Mid-Atlantic regional tournament to reach the Intermediate World Series in California last week.
After winning its first two games in the tournament, Berlin faced off against a tough Nogales team representing the West region last Friday. Nogales scored twice in the first to take a 2-0 lead, but Berlin answered with a single run in the bottom of the second on a solo home run by Tristan McDonough. Unfortunately, that was the only offense Berlin could muster against a tough Nogales pitcher.
Nogales scored two more times in the fourth to take a 4-1 lead, then made it stand up the rest of the way for the victory and a berth in the U.S. side of the bracket in the Intermediate World Series. Nonetheless, by virtue of winning its first two games in the series, Berlin was not finished yet and had an opportunity to get back in the title game and a rematch with Nogales.
On Saturday, facing elimination, Berlin rebounded and beat Midland, 8-2, for their second win over the tough Texas representative. The winner would advance to the U.S. bracket title game, and the score was tied 1-1 after the first three innings in a tight, well-played and tense game with so much on the line. Berlin scored three runs in the fourth and added four more in the sixth to blow open what was a tight game.
In the Berlin sixth, Hayden Snelsire hit a two-run double and McDonough drove in a run with a double. Wes Powell collected the inning’s other run in the decisive sixth with a sacrifice. Meanwhile, Powell was outstanding on the mound, going seven innings while allowing just one earned run and scattering seven hits while striking out six.
With the big win on Saturday in an elimination game, Berlin earned a rematch with Nogales in the U.S. championship game on Sunday. The winner would go on to face the winner of the International bracket in the World Series championship game on Monday. Berlin got out to a fast start, scoring four runs in the second to take an early 4-0 lead. Billy Wheatley and Colby Figgs got Berlin off to a fast start with two straight singles to start the game. A single by Kevin Beck scored Wheatley and another run scored on a Powell ground out. Hayden Snelsire then drove in Figgs and Beck to extend the lead to 4-0.
Nogales answered with four runs of its own in the fourth to tie the game at 4-4. The West team then added two more runs in the fifth to take a 6-4 lead. Berlin rallied with a run in the bottom of the fifth to cut the lead to 6-5, but Nogales shut down the local team the rest of the way and captured the U.S. championship, 6-5. Despite the late loss, Berlin returned home this week with their heads held high with a firm claim on being the second best team in the country in its age bracket after a remarkable run.