Published: Wednesday, Jul. 15, 2009 / Updated: Wednesday, Jul. 15, 2009 05:07 PM
Little Leaguers make it to title game
TRENHOLM --
Most years, Fort Mill and Irmo have two of the best little league baseball teams in South Carolina.
That was the case again this summer, but unfortunately for the group of 12-year-olds that make up the Tega Cay/Fort Mill little league All-Star team, Irmo had their number this time.
The local team lost twice to Irmo last weekend at the district tournament in Trenholm, ending its hopes of qualifying for the state championship tournament and closing the road to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Penn.
“They lost a heartbreaker – it's tough to lose like that,” said Stacey Kuhn, the team's manager. “They played one of the best little league games I've ever seen.”
Down 3-2 in the final inning, TCFM came within one hit of tying or possibly winning the game with runners on first and second base.
Fort Mill Middle School's Spencer Pecarro started the game with a blast, belting a home run as the first batter of the game. Mason Jordan, a pitcher from Gold Hill Middle, threw a 71-pitch complete game in the championship matchup, a big part of the team's great performance, Kuhn said.
“It was a pitcher's duel. (The games against Irmo) were two of the closest games you could have. They could have went either way,” Kuhn said. “You couldn't have asked for a better played ball game.”
Neither team had an error in the championship match.
This was the third year in a row that TCFM and Irmo have met to determine the district champion. The group from Fort Mill won each of the last two, advancing to the state tournament, but this year, Irmo returned the favor.
After a drama-filled tournament – TGFM won 11-1 in one match-up, and came back from a four run deficit in the bottom of the sixth inning to win another, thanks to a walk-off home run by Gold Hill Middle's Liam O'Boyle – the team finished the competition with a 2-2 record.
The group included the most talented players picked from the Tega Cay/Fort Mill little league's summer season.
Earlier in the summer, the group had the opportunity to travel to Cooperstown, N.Y., home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, to participate in a tournament – a trip Kuhn said was tiring, but a lot of fun for everyone.
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