Whalley Little Leaguers stay alive
B.C. team notches win over Mexico
Confirmed: Whalley’s Little Leaguers have a flair for the dramatic.
Two days after they won a 10-inning thriller over Spain, Canada’s champions won a 6-4 nail-biter over Mexico to keep their Little League World Series hopes alive.
The Mexicans loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth inning, but reliever Nate Colina — who came into the game in the sixth with only one out and two runners already on — snared a comeback liner by Mexico’s Gael Ponce for the game’s final out.
Assistant coach Lucky Pawa had made a visit to the mound before the Ponce at-bat, looking to cool the team down. Colina, who relieved Cole Balkovec, got an out from the first batter he faced, but then he walked Carlos Garza to load the bases.
“We always cool our boys down,” Pawa explained after the game. “The boys believe in themselves.”
The Canadians led from wire to wire. In the top of the first inning, Colina singled in Andre Juco, who raced home from first base.
Colina was later forced out at second base, but Kai Sheck eventually came around to score on a single by Dio Gama.
Canada got three more runs in the second inning when a triple by Sheck plated Colina, Ian Huang and Jordan Jaramillo.
The Mexicans pulled back a run in the bottom half of the inning, with Erick Serrano scoring on a single by Axel Morales.
The Canadians scored their sixth run in the top of the third inning, with Gama scoring on a Jaramillo double.
The Mexicans then pulled back three more runs in the bottom of the inning on a no-out, three-run shot by Fernando Lopez. Ponce and Garza scored as well.
Today, the Canadians are up against Puerto Rico, which beat Panama earlier in the day. The winner will advance to the semifinals, but since both teams have already lost once, the loser goes home.