South Dakota pitcher throws no-hitter to beat Torrance team
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, PA. >> Facing a team that has surrendered just one hit in two games with consecutive shutouts can be unnerving, especially if that team strikes first.
A dropped third strike in the opening inning Wednesday proved to be enough for South Dakota, which went on to defeat Torrance on a 1-0 no-hitter by Gavin Weir at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
The loss drops Torrance into a 4 p.m. elimination game today against Ohio.
“We knew their pitcher, Gavin Weir, was going to be lights out, which he was,” said Torrance coach Javier Chavez, whose team had won its first two Little
League World Series games by a 19-2 margin.
“That kid is a special, special pitcher. We just tried to do our best and keep up with him.”
When South Dakota’s manager walked to the mound in the fifth inning, moments after Weir hit 65 pitches, Torrance might have thought they were getting a break. That wasn’t the case.
Mike Gorsett looked Weir in the eyes and said, “You’re not coming out.”
Weir proceeded to record his 11th strikeout to end the fifth inning. It was the 13th consecutive out Weir recorded, nine via strikeout.
“You feel good with a run and Gavin on the mound,” said Gorsett, whose Sioux Falls team has won all three of its Little League World Series games by a combined score of 6-0.
“These kids are 12. They understand the game. They understand the pressure. It’s what I love about this team. They just continue to make play after play after play for us.”
Coming into the game, Weir had posted 100 strikeouts to just five walks throughout South Dakota’s postseason run to Williamsport. In 555 pitches through the district, sectional, state and regional tournaments, Weir had given up just one hit.
Weir recorded six strikeouts Wednesday before a Torrance batter made contact. Elias Emerson fouled three balls off in the opening at-bat of the third inning before grounding out to first.
Gibson Turner was the only Torrance batter to reach base, walking on four consecutive pitches in the first.
“There were a lot of moving parts in the game,” Chavez said. “We were trying to get our kids to eat up pitches, but against a pitcher like Weir it’s hard to do.”
Turner opened the game with two strikeouts, but a dropped third strike on the second batter put a runner on for Weir, who lined a single down the left-field line. Noah Kuenzi then singled in the game’s only run.
“We all put in the hard work and that’s how the job gets done,” said Weir, who finished with 14 strikeouts. “I was throwing a great game, but it’s not just me. My whole team does a lot of work. We can’t get to Sunday with just me. They need to get more credit for what they do.”
Turner matched Weir, needing only nine pitches to get through the third inning. The pitchers kept the action moving, with the first three innings lasting only 38 minutes.
After forcing three groundouts to get through the third, Weir came back to record his seventh and eighth strikeouts. The eighth strikeout came against Game 2 twohomer hero Grant Hays, who went down with his second strikeout to end the top of the fourth inning.
“They were upset they couldn’t hit off of him, because they are used to hitting,” Chavez said.
Turner recorded back-toback strikeouts to open the fourth inning. Unlike Weir, who used a combination of raw power and off-speed pitches to tear through Torrance’s lineup, Turner floated off-speed pitches while touching the corners with fastballs.
Torrance was still in the game when South Dakota came to the plate in the bottom of the fifth, but it appeared they were planning ahead when Dominic Golia entered to relieve Turner.
The move, meant to preserve Turner so he can pitch in more games, paid off as Golia pitched a scoreless inning.
“He came in and did exactly what we asked him to do,” Chavez said. “It went exactly as we planned.”
If Torrance can get past Ohio, which defeated New Hampshire 4-3 in the early game Wednesday, it will face South Dakota again at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, with the winner advancing to the championship game.