LOOKING BACK
Pearland is the 15th area team to reach Williamsport. Here’s how the others did.
Pearland is 15th team from the Houston area to make it to the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pa., in the tournament’s 75-year history.
Only two local teams — 1966 Westbury Little League and 1950 Houston Little League — have ever won the entire tournament and no Houston team has made it to the championship game since Bellaire did it in 2000.
2018: Post Oak (1-2)
Led by the likes of Ryan Selvaggi, who is one of the city’s top incoming juniors at Lamar High School, Post Oak won its first game in Williamsport, but lost consecutive one-run games to New York and Georgia to get eliminated.
2015: Pearland West (4-2, third place)
Pearland made it to the United States championship game when Caleb Low hit an extra-inning walk-off home run when his team was facing elimination. Pearland’s only losses came against a Pennsylvania team led by Cole Wagner, who was Georgia’s starting first baseman last season as a true freshman. Pearland went on to beat Mexico in the third-place game.
2014: Pearland East (2-2)
Led by Layne Roblyer’s five RBIs in the tournament, Pearland East made it to the finals of the consolation bracket where it lost to a team from Chicago, which later had to forfeit all its wins for using players that lived outside of their little league’s boundary. Pearland East’s only other loss came against a Philadelphia team led by girl phenom Mo’ne Davis, who graced the Sports Illustrated cover that week.
2010: Pearland White (3-3)
Pearland advanced to the United States championship game by going 3-1 in pool play, led by three home runs from the bat of Beau Orlando, who would go on to play at the University of Central Arkansas. The team lost to Hawaii in the U.S. title game, then fell to Chinese Taipei in the consolation game.
2004: Lamar National (5-1, third place)
Richmond’s Lamar National, in its second straight year in Williamsport, dominated in pool play, going 3-0 and outscoring opponents 43-10, including a team from Redmond, Wash., led by future New York Mets All-Star Michael Conforto. That put Lamar in the United States title game where it lost to Thousand Oaks, Calif., before bouncing back to beat Mexico in the third-place game. Randal Grichuk, who currently is in his ninth season in the big leagues, led Lamar with four home runs in six games.
2003: Lamar National (2-2)
Lamar National, out of Richmond, actually had two future big leaguers on the team in Randal Grichuk and Brady Rodgers, who would go on to pitch eight games with the Houston Astros. Lamar made it to the tournament quarterfinals after going 2-1 in pool play, but was ousted by Massachusetts in a 14-13 slugfest.
2000: Bellaire (3-2, runner-up)
This is the last team from Houston to claim the United States championship in Williamsport when it shut out Iowa 8-0 after going 2-1 in pool play. Bellaire went on to lose to Venezuela in 3-2 in the championship game. The team from Houston made it to Williamsport on the strength of a no-hitter thrown by Ross Haggard in the regional title game. Bellaire’s Drew Zizinia and Michael Johnson both went on to play professionally in the minors.
1995: Spring’s Northwest 45 (3-2, runner-up)
Led by Wardell Starling, who would go on to win a state championship at Elkins High School and play nine seasons in the minors, Northwest 45 won the United States championship with a 3-1 win over California. The team out of Spring went on to lose to Taiwan 17-3 in the tournament’s title game.
1988: Spring’s Northwest 45 (2-1, third place)
This team broke Houston’s 22-year drought in Williamsport. Northwest 45 made it to the United States championship game, but lost a close one to Hawaii 5-4. The team from Spring bounced back with a 3-2 win over Canada in the third-place game.
1966: Westbury American (3-0, champions)
Led by the pitching trio of Mark Harding, Mike Robinett and Billy Raymer, Westbury gave up just two runs in their three games, shutting out Mexico in the quarterfinals and California in the semifinals before cruising to an 8-2 win over New Jersey in the championship game.
1963: North Houston (1-1, fifth place)
In the first year the Little League World Series championship game was televised, the team from North Houston lost a heartbreaker to California 3-2 in extra innings to open the tournament. That dropped it to the consolation final where it defeated Mexico 5-1.
1961: El Campo (2-1, runner-up)
The team from El Campo Little League opened the tournament with an extra-inning win over Indiana, then beat Mexico 1-0 to advance to the title game. It lost to a team from El Cajon, Calif., which was led by future NFL quarterback Brian Sipe.
1954: Galveston (0-1)
Galveston made it to Williamsport before the tournament was double-elimination, so its stay was cut short when it lost a quarterfinal game to Illinois 6-5. That Little League World Series featured five future big leaguers: Boog Powell, Jim Barbieri, Billy Connors, Ken Hubbs and Carl Taylor.
1950: Houston (3-0, champions)
In just the second season of Houston Little League’s existence, it sent a team to Williamsport that won the whole thing. The team was coached by former St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs infielder Jeff Cross. Bill Martin, who went on to play at the University of Houston, opened the Little League World Series for Houston by throwing a no-hitter in a win over Rhode Island. Houston shut out Illinois in the semifinal, then beat Connecticut 2-1 in the championship game.