Summerlin South’s high-scoring offense turning heads in LLWS
Summerlin South is beginning to turn some heads in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
It was one thing when the Mountain Region representative entered the Little League World Series with a flurry of victories against overmatched teams from Nevada, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Utah. But Wednesday’s 16-1 rout over Great Lakes Region champion Clarendon Hills, Illinois, made a statement that could not be ignored.
Summerlin South is for real.
Coach TJ Fechser will send his team onto the field to face Northwest Region champion Bonney Lake/Sumner of Washington at noon Friday, and teams from the American bracket will be paying attention.
“We always compete, regardless of the score,” said Fechser, whose team has scored 12 or more runs in three of its four games since the start of regional play. “All 12 guys hit (Wednesday), and they really took care of business.”
The Nevada team is 11-0 in the postseason and has outscored opponents 61-16 in three regional games and one LLWS game.
But Fechser used ace Garrett Gallegos in Game 1, so pitching is a bigger concern. Having thrown 85 pitches Wednesday, Gallegos is required by rules to rest for four days.
Fechser explained that decision.
“Coming into this high-intensity environment, we wanted to have one of our big guys on the bump,” he said. “We wanted to start with a win on the board. I don’t know who we’re going to pitch next, but we’ll be ready.”
If Summerlin South wins Friday, it will play at noon Monday. A loss would put the team in a losers bracket game at 6 a.m. Sunday.
The LLWS continues through Aug. 24 with the international championship game.
Contact Jeff Wollard at jwollard@reviewjournal.com.