What to know about Summerlin South’s opponent in LLWS title game
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Summerlin South coaches and players spent Saturday night celebrating their U.S. championship in the Little League World Series, but everyone did so with an understanding that their job is not finished.
The Nevada team, which beat Metro Region champion Fairfield, Connecticut, 8-2 on Saturday, will play international champion Chinese Taipei for the LLWS title at noon Sunday at Lamade Stadium in an ABC-televised game.
That’s the real goal for Summerlin South, and it will not be an easy one to achieve. Taipei edged Santa Cruz (Aruba) 1-0 in the International championship game Saturday and appears unstoppable.
Although Summerlin South is riding the momentum of 15 wins in 16 postseason games, including 5-1 in the LLWS, the pitching scenario clearly favors Taipei.
The Asia-Pacific representative has allowed just three runs on 15 hits in four games. Three of the four wins have resulted in shutouts.
More important, all but one of its pitchers will be available.
“This is not their first rodeo,” Summerlin South coach TJ Fechser said of Taipei, which has won 17 LLWS titles. “But it’s ours, and we’ll be ready.”
Top Summerlin South pitchers Garrett Gallegos, Ethan Robertson and Cache Malan have exhausted their pitch maximum and will be unavailable to take the mound Sunday.
But, Fechser said, “We’ve still got a lot of arms that will be available.”
Technically, he does have several other players who can pitch. But Luke D’Ambrosio is the only member of the bullpen who has faced more than one batter in the LLWS. He went two-thirds of an inning in the first meeting against Fairfield on Wednesday, giving up three earned runs.
“We’ll see how things look in the morning, and we’ll make a decision,” Fechser said.
Making that decision tougher will be the fact that Taipei has star pitcher Lin Chin-Tse available. He has pitched six innings in the LLWS, allowing one hit while striking out 16 in three appearances. The right-hander’s pitches have been clocked as high as 82 mph, the equivalent of 107 mph in Major League Baseball.
“We have leveraged our pitching staff according to my plan,” Taipei manager Lai Min-Nan said.
Said Fechser: “He’s a tremendously hard thrower. Everyone knows that. But we’ll talk about it and be prepared.”
The coach said he will discuss plate mindset with his players, pointing out that his team beat Fairfield fastball specialist Luca Pellegrini on Saturday.
“You’ve got to go play baseball,” Fechser said. “With hard throwers, you’ve just got to get your foot down, get the bat out in the zone and be aggressive and smart.”
Fechser also is aware that Taipei is not known for its hitting. The team has scored just 15 runs in its four victories. Summerlin South has scored 33 runs in its six games.
As long as Fechser’s pitchers keep the score low, Summerlin South should have a chance to finish the job they started earlier this summer.
Contact Jeff Wollard at jwollard@reviewjournal.com.
