AUSTIN (KXAN) — A magical run for Boerne in the Little League World Series came up a little short Saturday, with the Southwest region champions falling 10-7 in the United States championship game against Lake Mary, Florida, at Lamade Stadium in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newsletters
Boerne led 4-1 after four innings and starting pitcher Julian Hurst was cruising, but a combination of Lake Mary figuring out its offense and Boerne’s injuries turned the game sideways. Hurst left with what appeared to be a shoulder issue with one out in the fifth, and then relief pitcher Doc Mogford was hit in the leg with a line drive and left without recording an out.
That forced Kole Newsom into the game on the mound, and while he finished the inning, Lake Mary plated four runs to take the lead 5-4. Newsom came out with an apparent shoulder injury and Kaleb Christ finished the game on the mound.
The Texas squad battled back, regaining the lead in the bottom half with three runs. Gray Collins hit a bases-loaded single to drive in a run and two runs came home on a wild pitch and dropped third strike during Cooper Hastings’ at-bat. Boerne reclaimed the lead 7-5.
Lake Mary capped its comeback with five runs in the sixth inning, highlighted by a Luis Calo two-run double to give them a 9-7 lead. The Southeast region champions scored nine of their 10 runs in the fifth and sixth innings. A regulation Little League Baseball game is six innings.
Boerne had seven hits with Hurst collecting two while Mogford had two RBIs. Lake Mary smacked 10 hits with Jacob Bibaud and Christopher Chikodroff each with two.
With the win, Lake Mary will face International bracket champion Chinese Taipei for the world championship at 2 p.m. CDT, Sunday on ABC. Boerne will play Venezuela for third place at 9 a.m., Sunday on ESPN2.