WHITESTOWN, Indiana — West Side Little League, undoubtedly, saw its best competition on Sunday.
But it was ultimately a case of the early-game jitters that got the best of the team from Hamilton.
West Side went toe-to-toe against Bowling Green East (KY) in a scoreless battle before giving up a run in the fifth inning to lose 1-0 in a Great Lakes Regional at the Little League Central Region Complex in Whitestown, Indiana.
“I thought the kids were nervous,” West Side manager Ken Coomer said. “First three or four innings when we thought we had opportunities to do something — especially with their kid pitching — we should have. We just didn’t.
“They’re 11 and 12 years old, and it’s big time now — on ESPN. I think they got a little overwhelmed.”
West Side will have to work its way through the loser’s bracket and play the winner of Tecumseh (MI) and Jasper (IN) in an elimination game on Monday at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
Bowling Green East plays Hinsdale (IL) on Monday at 7 p.m. on ESPN in the winner’s bracket.
“We had good things, and we had bad things,” Coomer said. “The bad thing is our nerves got the best of us, and we didn’t show the best of play. But the good thing is we still have to win three games no matter which way you look at it. We just have to do it right now — Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Go back at it and work at it hard. That’s all we can do.”
West Side’s defense and pitching were on point Sunday. The bats just didn’t have the usual juice.
West Side got the first hit of the game on a Braeden Sparks single with one out in the top of the fourth. Eric Albrinck hit into a fielder’s choice at second, and Brady Quick struck out to strand a runner on first in a 0-0 game.
“Our defense played good,” Coomer said. “Our pitchers battled. Eddie Frazier came in, and he got hurt. I could tell something was wrong when he threw the first couple pitches. So, we brought Cash (Jones).”
Braydon Caudill started the game off on the mound for West Side and didn’t allow a hit. He was taken out in the bottom of the fourth with a 50-pitch count.
In the top of the fifth, Frazier was plunked in the back near his throwing shoulder by Bowling Green East’s Henry Phillips — who easily pipes 70 miles an hour on the radar.
Bowling Green East’s Easton Crawford laced a double down the right-field line off Frazier for its first hit of the game in the bottom of the fifth.
That’s when Jones came in to pitch for Frazier.
Jones struck out Jake Young and got Dylan White to pop out to Quick in shallow right field. Crawford was able to tag to third on Quick’s catch.
Jones hit Captain Carr with a pitch, and Asa Buchanan slapped a grounder to West Side shortstop Jordan Malloy, who couldn’t make a play at second to get a force out which allowed Crawford to cross the plate to give Bowling Green East its 1-0 lead.
“Jordan made a good play at short, he was on the ground, he just couldn’t get it out of his glove quick enough,” Coomer said. “It’s just one of those things.”
Zaylan Anderson grounded out to start the top of the sixth for West Side, Anthony Saurber struck out and Alijah Holmes grounded out to end it.
“There was a bad call at the end,” Coomer said of a pitch that he thought was ball four to Holmes. “But I can’t blame it on one pitch.”
Offensive contributors for West Side were Sparks (1 for 2), Albrinck (walk), Preston Baker (1 for 2), Malloy (walk) and Saurber (walk).
Caudill went 3 2/3 innings, striking out three and walking two for West Side.
“We worked too hard to kind of let this happen,” Coomer said. “In the same sense is that we learn from it. We have to learn from our mistakes — learn from what we did today.
“The good thing is that you can watch it on ESPN and look at yourself. If you find some things that you feel you should have done better on, you can correct them. That’s what we’re going to have to do.”
