PHOTO COURTESY MATT HARRIS
The Medicine Hat U13 Mavs celebrate a comeback, walk-off win Tuesday to beat Team Ontario 7-6 in the semifinals of the Little League Intermediate Championships held in Kingston, Ont. The Mavs scored five runs in three innings, scoring twice with two outs in the seventh to advance to the Little League National Finals on Wednesday against Team B.C.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The writing on the wall Tuesday morning had the Medicine Hat U13 Mavs falling short of a return trip to the Little League National finals. They broke through that wall.
Trailing Team Ontario 6-2 through entering the bottom of the fifth, the Mavs scrapped across five unanswered runs, scoring twice in the seventh with two outs for a 7-6, comeback, walk-off win to advance to the national finals against Team B.C.
“There weren’t too many heart stopping, come from behind games this year,” head coach Greg Morrison said. “We had some high quality tournaments but to come back like that when it really matters, to send you to the finals, hopefully it’s not a once in a lifetime experience for these boys.
“But it is right up there in everything I’ve done of baseball to know that game really was, was almost over.”
The Jr. Mavs trailed 6-2 entering the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring a run to bring them within three. They clawed across two more in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 6-5 game. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, down to their final strike, Archer Cunningham singled to keep the game alive.
Cunningham scored on a first-pitch double from Jack Harris to tie the game. Next up, Daxton Simpson knocked the first pitch he saw to left field to drive in Harris, completing the comeback.
Cunningham finished with three hits in the win, Harris had two hits, both recording RBIs. Wyatt Clark started the game, working three innings with a strikeout. Cunningham came out of the bullpen and held Ontario to two runs in four innings, striking out four.
Morrison says it was the making of a team who never stopped believing.
“When we win, it’s a group effort and it has to be to win championships” Morrison said. “It’s shocking, right now because as a coach you try to believe that you always have a chance but the writing was on that wall that that game was over. I don’t think I’ve ever had anything like that one where there’s nobody on, two strikes, two outs down by one, bottom of seven, to go to the national finals.”
The Mavs will face Team B.C. today at 10 a.m. MST for the national intermediate championship, looking to earn a spot at the Little League Intermediate championship held in Livermore, Calif. July 27 to Aug. 3. They lost 10-0 to B.C. on Saturday, their lone loss of the round robin. Team B.C. is undefeated, they took down Kingston 12-1 Tuesday to clinch their final spot.
Wednesday’s final will be a return of sorts for a majority of the Mavs’ team, they faced Team B.C. in the national final last year, losing their lone game of the tournament to fall short of the trip to the Little League World Series. They have an opportunity to complete the unfinished business, they will have to win each inning Morrison says.
He says the experience last year will help them, as will the momentum they’ll look to carry from the comeback win.
“B.C. is a very strong team, just like last year, probably on paper we might be called the underdog, but with momentum nobody cares about paper,” Morrison said. “We’re going to ride it out and show up ready to play and go out. The team, the players that execute, will win tomorrow. That’s what’s going to happen.
“It’s kind of fun that it all comes down to that. Sometimes it’s sad that it does, but it’s a kind of exciting that it comes down to one game like that. Whoever shows up to play and execute will win.”
However the finals shake out, Morrison says as a team the U13 Mavs have built a bond that will help them through the rest of their baseball careers and lives.
“You think about my age, body of work and over a baseball career, and these kids are already building quite a quite a baseball experience for themselves on paper,” Morrison said. “Just emotionally and as a team, these guys have really forged some relationships that, just like anybody who plays sports, there’s always that friendship you build through sport and these guys have definitely forged those relationships with each other.”
The finals game will be live streamed on HomeTeam Live and can be viewed by paying a subscription fee.
