By Thomas Grant Jr.
A summer in which three teams had reached the World Series in baseball and softball saw a fourth one accomplish the feat on Wednesday.
The Majors team pulled off a stunning 5-4 comeback win over defending champion Lake Mary (Florida) to win the Southeast Region of the Little League Baseball World Series.
It’s the first time an Irmo Little League team will compete at Williamsport, Penn., and the fourth overall for a South Carolina team. Previous Little League Baseball World Series participants were from North Charleston (1949), Clinton (1950), and Taylors (2015).
Trailing 4-0 in the Bottom 6th, Irmo loaded the bases with two outs. The lead was cut in half after back-to-back walks by Preston Ware and Joe Giulietti, the latter occurring with the bases loaded.
Down to a final strike, Westbrooks belted a bases-clearing double over the leftfielder to the wall to win the game. It also earned him a victory on the mound and dethroned last year’s World Series champion.
Afterwards, Westbrooks credited a conversation in the Top 6th on the mound with head coach Dave Bogan as a turning point.
“It really helped us a lot because we calmed down a lot and played a lot better,” he said.
The win avenged the lone postseason loss for the Majors suffered three days earlier. They join nine other United States teams and 10 International teams in Williamsport with an 11-1 record.
The Southeast Region champions will open play at 3 p.m. on Aug. 14.
