Irmo Little League is writing one of the most remarkable stories ever seen in Williamsport.
By Thomas Grant, Jr.
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — For the second time in the post-season, Irmo Little League Majors avoided elimination with a final inning comeback.
It rallied from a 4-0 deficit to defeat defending Little League World Series champion Lake Mary (Florida) 5-4 in the Southeast Region final.
Thursday night in Williamsport, Penn., Irmo pulled off the biggest comeback at this year’s World Series. Down 6-1 to Sioux Falls, S.D. in the Bottom 7th, it scored six runs for the 7-6 victory.
Andrew Bogan’s walk off 2-run single capped the latest storybook ending for Irmo. Just an inning earlier, it was a strike away from elimination with the bases loaded and two outs.
First baseman Jacob Gibson forced an RBI walk to make it 1-1 and force extra innings. In the Top 7th, South Dakota finally got through to pitcher Brody Miller who had retired 15 straight batters.
Just before Irmo’s final at-bat. Bogan’s father, head coach Dave Bogan, told his team to believe.
Leading off the Bottom 7th and a runner at second as part of extra inning rules, Gibson forced his second straight walk. Sutton Graville belted an RBI single over the South Dakota leftfielder Camden Tycz to make it 6-2.
Brayden Gerald followed with an RBI double to score Gibson. Sioux Falls replaced Landon Vavruska with Devin Aukes who gave up back-to-back walks to Bubba McQuilkin and Preston Ware.
The latter forced in a run to make it 6-4. After Joe Giulietti struck out, Southeast Region final hero Brady Westbrooks drew a second straight RBI walk for Irmo to make it 6-5.
This set the stage for Bogan to send a flyball to rightfield that just eluded the reach of a diving Grayson RedFeldt. McQuilkin scored and was followed by Ware to set off the celebration before a national audience on ESPN.
The win improves Irmo to 14-2 this postseason and sets up a rematch with Summerlin South (Nevada) — the only other team to beat them. That matchup is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, with the winner advancing to face Connecticut in the U.S. Championship game.
In Williamsport, legends are made in moments like these. And after Thursday night, Irmo is proving it belongs in the history books.
