Southampton All-Stars Defeat Shoreham to Tie Little League Championship [PHOTOS]

The Southampton All Star Little League team played Shoreham/Wadding River Thursday evening in Southampton at the in a championship game.

The Championship is down to these two teams. Shoreham/Wadding River is the only team Southampton lost to this season but things were evened out last evening when Southampton won the game 11 to 5.

The weather was perfect with a slight breeze and blue skies. It looked like it might be rout with Southampton having scored 9 runs to Shoreham’s 0 by the top of third inning but Shoreham started to connect scoring 5 runs by the end of that inning. Southampton’s next up retired after four at bat without a score and it seemed there might be a game.

In the top of the fifth, #12 Raffel got a base hit, stole second and then third and #29, one of Southampton’s pitchers, Navan, got walked, and Raffel stole home. Next up was a strike out but Navan made it to second and while Southampton’s catcher, #4 Miller, was at bat, he stole third and with Miller’s base hit, Navan made it home to close the top of the fifth with a score of 11 to 5. Shoreham came up, connected making a hard drive, barely missing the pitcher’s head, but with a great defense play by Sisco who snatched the ball, pulling it down and firing it off to the first baseman for an out. Second up slammed a long fly into deep right field. With a dramatic dive, right fielder Pereira caught the ball in the tip of his glove, rolled over and came up with the ball, as one parent said,“ just like a snow cone!” Their third man up hit another fly ball that was caught and one, two, three, the fifth inning was retired.

The sixth and final inning, Southampton went down one, two, three. But Shoreham, with that last up advantage, couldn’t pull it out. Their first two up went down swinging. The next at bat walked and stole second base but the fourth and final batter of the game also went down swinging to make the final score 11 to 5, Southampton.

Now these two teams are tied for the entire District 36 Suffolk County Little League Championship and the final game will be played in Shoreham on Saturday morning at 10 a.m.

Little League has very specific and strict rules, such as the number of pitches a pitcher is allowed, 85, before they have to sit out a game and Shoreham’s star pitcher, Stalzer, is pitched out and will not be able to play on Saturday. Southampton sees this as an advantage but it could go either way.