The boys of Eastlake Little League’s 12U all-star team’s time at the Little League World Series came to an end Monday night (Aug. 23), as the team lost for the second time in the double-elimination tournament.
The Northwest Regional Champs fell to Nebraska, 2-3. Nebraska starter Hunter Nepple kept Eastlake hitters quiet throughout the game, surrendering just one earned run on two hits and one walk in a complete-game effort.
Eastlake’s starting pitcher, Sanath Chari, also had a strong performance both on the mound and with his bat, throwing five innings on 76 pitches, allowing runs only in the bottom half of the third.
Chari also drove in Eastlake’s only two runs of the game with a fourth-inning, bases-loaded single that scored Eli Jones and Logan Rausch. Despite pulling within one run, Eastlake hitters only managed one hit over the next two innings, finishing the tournament with a record of 1-2.
The team’s victory came on Aug. 21 in a 1-0 contest over Florida. In that game, Jones, the starting pitcher, threw the first solo no-hitter in the Little League World Series since 2015.
“What I did was stay cool, throw slow and pump in strikes,” Jones told ESPN after the game.
Jones threw 77 pitches striking out five and walking just two. He also drove in the game’s only run on a fifth-inning single to right that scored Sawyer Todd.
This is the second time a team from Eastlake has represented the Northwest region at the Little League World Series. The league previously sent a team in 2013.
The Little League World Series will conclude with a championship game at noon on Aug. 29 on ESPN.