Summerlin South wins 2nd LLWS game behind pitcher’s great outing

Summerlin South made it to the Little League World Series with a methodical offense and big bats, but that all changed Friday.

The team needed a strong pitching performance, and starter Ethan Robertson was up to the task.

The right-hander tossed a complete-game gem, allowing seven hits while striking out seven in his team’s 5-3 victory over Washington’s Bonney Lake/Sumner at Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Summerlin South (2-0) will next face Southeast champion Irmo, South Carolina (1-0), at noon Monday. Bonney Lake/Sumner, representing the Northwest Region, fell to 0-1.

Two more winners-bracket victories would lift Summerlin South into the U.S. championship game on Aug. 23. Only one Nevada team, Mountain Ridge in 2014, has reached the U.S. final. No team from the state has qualified for the international championship game.

Summerlin South jumped to an early lead Friday, capitalizing on a first-inning error by Bonney Lake/Sumner to go up 2-0. Cache Malan also doubled in the frame and Grayson Miranda hit an RBI single.

“We were very lucky to get two runs there in the first inning,” Summerlin South coach TJ Fechser said. “I actually think we came in a little less jittery because we had already played a game and (Bonney Lake/Sumner) hadn’t. It was like an NFL playoff game. High intensity with 12,000 people there.”

Bonney Lake/Sumner almost struck back in the second. Its first two hitters reached base, but Robertson struck out three in a row to extinguish the threat.

“Ethan did a wonderful job,” Fechser said. “That team can hit, but he did a good job of mixing up his pitches and he let our defense play.”

Robertson said he understood the magnitude of the moment when he took the mound.

“It’s a big stage and I knew I had to do my part,” said Robertson, whose slider proved to be his best pitch. “It was a little scary but I knew I had a good defense behind me and they would make the plays.”

Summerlin South loaded the bases in the third and fifth innings but couldn’t add to its lead. Bonney Lake/Sumner cut its deficit to 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth, but got no closer. Malan hit a two-run homer as part of a three-run sixth inning for Summerlin South that put it ahead 5-1.

“We had a baseball game there,” Fechser said. “And Cache took care of business. He did his job.”

Bonney Lake/Sumner got two runs off Robertson in the bottom of the sixth inning, but he struck out Andrew Madsen to end the game.

Summerlin South improved to 12-0 this postseason with the win. The team has outscored its opponents 66-19 since the start of the Mountain Region tournament.

Up next

Who: Summerlin South (Mountain) vs. Irmo, S.C. (Southeast)

What: Little League World Series, U.S. bracket

When: Noon Monday

Where: Williamsport, Pa.

TV: ESPN