U.S. Little League championship stage is set for Red Land vs. Pearland, Texas

pennlive ^ | 8-29-15 | Geoff Morrow

[FlJoePa]

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT -- If "the moment" hasn't yet negatively impacted Red Land Little League's collection of 12- and 13-year-old boys, then no reason to expect it will today.

Expert climbers don't get 95 percent of the way up Kilimanjaro and suddenly get cold feet and a fear of heights.

Neither, then, should we expect Red Land to tighten up in the U.S. championship of the 2015 Little League World Series at Lamade Stadium in South Williamsport.

Tom Peifer's special collection of ballplayers meets Texas powerhouse Pearland West in the 3:30 p.m. title game, a berth in Sunday's 3 p.m. overall championship on the line.

Japan and Mexico meet in today's international championship at 12:30, also at Lamade Stadium. Both will be televised live on ABC.

Potentially record crowds are expected to pour into South Williamsport in time for the Pennsylvania vs. Texas U.S. championship, which is a rematch of Red Land's 3-0 victory Wednesday night.

"It's awesome," Cole Wagner, Red Land's probable starting pitcher this afternoon, said after clinching this title game berth. "Thinking about it now, the worst we can do is second-best team in the U.S., which is still quite an accomplishment. But we're going to go out there and try to win this thing."

The first team to play for a U.S. championship since nearby Shippensburg won it in 1990, Red Land enters this game as the prohibitive favorite.

Andrew Solomon's Texas boys needed to twice fight off high-octane Sweetwater Valley, Calif., to get here, including Thursday's dramatic extra-inning victory.

Because of pitch counts, Solomon's top three pitchers -- Ben Gottfried, Isaac Garcia and Jarrett Tadlock -- are unavailable to pitch. Marco Gutierrez is the only available pitcher who's thrown in this tournament, and he allowed a run in 1.2 innings of relief Wednesday vs. Red Land.

"We're a good baseball team," Solomon said after Thursday's victory over California. "We're solid. We battle. We play every pitch, every inning. ... They're already talking about who we're going to pitch. I have no idea. We'll figure it out. We'll bring guys to the hill, and they'll get the job done. It's going to be crazy. It was crazy out there [Wednesday] night. It will be fun, though, right?"

The heavily pro-Pennsylvania crowd could again serve as a positive influence for Red Land (or negative influence for Pearland).

Some of Texas' players joked Thursday night about Red Land's Red Sea of fans, even saying some of them were "mean."

"They complain a lot," said power hitting first baseman Zack Mack.

"[They] sound like my mom when she's mad," added Gottfried.

Solomon might have summed it up best after Wednesday's 3-0 loss to Red Land: "It's obviously not easy to play before 35,000 people when 34,900 are rooting for Pennsylvania."

Today could see crowds grow well past 40,000. The Little League World Series estimated attendance record is 44,800 for Tokyo, Japan, vs. Apopka, Fla., in 2001, according to the LLWS 2015 Media Guide.

Red Land spent its final off day visiting Penn State football practice, hanging out with head coach James Franklin and crew, and even kicking clutch field goals.

It's been a long time away from home, living in dorms and barracks since the Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament earlier this month in Bristol, Conn.

Regionals was also the last time Red Land played a day game, a 12-0 victory over Jackson Twp., N.J., in the Aug. 16 title game. All three previous LLWS games started after 8 p.m.

"Just incredible," Peifer said Wednesday night of playing for the U.S. title. "To be able to tell the kids after the game, 'You have two days off, and then you're playing [for the U.S. championship],' I never thought those words would ever come out of my mouth. It's just an unbelievable experience, and I'm so proud of the boys."

Special parties, parades and activities are already being mapped out for the days and weeks after the boys finally get home late Sunday night.

But before the realities of home and school creep back into the picture, there are two more games for the boys to be boys.

No pressure felt, even with the world watching.

[darkangel82]

That’s what they just said. Bigger than some major league parks.

[Grams A]

Live in Pearland but grandson went to private school in Houston until this year and only participates in track and soccer. He does high school and AAU track - just can’t keep up with everything any more but do go to all his meets. Rarely are they held anywhere close so have been to some interesting places in Texas.

Am so proud of the Pearland bb team. Fine group of young men, coaches and parents. Imagine our high schools are eager to have them playing for them next year.

[P.O.E.]

Congratulations to Lewisberry, PA, on winning the US Championship

Nicely done - the kids showed a lot of class and looked like they were having a lot of fun.

PA Ping!

If you see posts of interest to Pennsylvanians, please ping me.

Thanks!

Thanks FlJoePa for the heads up

[P.O.E.]

Chayton Krauss' walk-off sent Lewisberry into the Little League World Series championship game as the first Pennsylvania team to win the U.S. title since 1990

Walk-off gives hometown Pennsylvania team U.S. title, spot in world final