Summerlin South’s magical run ends with loss in LLWS title game — PHOTOS

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — The final step can be a big one in the Little League World Series.

Summerlin South learned that lesson the hard way Sunday, unable to overcome several significant disadvantages in a 7-0 loss to Chinese Taipei in the championship game at Lamade Stadium.

The loss ended Summerlin South’s magical run to the LLWS, but not before the kids from Las Vegas became the first Nevada team to win the U.S. championship game with an 8-2 victory over Fairfield, Connecticut, on Saturday.

“I’ll take getting here any day of the week,” Summerlin South coach TJ Fechser said. “Just being here has been wonderful. If this is the booby prize, I’ll take it all day.”

Faced dominant pitcher

The Nevada team fell prey to a crafty coaching strategy that allowed Taipei to start its ace pitcher in the title game. Lin Chin-Tse, whose fastball was clocked in the high 70s and low 80s throughout the tournament, dominated from start to finish and had a perfect game heading into the fifth inning.

“We haven’t given up many runs in the tournament,” Taipei coach Lai Min-Nan said. “We knew if the other team could not score any runs, there was no way they could win. If we got good pitching, we could most likely win it.”

Lin’s perfect game was broken up in the fifth inning when Garrett Gallegos hit a sharp grounder through the left side. He was retired on a double play moments later, so Lin still faced the minimum through five innings.

“I was a little nervous in the first inning,” said Lin, whose country has won the title 18 times but broke a 29-year drought with Sunday’s win. “I felt pretty smooth after that.”

Summerlin South, the Mountain Region champion, handled Lin’s fastballs early, hitting hard fouls and several shots that were reeled in by the outfielders.

Fechser said his team discussed its approach to Lin extensively before the game.

“We knew we had a strong competitor,” said Fechser, whose team was the fourth of the LLWS to be shut out by Taipei, the Asia-Pacific Region champion. “We knew he could throw, but we hit balls and competed. He only had four strikeouts, and I thought that was impressive for us.”

Fechser had some what-if questions after the game.

“We knew he was a caliber guy,” the coach said. “It just would have been nice if a couple more balls fell.”

Kept game close early

Summerlin South had other obstacles to overcome.

Standout hitter and center fielder Brooks Fechser left Saturday’s game because of dizziness and did not play Sunday. His absence caused changes to the lineup.

The pitching staff was depleted, with top pitchers Gallegos, Ethan Robertson and Cache Malan ineligible because of rest rules.

But starter Luke D’Ambrosio held tough early, allowing single runs on a second-inning passed ball and a third-inning error to keep the deficit manageable at 2-0. It was the first time in the LLWS that Summerlin South was not the first to score.

Lin took control with his bat in the fifth inning, putting the score out of reach by cranking a sharp bases-loaded ground ball just inside the third-base bag for a triple that gave Taipei a 5-0 lead. The hit triggered a defensive meltdown by Summerlin South that allowed two more runs to score on an error during a rundown between third base and home.

Taipei went with reliever Chen Qi-Sheng in the sixth, and the Nevada team got hits from D’Ambrosio and Cutter Ricafort in an inning that was cut short by a double play.

Went 15-2 in postseason

Fechser said his players were struggling with the loss, just their second in 17 postseason games. But he praised their resilience and insisted they would look back at the LLWS, where they went 5-2, with pride.

“They will be heroes upon arrival in Las Vegas,” Fechser said.

A heroes’ welcome is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday with a parade in Downtown Summerlin.

Connecticut, the Metro Region champion, defeated Santa Cruz (Aruba) 4-2 in the third-place game.

Contact Jeff Wollard at jwollard@reviewjournal.com.