GH Americans take second

Despite 3-2 loss in finals, coach proud of team’s accomplishment

Marques Hunter

of the Gateway

The Gig Harbor American 9-10-year-olds are pioneers in Little League baseball.

After a 4-1 loss in the state semifinals last Wednesday against Kent at Valley Ridge Park in SeaTac, Gig Harbor returned on Friday to beat Eastlake 2-1 in dramatic fashion to lock their spot in the state championship game.

The comeback victory in the top of sixth spelled a rematch with Kent (8-0), a team that hadn’t lost in district or state tournament play. And the District 10 champions prevailed against Gig Harbor, extending their win total to nine with a win 3-2 on Saturday.

Despite the loss, the Gig Harbor Americans helped put the program on the map, becoming the first Gig Harbor team to advance to the state championship.

It’s the third time since 1994 that a Gig Harbor Little League team qualified for a state tournament. The previous best finish was in 1997, when another 9-10-year-old squad placed fourth.

That was nearly the case, again, when they faced Eastlake during the consolation semifinals.

After losing its first game of the tournament, Eastlake rebounded by winning its next five in a row to meet Gig Harbor, who had just come of its first loss of the district and state tournament to Kent.

The momentum of one team winning and the other just losing was evident in the eyes of Gig Harbor’s players. The energy in the dugout and in the field was morose. It was as if Eastlake was playing solely off adrenaline.

In the bottom of the first, Eastlake scored first after a pass ball. Gig Harbor’s bats were dormant nearly the entire game as a result of solid pitching by Elliot Carney.

But in the top of the sixth — with Gig Harbor’s middle of the lineup due up — one swing of the bat changed the complexion of the game and the history of Gig Harbor’s success in the state tournament.

Gig Harbor shortstop Cole Price walked and catcher Sam Gagliardi reached first base off an error.

Next up was cleanup hitter Davis Alexander.

He jolted a ball to right-center field for a two-RBI double. The hit later proved to be the game-winner after Price came in for relief in the bottom of the sixth and earned his second save of the Little League season.

A player who doesn’t always start in the field, Gig Harbor outfielder Jack Hannah made the final out by catching a fly ball. The out sealed Gig Harbor’s placement in the state championship.

“I felt relieved,” Hannah said. “It just felt so good. “After that loss (to Kent), it just felt good to win again.”

Americans’ ace left-handed pitcher RJ Green kept them in the game. He allowed just two hits and struck out 11 batters in 5 and 2/3 innings.

Green said he felt like they could come back because they had the top of the order coming up in the final half inning of the game.

“I knew everyone was going to get on base and Davis was going to hit it into the gap,” Green said.

As to why they waited until the final inning to score is still a mystery, even to Gig Harbor manager Mike Ditter.

“The kids came out flat,” Ditter said. “They weren’t hitting the gaps but they hung in there.”

Ditter added that it seemed like everything was going the wrong way for five innings, but that if his team could avoid walking batters and keep it close, there was a chance.

“Today was really special,” Ditter said. “Everyone was able to contribute in certain fashions.”

With Eastlake’s heart of the order up, Green’s pitch count was up. Ditter went to Price to close out the game.

Price said he was pretty nervous on the mound, feeling a lot of pressure to win.

“I just felt like I had to throw strikes and my defense would do the work,” Price said.

In the championship game, Kent’s ace Jaylen Eichler struck out eight batters before Jacob Anderson relived him in the bottom of the fifth.

With Alexander pitching in the finals, Gig Harbor committed two costly errors in the third inning, allowing Kent to take a 2-0 lead. The Americans responded, though, in the fourth when Gagliardi stole third and then scored off a bad throw.

In the end though, Gig Harbor was just one hit away from tying the game. They had runners on first and second base with two outs during the sixth inning but were unable to drive in the tying run.

Overall, Kent made just a couple more plays to earn the victory and state championship.

“They stayed in the game the entire time,” Ditter said. “Gig Harbor has never had a team here. I told them you have to be proud of what you accomplished.”