West Side gave up three runs in the bottom of the first to fall behind 3-0. West Side gradually made a come back and didn’t take the lead until the top of the fifth.
West Side scored three runs in the sixth before holding off a New Albany threat in the bottom of the sixth.
How it happened
Top 1 | West Side 0, New Albany 0
Jordan Malloy, Preston Baker and Anthony Saurber down 1-2-3.
Bottom 1 | New Albany 3, West Side 0
Malloy on the mound for West Side. Malloy walks first New Albany hitter.
Base hit down the right field line puts runners on first and second for New Albany.
RBI double for New Albany to make it 1-0. No outs.
New Albany scores two more on a sac fly to center. On the same play, the ball gets past third base and another runner scores to make it 3-0, New Albany.
Top 2 | New Albany 3, West Side 1
Cash Jones singles with one out. Jonathan Lineback reaches on a fielder’s choice and Jones advances to third.
Boone Treadway sac fly to center field scores Jones to put West Side on the board.
Bottom 2 | New Albany 3, West Side 1
Boardman with a one-out single. West Side gets out of the inning.
Top 3 | New Albany 3, West Side 2
Teegan Lay single. Lennox Brown sac bunt moves Lay to second. Bobby Frazier ground out to second moves Lay to third. Wild pitch scores Lay from third to cut West Side deficit to one run.
Bottom 3 | New Albany 4, West Side 2
New Albany gets two-out single. RBI double makes it 4-2 New Albany.
Top 4 | New Albany 4, West Side 3
Jordan Malloy ground out to the pitcher. Preston Baker ground out to third. Anthony Saurber doubles to center. TJ Madden singles to center to score Saurber from second. Madden advances to third on the throw with two outs. Cash Jones pops out to center.
Bottom 4 | New Albany 4, West Side 3
Malloy strikeout. New Albany infield single to short. Malloy exits the game with 52 pitches in 3.1 innings of work — six hits, three earned runs, a walk and three strikeouts.
Anthony Saurber comes in for Malloy on the mound. Saurber gets West Side out of the inning.
Top 5 | West Side 5, New Albany 4
Jonathan Lineback leads off with a double down the left field line. Boone Treadway walks to put West Side runners at second and first. Gavyn Spears strikes out for the first out. Teegan Lay reaches on fielder’s choice to short, and West Side has runners at the corners with two outs. Wild pitch scores Lineback to tie the game at 4-4. Wild pitch allows Lay to score and give West Side its first lead of the game.
Bottom 5 | West Side 5, New Albany 4
New Albany goes down 1-2-3.
Top 6 | West Side 8, New Albany 4
Bobby Frazier reaches first on an infield single. Preston Baker with a two-out single to center puts runners on first and second. Saurber walks to load the bases for West Side with two outs. TJ Madden with a two-RBI double down the left field line to give West Side a 7-4 lead. Saurber scores on a wild pitch.
Bottom 6 | West Side 8, New Albany 5
Saurber strikes out first batter. New Albany walk. Wild pitch moves runner to second. Walk puts runners at first and second with one out.
West Side manager Ken Coomer makes visit to the mound to visit Saurber, who will stay in the game. Saurber walk loads the bases.
Preston Baker comes in to pitch for West Side. Saurber ends his day with 2.0 innings, three walks, four strikeouts. But the runners on the bases will be his earned runs if scored (one run did eventually score).
Runner scores on a ground out to third. West Side still leads 8-5. Boone Treadway error at second on a pop up loads the bases with two outs. Baker strikes out New Albany batter to win it.
In the know
West Side has 21 state titles and has made trips to the Little League World Series in 1991, 1993, 2007, 2010 and 2021.
The state tournament winner advances to the Great Lakes Regional, which takes place Aug. 2-6 in Whitestown, Indiana. West Side was eliminated from last year’s regional tournament when its comeback fell short against Jasper (Ind.) in a 4-3 loss.
The Little League World Series is Aug. 13-24 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
This story will be updated with quotes.
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