WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The pitcher’s duel between Boerne’s Julian Hurst and Lake Mary, Florida’s J.J. Feliciano early on in the Little League Baseball World Series U.S. quarterfinal seemed like it would set the tone for the game.
However, while Hurst struck out 10 batters in a complete game, Florida struggled to find the hot hand after pulling Feliciano in the bottom of the third inning due to the ace hitting his third batter of the game.
Boerne took advantage from there, scoring two runs in the third inning — with bases loaded — Kaleb Christ scored on a wild pitch. Then, on the following pitch, Ben Burkhart did the same as Boerne would lead 4-1 through 3 innings.
In the top of the fifth inning, Boerne shortstop Jett Matthews made a miraculous catch on a line drive to retire the side with an exclamation point.
Boerne went on to win 4-1, earning their second LLWS win ever, to advance to the U.S. semifinals. The Boerne all-stars now stand one win away from playing in the U.S. Championship.
Next, Boerne will take on Nevada, who is the winner of the Mountain Region, on Wednesday at 2 p.m.
Nevada advanced by outlasting Hawaii 3-2 on Monday.
