WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The Boerne Little League All-Stars’ run at the 2024 Little League Baseball World Series ended in another gut-wrenching loss.
The team from Barquisimeto, Venezuela, the Latin American regional champion, held onto defeat Boerne 4-3 in the third-place game Sunday at Howard J. Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Approximately 16 hours after Boerne used four different pitchers and lost a back-and-forth U.S Championship game to Lake Mary, Florida, the All-Stars’ offense appeared fresh for the 10 a.m. Pennsylvania first-pitch time.
Leadoff hitter Julian Hurst, Boerne’s Saturday starting pitcher who exited the mound due to injury, drilled the first pitch he saw from Venezuela pitcher Willian’s Mora for a base hit to right field.
After Hurst was forced out at second base on a Gray Collins ground ball, Cooper Hastings crushed a single to left. Cleanup hitter Doc Mogford reached on Mora’s errant throw to third base.
Mora’s error pushed Collins and Hastings across the plate, but Mogford didn’t stop running. He wound up at third base with Boerne taking a 2-0 lead.
With Kole Newson at the plate, Mogford, who was hit by a line drive in the leg in Saturday’s U.S. final, took advantage of Newson swinging and missing at a ball that bounced away from home plate.
Mogford stole home, extending Boerne’s lead to 3-0.
Despite early jitters, Mora settled down on the mound for Venezuela. He struck out Newson and pitcher Caden Guffey to end the first. Mora did not allow another Boerne baserunner until Mogford reached on an infield single to start the fifth inning.
Meanwhile, the Barquisimeto, Venezuela, offense got to work in the bottom of the second inning. Diego Biarreta drilled an RBI double to get Venezuela on the board. Three batters later, Simon Vicheria’s RBI groundout with the bases loaded narrowed the Boerne lead to 3-2.
In the third inning, Venezuela’s bottom of the batting order tied the game at three without registering a hit. Jonathan Landaeta led off the frame with a walk and moved to second base on a wild pitch.
The next batter was Beiker Zarraga, who reached on an error by Guffey. The miscue allowed Landaeta to score from second base.
Later in the inning, with the bases loaded, Samuel Carrasquel worked the plate appearance to a 3-2 count against Guffey. On the next pitch, Carrasquel didn’t budge on ball four, which gave Venezuela the lead at 4-3.
The Boerne All-Stars had a golden opportunity to extend the game in the final inning. Aiden Munoz singled to start the rally.
The next batter, Dylan Burke, struck out swinging on Mora’s 85th pitch of the game. According to Little League rules, starting pitchers have an 85-pitch limit, which forced Mora’s exit from the mound.
Carrasquel was called on to get the final two outs for Venezuela. He walked Kaleb Christ and struck out Ben Burkhart swinging, but the lineup was about to turn over.
Hurst, who was 8-for-12 in the LLBWS entering the plate appearance, quickly fell behind two strikes to Carrasquel.
But he remained poised. Hurst fouled away a few pitches before earning a walk to load the bases.
Next up was Collins, who worked himself into a favorable 3-1 count. However, Collins lined out to second base to end the game.
The Boerne Little League All-Stars are expected to make their return to the Hill Country on Monday afternoon. After they arrive, the City of Boerne is planning a 4:45 p.m. parade celebration on Monday.
If you are unable to attend Monday’s parade, KSAT will provide live parade coverage on KSAT 12, KSAT.com and streaming on KSAT+.
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