The Pearland Little League team is on a quest to advance to the Little League World Series, but they must first win the Southwest Regional Tournament in Waco. However, they are on track to do just that after getting convincing wins over Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas West.
Now, Pearland will face a team on Tuesday, August 9 in the championship game.
Pearland LL 14 – Arkansas 2
Pearland easily beat Arkansas 14-2 in the Southwest region tournament.
Pearland opened up the first inning with five runs for a 5-0 lead which set the tone for the rest of the game.
Kaiden Shelton powered a two-run homer in the opening frame which also brought home Jacob Zurek who had opened the frame with a single.
Pearland scored a run in the third after Arkansas scored two in the second inning to make the score 6-2. Pearland then added eight runs in the fifth inning to put the game out of reach 14-2 for the win.
Leading hitters for Pearland included Jacob Zurek (2-for-4, 2 runs), Kaiden Shelton (1-for-4, 2 runs, 3 RBIs, HR), Austin Cummings (2-for-3, 2 runs), and Corey Kahn (2-for-3, 2 runs, 1 RBI).
Jacob Zurek was the winning pitcher as he went two innings, allowing no runs on one hit and striking out four. Cooper Arbaugh threw two innings in relief out of the bullpen.
Pearland LL 6 – Mississippi 4
Mississippi put a scare into Pearland as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead while holding Pearland scoreless through the first four frames.
The boys from Pearland finally got untracked by scoring a pair of runs in the top of the fifth to cut the lead to 3-2.
Pearland added four more runs in the top of the sixth to finally take the lead in the game 6-3.
Mississippi managed to score a harmless run in the bottom of the sixth before Pearland got the 6-4 win.
Corey Kahn earned the victory on the hill as he allowed one hit and one run over one and two-thirds innings, striking out three. Austin Cummings threw two innings in relief out of the bullpen.
Leading hitters include Cummings (2-for-3, 1 run), Landon Karel (1-for-3, 1 run), Ethan Richardson (2-for-2, 1 RBI), and Manuel Castillo (1-for-2, 1 run).
Jacob Zurek, Cummings, and Cooper Arbaugh hit doubles while Castillo stroked a triple.
Pearland LL 19 – Texas West 0
This game got out of hand starting in the first inning when leadoff hitter Jacob Zurek hit a solo home run for a quick 1-0 lead.
Pearland added four more runs in the top of the third for a 5-0 advantage and then blew Texas West out of the game with 14 runs in the fourth fame for a 19-0 lopsided win. Pearland smacked three home runs during the game.
Jackson Wolfe got the win as he surrendered no runs on one hit over three innings, striking out three and walking zero. Cooper Arbaugh threw one inning in relief out of the bullpen.
Pearland had 20 hits and 19 runs over four innings. Leading hitters include Jacob Zurek (2-for-4, 3 runs, 4 RBIs, HR), Kaiden Shelton (3-for-5, 3 runs, 4 RBIs, HR), Jackson Wolfe (3-for-3, 2 runs), Landon Karel (3-for-3, 2 runs, 2 RBIs), Austin Cummings (1-for-3, 2 runs, 1 RBI), Manuel Castillo (1-for-2, 1 run, 4 RBIs, Grand Slam), Corey Kahn (1-for-1, 1 run, 1 RBI), Ethan Richardson (3-for-3, 2 runs), and Jacolby Mayberry (1-for-2, 1 run, 1 RBI).
