Extra-inning walk-off sends small Indiana town to the LLWS, a breakdown
What Happened
The small town of Hagerstown, Indiana, with a population of just 1,787, is on the verge of making history as their Little League team competes in the Great Lakes Regional Championship. The game is a nail-biter, with the score tied in the late innings against their rivals from Kentucky. In the bottom of the ninth, the Hagerstown squad loads the bases with two outs, putting the game-winning run on third base. The tension is palpable as the Kentucky pitcher tries to work his way out of the jam. He delivers a series of well-executed pitches, getting the Hagerstown batter to foul one back and then swinging through a nasty fastball for a strikeout. However, the Hagerstown dugout and the entire town, watching from the stands, remain undaunted. The next batter steps up and on a 1-2 count, he laces a ground ball to the second baseman. The fielder bobbles the ball, allowing the go-ahead run to score from third, sending the small-town fans into a frenzy. "The whole town isn't that many people," the announcer observes, "We're talking about a small, small town." Indeed, the Hagerstown community has rallied behind their team, with the graduating class of the local high school numbering less than 100 students. As the players celebrate on the field, the announcer notes the special bond between the father-son coaching duo, with the father embracing his son and refusing to let go, overcome with emotion. "He just won't let him go," the announcer says, "He's so damn proud of his son and it makes me tear up and they're tearing up in the stands and everybody is incredibly..." The victory means Hagerstown, Indiana, will advance to the prestigious Little League World Series, a dream come true for this tight-knit community. The announcer reflects on the town's rich history, mentioning that back in the 1970s, it had "a laundromat that Mrs. Revere would have been jealous of," underscoring the pride and unique character of this small American town. As the Hagerstown players and fans celebrate, the "ghost of Hagerstown" is said to be watching over them, a testament to the town's enduring spirit and the magic of the Little League World Series.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentthe great lakes regional championship
winner goes to the little league world
series i love the little league world
series we got a small indiana town
versus a kentucky town uh-oh
they hit the first battery flips the bat
he claps his hands he says hold this pad
for me i gotta put this pad on
double padded catcher says let's go up
top kid from kentucky says i'll put that
in to the outfield easy peasy
lemon squeezy so you got two on and two
outs and a ball right at the second
baseman oh man
in his glove and out of his glove no one
scores though but look at this just a
hot shot bam
kind of trampolines it up in the air so
now bases loaded two outs they're in a
jam traffic zooming in the background
and first pitch
foul back strike one kentucky dads look
on nervous neuvis okay says let's go
fastball outside fastball outside boom
kids like what
you gotta remember the strike zone is
like two balls off the plate in the
little league and they go up top get the
k struts off the mound this team from
indiana
got the whole town cheering for him and
the whole town isn't that many people
we're talking about a small small town
1787
residents i mean did you see it's like
one neighborhood it's like one gridded
neighborhood the graduating class is
less than 100 i love small town america
it's my favorite this town hagerstown
back in the 70s they had a laundromat
that mrs revere would have been jealous
of no other town this size has a better
coin laundry
wouldn't mrs paul revere enjoy such
facilities and west of town is a park
for all ages to enjoy picnics and little
league baseball dedicated adults insist
on fair play with our fun fair play
little league they got a great history
tiny little town the whole town's behind
him it makes a little league world
series more fun to go outside fastball
kid tries to bunt it nods his head i
mean we're talking about tiny
classrooms
usually there's like you know 5 000 kids
then you have the all-star team like how
many kids
didn't make the all-star team for
hagerstown indiana
seems like everyone's playing and
they're playing really well fastball
outside catcher calls it 1-2
nice pitch
by the kentucky pitcher he's like yep
you guys throw it around easy for me
nothing to it just bare hand that
because i'm a man oh here comes the legs
digs his cleat in tap tap fastball
inside what's gonna happen
goes a little up a little up
strike one
that pitch actually kind of has some run
to it which is wild
like a two-seam fastball like i think
it's just his natural arm motion but you
see that ball how it kind of he's aiming
it outside but kind of like that's a
it's like a very well executed pitch the
catcher sets up he hits hits the catcher
right in the glove
and it's got run on it it's a great
pitch 02 gets him to swing and miss over
the fastball down but drop third strike
so he gets the first then drops himself
and the crowd loves it the ghost of
hagerstown is there watching on all
right next batter comes up
runner on first one out fouled straight
back liked it though the o2 trying to
get that outside again
catcher says let's go up let's go way up
the 1-1
doesn't chase off the catcher's glove
our guy's going to second base that's
the go-ahead run on second now the 2-1
in play second baseman bobbles it stays
with it out good call by the ump but now
the go-ahead run is on third and the
fans are ready our time
two out
you gotta make sure you can get in he's
talking about scoring on a pass ball
because he's a go ahead run at third but
there's two outs so don't be dangerous
and we get a pass ball
[Music]
almost takes a perfect bounce to the
catcher pitcher so the runner stays on
third smart good coaching gotta make
sure you can get in
fastball outside here we go one two gets
it inside a little bit it's got that
same run but it doesn't work out for him
in hagerstown indiana the small town of
less than 2 000 people are going to the
world series and we got dads going crazy
we got fans going crazy we got
father-son coach son hug he just won't
let him go he's so damn proud of his son
and it makes me tear up and they're
tearing up in the stands and everybody
is incredibly oh and the ghost of
hagerstown watches on
some say he was behind it all