Lake Charles, La., returns to Little League World Series as Southwest champs

Lake Charles, La., rallied twice in the sixth and seventh innings Wednesday night in Waco, Texas, fighting off one-run deficits each time while capturing the Southwest Regional championship and clinching the first U.S. berth in the Little League World Series as it defeated Richmond, Texas, 7-6.

Peyton McLemore scored the winning run on a two-out, two-strike wild pitch in the seventh inning, sending Lake Charles to the Little League World Series for the fourth time. Teams from Lake Charles reached the Series in 1991, 2001 and 2006.

It looked like Lake Charles would not make it back this time when Texas built a 6-2 third-inning lead and still clung to a 6-5 lead with two outs in the sixth inning. But after not recording a hit since the third inning, Lake Charles tied the game when Kennon Fontenot crushed a mammoth home run to left-center field.

Texas regained the lead in the seventh when Grant Page drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk, but again Lake Charles responded with the long ball as Nicholas Abshire led off the bottom of the seventh with a home run to center field. McLemore followed with a walk and moved to third on a bunt and Hunter Self's single.

Relief pitcher Reid Garrett nearly escaped the first and third, one-out jam, forcing Gunner Leger into a groundout before going to a 2-2 count on Trey Quinn. The next pitch, though, was outside and bounced far away from the plate as McLemore scored easily.

Lake Charles led only once before when it went ahead 3-2 in the second inning. That lead was short-lived as Kyle Owen and Duncan McNair hit back-to-back home runs that gave Texas a 6-2 lead. McNair hit two home runs and pitched well in relief before allowing the sixth-inning home run to Fontenot.

Fontenot finished 3-for-4, falling a triple short of hitting for the cycle while driving in three runs. Abshire went 2-for-3 and scored twice as Lake Charles finished 5-0 at the Southwest Regional.