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West Side almost repeated the cycle of early elimination in the Little League World Series.
It took eight innings to grind out a 1-0 win over Tennessee on Day 1 and a pack of ice firmly strapped to JJ Vogel's pitching shoulder afterward. California then knocked Ohio into the losers' bracket with a 9-0 rout three days later.
A split record got the club thinking about what a win would mean. It wouldn't just extend Ohio's stay in South Williamsport. That second win would be a long time coming for West Side, which in its fifth trip to the big stage, had only come out of at the most one win per stay in Pennsylvania.
"We had a nice talk today. We had a practice this morning, had a good pow-wow with the kids just about soaking everything in," Ohio manager Ken Cooler said on Monday. "I know (we're) here having fun, but you start focusing a little bit on it."
A three-hour and 21 minute rain delay during the first inning of Hamilton's third game of the World Series took some of that fun and added some more of that focus.
Coomer was a part of two of those Ohio teams in years past. His next challenge was Lafayette, which had just eliminated Upper Providence in a 5-3 thriller. While Louisiana was no-hit in its first game of the Little League World Series to fall into the losers' bracket, the state is well represented with a title for Eastbank in 2019.
On Monday, the two states were pitted against one another at Volunteer Stadium with an extended stay on the line.
There was just one problem.
"A lot of people don't know, two of our top four pitchers are out," Coomer said. "We don't have (them) available for the World Series."
The Tennessee game drained plenty of resources for Hamilton, and it was going to take great management of the bullpen to keep Ohio's players from returning home and starting school.
It was up to Noah Davidson and Kaleb Harden. The two split three full innings of mound duties with a combined nine strikeouts and three hits allowed. Though West Side couldn't utilize Vogel's pitching, the slugger knocked a three-run homer over the center wall.
Chase Moak also added two hits with an RBI in his three appearances at the plate. Moak -- who originally wasn't chosen for the team and came on due to an injury -- has been making the most of his opportunities.
"Moak's been working hard. For the past two months since we brought him on, he's worked hard and earned some starts last game, and we thought he made better use of his situations today, and it paid off," Coomer said after the game.
Five runs scored before getting a single out launched Ohio ahead in the fourth inning, all but securing the broken cycle of early exits for West Side. With solid play from the field through the remainder of the game, Hamilton got the job done and posted the most successful season in its history.
"It's a great feeling. Five times being here, I've been a part of two where we only won one game," Coomer said. "Now we've won two. It's just nice representing (West Side)."