PLAY OF THE GAME — Jakob Furkas’s hustle creating something big: It looked like Texas would get out of the first inning trailing just 1-0, but Furkas used his speed and tenacity to keep the inning alive when he beat out an infield single to shortstop. It was an all-effort play and it paid off in a big way a batter later when Noah Boren smashed a two-run double. Michigan went up 3-0 and Furkas never giving up on the grounder helped set the tone for a huge offensive performance.

MICHIGAN PLAYER OF THE GAME — Jackson Surma: This is a tough one with Surma barely edging out Furkas who earned the win and went 3 for 3 with two RBIs and two runs. Surma also was spectacular on the mound and with the bat. Surma threw two perfect innings of relief, struck out four and cooled a surging offense. He was equally impressive at the plate, going 3 for 4 with three doubles, three RBIs and three runs. Surma produced the game’s first run with a two-out RBI double in the first inning and added a two-run double in the fifth.

TEXAS PLAYER OF THE GAME — Cason Parrish: The team’s leadoff hitter again provided a spark and capped a terrific Series with another strong performance. Parrish reached base twice, smashed a triple and drove in two runs. Parrish hit .467 in five games in South Williamsport and produced at least one in hit every contest.

BIG INNING — Michigan third: All parts of this offensive machine came together in the third inning as Michigan scored eight runs on seven hits from seven different players and broke the game open. The outburst highlighted what has made Michigan’s offense so powerful this year as both starters and reserves were involved Jaxon Shufeldt ignited the rally with a leadoff pinch-hit single. Fellow reserve Kale Harris came off the bench and belted an RBI single. Lucas Farner, Gavin Ulin and Cam Thorning also had RBIs during the inning and Ethan Van Belle added a single. Thorning highlighted the eruption with a mammoth two-run home run which put Michigan up 11-0.

Jakob Furkas of Taylor, Michigan scores in the first inning against Abilene, Texas Thursday afternoon during the Little League World Series. Michigan won 15-6. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

BEST EFFORT — Texas’s rally: There was absolutely no quit in Texas despite falling behind 11-0. Manager Reggie Regala has called his players “The Comeback Kids,” all summer and they proved him right again. Texas came storming back in the fourth inning, scoring runs and belting five hits. In a flash, Texas not only revealed its character, but also made the game highly competitive again. Cason Parrish highlighted the rally with a two-run triple and Stetson Newman and Major De Los Santos added RBI singles.

HOME RUNS: Thorning has been one of the country’s best hitters all summer, hitting over .700 since June. He has kept on surging at the Series and hit his second home run of the tournament in the third inning. Thorning was robbed of a home run by an amazing catch against Hawaii Wednesday, otherwise he would have homered in three straight games. Thorning put his latest blast well onto the hill past the Michigan flag and over both the right-center field wall and bushes behind it.

FLASHING LEATHER: Michigan right fielder Chauncey Adkins helped his team build on its first inning momentum when he opened the second with a hustling catch, taking a potential hit from Landry Pate. Adkins read the ball well, chased the blooper into shallow right field and made an impressive, running catch. Texas shortstop Myles McCarty was not fooled by the tricky bounce off pitcher Landry Pate’s glove, fielding it clean and making a quick throw while robbing Max LaForest of an infield single. Michigan left fielder Jackson Shufeldt helped stifle Texas’s momentum when he made an excellent, running catch to open the fifth inning. It looked like Carter Nelson might have a leadoff single but Shufeldt hustled into the left-center field gap and made a running catch, holding on to the ball as he fell over. Michigan manager Rick Thorning even showed off his prowess in the bottom of the fifth when he made a bare-handed catch of a Furkas line drive hit in foul territory.

WHAT THE ADULTS SAY — “They just fought all the way to the end. They didn’t hang their heads. We were down 11-0 and they put six on the board. They were right back to it,” Texas manager Reggie Regala said. “I commend these kids. They just have the fight in them to continue to battle. They did great. What an experience. What a ride. These kids not only make their dreams come true, but made our dreams come true, too.”

“It was pretty quick to shake it (Wednesday’s Hawaii loss) off. The kids were excited to play baseball today,” Michigan manager Rick Thorning said. “We knew we could get a chance to play them again but we had to take care of today first. We told them to play without pressure and l theike it’s another game and kids are really good about doing that. That showed today.”

Cameron Thorning of Taylor, Michigan flips the bat and rounds the bases on a home run against Abilene, Texas Thursday afternoon during the Little League World Series. Michigan won 15-6. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

WHAT THE KIDS SAY — “I was hitting the ball really well (Wednesday), but they were making plays,: Surma said. “We faced these (Texas) pitchers before and I knew what they were throwing.”

WHAT IT MEANS — Michigan advances to Saturday’s Hank Aaron championship and will play Hawaii with the winner reaching Sunday’s national final. Hawaii defeated Michigan, 2-0, Wednesday and now the Great Lakes have a shot at avenging its only loss this summer. Michigan also is just a victory from becoming its state’s first world finalist Hamtramck won the 1959 championship.