EAST MANATEE — Brock Sisson lofted the ball in the air. North River National second baseman Josh Fleming extended his glove, but the baseball was just out of reach.
And when it landed, Andrew Berg scored the final run in a comeback victory.
The Manatee East 9-and-10 squad defeated North River National in a thrilling 10-9 extra-inning contest at Braden River Park.
Tuesday night’s win earns Manatee East a trip to the District 26 Little League All-Star championship game.
The team fell behind 9-3 with just two at-bats remaining, as they scraped together a late scoring barrage before winning in the seventh inning.
“We scored those tying runs all with two outs, that’s what I mean,” Manatee East manager Ted Berg said. “We never give up. We always believe we have a chance to win. The guys — we’re 13, it’s a lucky 13, not an unlucky 13.”
Manatee East’s Sisson tossed three innings, allowing six runs (all unearned) and three hits. He left the mound with his team facing a four-run deficit.
That deficit grew to six in the fifth inning. It could have been more, if not for Connor Knapp. The right-handed-throwing second baseman hustled to his right on a line drive up the middle — lunging with a diving snag to end North River National’s fifth inning.
North River National stranded two runners in scoring position on the play, and the momentum began to shift to the Manatee East crew.
The response?
Three runs on three hits and an error.
“I think in the bottom of the fifth, we just fell asleep on paying attention to how many outs we had,” North River National manager Dan Bench said.
Manatee East’s Tyler Weott got the win for hurling the last two innings.
North River National mustered two baserunners against the hard-throwing Weott. The right-hander struck out four, including fanning the side in the seventh.
“Tyler Weott has come in every game in a save situation, or to preserve the tie,” Berg said, “and he’s shut down every team.”
Manatee East’s Colin May led all hitters with a 4-for-4 day at the dish.
However, no hit was bigger than his last. Manatee East was down to its final out, when May grounded a ball in the hole on the left side of the infield. The ball took a funny hop on North River National’s Zach Rodgers, and May reached first safely.
Will Robertson (2-for-4, double, RBI, two runs) followed with another two-out hit, before Austin Keefer (2-for-3, double, two RBIs, run) plated both on a two-run single to center in the sixth.
Manatee East completed its comeback with Sisson’s blooper on a drawn-in infield in the seventh.
“I was looking for a hard base hit,” Sisson said. “A fastball. A little high, so I can pop it up.”
The loss drops North River National into the loser’s bracket final tonight against Manatee American, who beat Manatee Central 10-6. The winner faces Manatee East in the championship slated for Thursday.
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