Thursday's Blair Little League Tournament title game was a little too close for comfort.
Though the Mariners still led the Orioles by two runs after Drew Greenwood's RBI swing, the Majors Division team in orange would have been in position to flip the game against pitcher John Paul Pakiz during the bottom of the sixth and final frame.
Yes, the Orioles would have been in position, but the Mariners didn't give up on the play.
With the ball still live on Greenwood's run-scoring hit, Pakiz got to work to finish off the 6-4 championship victory — one of two earned by Little League teams on the night at the Youth Sports Complex.
“I was just trying to get the ball back, and then I heard a lot of their coaches screaming,” the pitcher said.
Confused at first, the Mariner's hurler discovered the source of the opposing coaches' stress — an Orioles base runner stranded between second and third base. So, Pakiz got to running and chased down the game-ending out.
“I saw it, and I just ran at him and got him,” the pitcher said a few minutes after the tag.
The play ended a tight title game for the Majors Division crown. The Orioles built a 3-2 lead through two innings, but coach Jake Raymond's Mariners, ultimately, held onto an advantage they pushed out to 6-3 in the fifth.
“We've been together since May and we've just gotten better from there,” starting pitcher Calan Herber said.
He helped build the Mariners' lead and kept it.
“Mainly fastball,” Herber said when asked what pitch worked best Thursday. “And then, in the end, I worked in a few curveballs that they missed.”
Offensively, Mariners Brock Whyrick and Levi Baker played key roles, too. Whyrick's RBI swing tied the game at 3-3 during the fourth inning before he later scored the go-ahead run.
Then, in the fifth frame, Baker produced his own RBI before scoring for the 6-3 advantage.
In addition to Greenwood's late RBI knock, the Orioles' Bentley Wolff had a big swing, too. His hit during the second inning gave his squad a 3-2 advantage.
In the end, though, the tourney title belonged to the Mariners.
“We just cheer each other on and we have really good chemistry,” Pakiz said. “Our coaches drive us to play well. It's a good team for that reason.”
D-backs win Minors title
Before the Mariners topped the Orioles, though, the Diamondbacks dominated and won the Minors Division title game, 13-0.
Coach Nick Swaney's team wasn't always perfect during the season, but it never gave up.
“We were behind in four or five games by six runs and they'd just keep fighting,” he said. “They're not a high-intensity group, but they focused-in really well. And, boy, they were really great tonight.”
After one close win and a tie during the regular season, the D-backs topped the Brewers by 13 runs in the tournament finale — matchup No. 3.
“That was the best game we've played by a mile,” Swaney said. “That Brewers team can really, really play.”
The champions offensive assault started with a four-run first inning. Garrett Abraham scored on an error first before Zach Schafersman's two-RBI triple produced a 3-0 lead.
Jacob Woodring then capped the frame with another run-scoring swing.
From there, the D-backs' Nick Shumake, Jay Reuter, Breccan Johnson, Marcus McQueen and Emmett Swaney all scored runs before Dexter Hansen eventually hit an RBI single for No. 13.
“That was probably our best hitting game of the year,” Coach Swaney said. “We've got five or six kids that can really hit.”
Johnson, meanwhile, pitched the complete-game shutout.
“Breccan was unbelievable tonight on the mound,” his coach noted.
What's next
The Little League season continues at Wederquist Field on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Blair hosts the district tournament there with the top finishers then moving onto the state tourney. The Nebraska championship event is set for the next two July weekends after districts in Kearney.
CHAMPIONSHIP ROSTERS
Blair Little League
Thursday at Wederquist Field
MAJORS DIVISION
First place: Mariners: Aiden Flynn, Brock Whyrick, Thad Sueverkruepp, Brantley Thompson, John Paul Pakiz, Finn Miller, Levi Baker, Derrick Parker, Ross Johnson, Nate Parker, Maverick Wright, Calan Herber, Elijah Krebbs and Alex LeGrand. Coaches: Jake Raymond, Kevin Reardon and Tim Anderson.
Second place: Orioles: Blayton Anderson, Thayer Johnson, Charlie Paper, Drew Greenwood, Briar McGill, Owen Swaney, Kelton McCombs, Matthew Brandl, Justin Roberts, Bentley Wolff, Grayson Abraham, Taylor Corbett, Kaleo Inget and Joey Maslowsky. Coaches: Nick Swaney, Jay Wolff and Ryan Greenwood.
MINORS DIVISION
First place: Diamondbacks: Jay Reuter, Garrett Abraham, Marcus McQueen, Breccan Johnson, Dexter Hansen, Zach Schafersman, Jacob Woodring, Sawyer Uphoff, Emmett Swaney, Reiland Mullally, Liam Smith and Nick Schumake. Coaches: Nick Swaney, Katy McQueen, Lance Smith and John Reuter.
Second place: Brewers: Reed Nitsch, Noah Terwilliger, Drake Brown, Kyler Reardon, Oliver Clough, Maveric Judt, Easton Anderson, Ryker Jennings, Gentry McCoy, Michael Pakiz, Jacob Northon and Patrick Pakiz. Coaches: Kevin Reardon, Tim Anderson and Josepth Norton.
