October came early.
Fans were treated to an outright spectacle and thrilling end to the Little League World Series Metro regional tournament with New Jersey’s Bayonne Central launching an epic, 8-6 championship comeback over Darien, Conn., advancing to Williamsport for the first time in the league’s 75-year history.
Neither side would budge an inch in the barn burner on 60-foot basepaths. The Constitution State’s best put up a much mightier fight than in the two teams’ opening-round matchup, which Jersey took 8-2 last Saturday night in Bristol, Conn.
Catcher Hugh Butler got the Darien offense ignited with an RBI triple off Bayonne pitcher Chase Klimkowski.
Left fielder Alex Abelson and designated hitters Jack Houlihan and Roscoe Hurty — all 12 players on the roster bat around — kept the heat on Bayonne with first-inning RBIs that put Darien up 4-0 in the first inning.
It was the first game in the double-elimination tournament that undefeated N.J. surrendered more than two runs.
Bayonne second baseman Owen Feliz took exception to the early lead and drove in a pair of runs with an RBI double against Darien pitcher Chase Sutter that cut the Connecticut deficit to 4-2 in the bottom of the first.
Sutter answered with six straight strikeouts and a two-run homer in the third that pushed the lead to 6-2. It added to his phenomenal championship performance that ended with nine strikeouts in three innings and change. Mason Rincon came on the mound in relief and cauterized the damage for Bayonne.
At the plate, Dairen took no chances on the powerhouse batter by intentionally walking Rincon three times — once to load the bases in the third inning and again in the fifth.
Sutter let up a run the next batter on a botched fielder’s choice and walked catcher Jett Bridges right after, but got out of the jam with a 6-4 lead.
He came out in the fourth after reaching the mandatory 85-pitch threshold. Hurty took over and got out of the inning unscathed.
Rincon helped put out the fire on defense with his own heat, gassing six straight batters in innings 4-6.
Feliz came up with the bases juiced and one out in the fifth after Rincon’s third intentional walk of the game and smashed a warning-track double that tied the game at six apiece.
Bridges then hit a game-changing RBI gap single on reliever Rex Paquette, and Klimkowski tacked on another run with a fly ball that dropped in right field, which turned the tables for the thrilling 8-6 Bayonne comeback that’s now epic Little League lore. Rincon put down Darien in order in the sixth of six innings and finished with nine strikeouts.
Bayonne will be back in action for the Little League World Series opening round against Bridgewater, Mass., at 7 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN.
