Little League World Series: Torrance all-stars beat Ohio 9-0, advance to next round of tourney

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (CNS) -- Grant Hays hit two home runs and drove in five runs and three pitchers combined on a one-hitter as the all-star team from the Torrance Little League defeated its counterpart from the West Side Little League in Hamilton, Ohio, 9-0, Sunday in the Little League World Series.

Xavier Navarro retired the final 13 batters he faced after allowing a leadoff double to Kaleb Harden and walking J.J. Vogel at Volunteer Stadium in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Torrance is aiming to become the first team from Los Angeles County to win the Little League World Series since a Long Beach team won in 1992 and again in 1993. The Huntington Beach team won in 2011. A Granada Hills team won in 1963.

Torrance will next play Wednesday against the winner of a game between the all-star teams from the Lake Oswego (Oregon) and Sioux Falls (South Dakota) Little Leagues scheduled for Monday.

The game was originally scheduled for Sunday but postponed due to the impact of inclement weather, and in the interest of concluding the games at the Little League World Series in time for the players to attend the MLB Little League Classic.

Hays hit a three-run pinch-hit home run during a four-run second inning that also included Gibson Turner's RBI double.

Turner doubled in two runs in the sixth. Hays, the next batter, homered.

Skylar Vinson singled in Dominic Golia, who doubled, in the second for the game's first run.

Andrew Nuruki, Hayes, Golia and Turner each had two hits as part of Torrance's 11-hit attack.

Torrance is among six teams remaining from the original eight in the Tom Seaver Bracket. With the Little League World Series limited to U.S. teams because of the coronavirus pandemic, the brackets were named for Tom Seaver and Hank Aaron, Hall of Famers who died in 2020 and 2021.

The Little League World Series is customarily divided into U.S. and international brackets.

West Side (1-1) will next play Monday in an elimination bracket game in the modified double-elimination tournament against the all-star team from the Lafayette (Louisiana) Little League.