Jackie Robinson West Earns Berth In Little League U.S. Title Game

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Aug 22, 2014 1:45PM

In the Little League World Series, Chicago's Jackie Robinson West Little League team beat Pennsylvania 6-5 Thursday evening to advance to the U.S. title game. They will face Nevada, who beat them 13-2 earlier in the tournament, 2:30 p.m. Aug. 24. It's the farthest a Chicago Little League team has advanced in the tournament since 1967.

The team from Philadelphia jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but JRW came back to score four in the bottom of the inning. They extended the lead to 6-2 in the second. Chicago's starting pitcher Marquis Jackson departed after pitching into the fourth inning and holding a 6-3 lead, which Pennsylvania cut to 6-5 by the end of the fifth. In the sixth inning, the winners of the Mid-Atlantic had runners on the corners before Cameron Bufford was able to finish them off.

With the win, JRW sent home the tournament's biggest star, Mo'ne Davis. While she made a name for herself on the mound, she played first base on Thursday night after pitching the day before. And now the Great Lakes winners advance, playing for a chance to go all the way to Sunday's title game.

As JRW has stayed alive in the LLWS, their fan base has been building throughout the city. Local fans cheered the team on at viewing parties across the city, from the city-hosted event at Kroc Center near the team's home field to Division street bars.

Said Ann Betts after JRW's victory Thursday night while attending the city's viewing party. “Our boys deserve this. Chicago deserves this. We have so much violence, so much bad news. Tonight we are getting the good news we deserve.” Let's hope for more good news for the South Side ballplayers on Saturday.