Bonney Lake-Sumner Little League team wins NW tournament, gains World Series berth

For a Bonney Lake-Sumner Little League team familiar with blowout wins, a 3-2 victory Thursday evening may not seem like a big deal. But the victory is undoubtedly its most notable so far, as the win crowns the players champions of the Northwest tournament and clinches a spot in the Little League World Series.

The East Pierce County 10 to 12-year-olds represented Washington at the San Bernardino, California-based double elimination tournament after a victorious state championship. In the tournament’s first game, the squad crushed Oregon’s representative, Bend North Little League, with a decisive 10-1 blowout. Next came a 9-6 win against the best team from Idaho, Lewiston Little League.

Those victories set the stage for Thursday’s game, a rematch against Bend North. Unlike the prior competition, Bend North struck first. As the game approached its 6th and final inning, Bend North was up on the Pierce County squad 2-1. Late-game heroics came from Bonney Lake-Sumner’s Liam Ferguson, who came up first to bat and smashed a ball over the fences, tying the game at two and forcing extra innings.

Controversy framed the final inning. In the 7th, Bonney Lake-Sumner’s Braydon Rudolph struck a ball past the third baseman and into the outfield. One umpire held up his hands to call the ball foul, but another called it fair. Bend North fielders stopped playing, but Rudolph’s teammate Ezra Seitz ran from first base to home and clinched the game.

After Seitz touched home, the umpires gathered at home plate to review the play. Because the lead umpire called the ball fair, video replay had to show clear evidence of a foul ball for the run to count. After reviewing the film, an umpire shouted, “fair ball, run scored”. Final score: Bonney Lake-Sumner 3, North Bend 2.

Bonney Lake-Sumner players jumped in joyous disbelief; Bend North players fell to the ground by the pitching diamond, unable to comprehend what had happened.

In spite of the final play, the victory marks the first time a team exclusively from Pierce County has ever advanced to the Little League World Series. The renowned youth sports tournament, which begins August 17 in Williamsport, PA, will pit the Bonney Lake-Sumner team against nine other regional champions from across the country. The top team in the U.S. tournament will face the top team from a separate, international tournament. The winner of that game will be crowned global Little League champions.