Courtesy Little League Baseball / Softball
The Northwood/Taylors Little League team will be enjoying the sites, games and sliding down the hill the next two days before flying home into GSP.
The Southeast Regional champions, the first team from South Carolina to win a game in the Little League World Series, is the first team from the state to play in the LLWS since Clinton in 1950.
The team will be honored guests in the coming weeks. Schedule to date are appearances:
• Friday at Riverside High School, 7:30 p.m., for the opening season football game between the Warriors and Eastside High School.
• Sept. 6 at Greenville Drive for a 7:05 p.m. game versus Savannah. The Sunday game is the next-to-the-last for the Drive and features kids running the bases after the game.
• Sept. 11 at Eastside High School for a game versus Wade Hampton at 7:30 p.m.
Six players attend Riverside High School: Braden Buffington, Ryan Chapman, Gage Laymon, Bradley Lewis, Brock Myers and Ben Tumblin.
Little League officials fly teams roundtrip to Williamsport, Pa. Taylors won the Southeast Region in Warner Robbins, Ga., and flew out of Atlanta for the convenience.
The players are lodged in dorm-like rooms and get to enjoy a variety of activity between games and when they are eliminated.
Taylors was eliminated Monday, 4-3, by Kentucky. But the game still talked about is Taylors’ 9-8 loss to hometown favorite, Red Land, Pa., on Sunday, representing the Mid-Atlantic region.
Taylors came back from a 6-0 deficit in the second inning but took an 8-6 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning. Pennsylvania came back to win and forced Taylors into a 4 p.m. elimination game on Monday.
• Fans have asked, why was Taylors always the visiting team?
All three games, Taylors was the visiting team by virtue of a traditional coin flip called by the players. Taylors players call “visitors” so they can be assured batting in the top of each inning. The 10-run rule can only be called after the conclusion of an inning.