The Cardinals top the Mariners in a 1-0 thriller to put the exclamation point on a perfect season.
In a dramatic finish to a perfect season, Kevin Bowman’s walk-off double gave the Cardinals a 1-0 win over the Mariners to claim the Bainbridge Island Little League Championship, Wednesday evening at Rotary Field.
Jeff Hinman went five innings on the mound for the Cardinals, striking out nine while allowing only two base runners, giving up one walk to go along with Roebke’s hit. Nick Denney finished the game for the Cards by striking out all three batters he faced in the final inning.
Chance Roebke pitched six dominating innings for the two-time defending champion Mariners, giving up no earned runs on two hits and no walks. He also banged their only hit, a double in the fourth inning.
It was a true fans’ game, as the Mariners threw out Jacob Goodman and Denney at the plate in extremely close plays in the fourth and fifth innings.
Henry Indvik was solid behind the plate for the Cards, with a diving catch of a foul ball to set the tone for an error-proof Cardinal defense.
The bottom of the sixth started with Nick Bierly reaching first on an infield error. Bobby “Roadrunner†Griffin replaced him as a pinch runner and moved to second on a bunt by Andrew McCarthy, who had spent the afternoon practicing bunts in the front yard with his mother.
That set the stage for an eight-pitch battle between pitcher Roebke and batter Bowman.
Bowman drove the speedy Griffin home by lacing a 3-2 fastball over the left fielder’s head for a walk-off double and a 23-0 season record.
For the season, the Cardinals recorded nine shutouts and went 116 innings without allowing a run. Pitchers Hinman and Denney combined for 147 strikeouts while allowing only nine earned runs in 86 innings, as the Cardinals outscored their opponents 211-48.
Hinman, Denney, Indvik and Bowman will represent the Cardinals on this year’s National League All-Star team.