WILLIAMSPORT, Penn. -- For the second year in a row, Mexico had Australia's number in the Little League World Series. After winning more games than any other Australian representative in history, the Hills Junior Baseball Association were shut out by Mexico's San Nicolas Little League by a final score of 10-0, ending their run in the tournament.
"[The loss] was a bitter pill to swallow but I didn't want [my team] to lose sight of what they've achieved," Hills Head Coach Les Stockdale said. "[Mexico] fought, and we were out-played today. They're a great team; I'd love to see a team like Mexico go all the way."
Mexico got on the board early and often, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning and putting a six-spot on the board in the top of the third. A two-run fourth sealed the four-inning run-rule win. Jose Angel Leal dominated on the mound for the visitors, tossing 3.2 innings and allowing just one hit while striking out 10 of the 12 batters he faced.
For Hills, Clayton Campbell continued his strong performance in the tournament, smacking a one-out single in the bottom of the first inning that represented Hills' lone hit of the afternoon.
"Whilst the score probably reflected the game it was, I didn't want it to come down to that," Stockdale said. "I thought we were better than that. But as I said to the boys, keep your heads held high, walk out of this thing being very proud."
Stockdale said that his team's goal at the beginning of the tournament was to win two games, and in the process of achieving that goal Hills became the most successful Australian LLWS participant in history. That history continues to grow with each passing year.
"It's what we came here to do, and every team that will come to this thing will try to out-do what we've done, and eventually there could be an Australian team winning this thing," Stockdale said. "I think within 10 years we probably could. Each team that comes here learns a little bit more about how to play this tournament, and we've learned a lot and we can certainly take that back home to whoever qualifies next year. It's a wonderful experience and we can't wait to share it with everyone else."