SAN ANTONIO — At last week's Grand Slam Parade kicking off the Little League World Series, the Boerne All-Stars were clear about what the mission was in their first tournament trip: to win it all.
After three straight victories in Williamsport, Pa., the team is now just one win away from their shot at reaching that goal. Boerne defeated Henderson Nevada 5-2 Wednesday afternoon, punching their ticket to the U.S. Final on Saturday.
The winner will advance to the Little League World Series Championship on Sunday against the international champion.
Boerne got out in front early Wednesday when a sacrifice fly and RBI single put them up 2-0 in the first inning. Nevada was able to quickly rally with a bases-loaded walk and single that tied things up at 2 apiece.
With one out in the third, Boerne's bats broke out. The team's next four hitters reached base and a sacrifice fly made it 5-2.
Julian Hurst, who served as Boerne's catcher after pitching a complete game Monday, drove in the game-winning run with a single. He's set up to take the mound again this weekend.
Nevada couldn't regain the momentum, managing just one baserunner the rest of the game on a hit-by-pitch. The Boerne All-Stars have outscored their opponents 18-3 through three games, and no team on the U.S. side of the bracket has scored more runs through three games.
Nevada, however, has a shot at revenge. Because the tournament is a double-elimination format, the Mountain region representative will play the winner of Florida and Hawai'i on Thursday. The winner of that game will then go on to face Boerne on Saturday, after Texas has had a few days of rest.
Boerne previously defeated Florida, 4-1, on Monday.
On the tournament's other side, Chinese Taipei will play Saturday in the International Final against either Japan, Mexico or Venezuela.
