Baseball

Bonney Lake Sumner Little League fall to Honolulu in first World Series tournament game

After advancing to the Little League World Series last Thursday, the Bonney Lake Sumner Little League team played their first tournament match-up in Williamsport, Pennsylvania on Wednesday.

Bonney Lake Sumner fell to Honolulu, HI. on Wednesday, losing by a score of 11-1 in just five innings due to the LLWS mercy rule.

Originally scheduled for 4 p.m., a rain delay pushed the game back. The game was broadcast on ESPN at 5:31 p.m.

Bonney Lake Sumner’s advancement to the series did not come without controversy, when they beat the Oregon team by a score of 3-2 in extra innings.

First baseman Braydon Rudolph connected with the ball and confusion ensued. The third-base umpire called the hit foul but the home plate umpire called it fair.

“I hit that ball and I thought it was foul for a second so I slowed down but then I kept running,” Rudolph said.

Huddled in their California hotel lobby, the 14 boys representing the Northwest in the 2022 Little League World Series gave KIRO 7′s Lauren Donovan a postgame debrief. Coaches were there too, among them Scott Santam.

“We play the game as hard as we can until we’re told not to,” Santam said. “We really preach to our kids ‘you run the bases until they tell you to stop.’”

This year the team’s motto is “all grit, no quit.” Santam said he believes channeling that attitude has carried the boys this far.

“It’s amazing for our community. This has not happened for our city,” he said.

Joel Johnson, president of Bonney Lake Sumner Little League, believes this is the first time a Pierce County team will compete in the tournament.

“The community in our local league is what started all this,” Johnson said. “The support of the entire region was felt all the way down here in San Bernadino.”

Back home, supporters have been on the edge of their seats. Brian Purdy, owner of Purdy’s Public House in Sumner, estimates 150 fans came out to his establishment to watch Thursday’s game.

“It’s so great seeing the kids on TV,” Purdy said. “It felt just like a regular pro playoff game.”