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8A — BAKER CITY HERALD MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 2019 RETIRE LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES Louisiana’s magic run ends with state’s first LLWS title ■ 8-0 win over Curacao gives the U.S. its first back-to-back champions since 2009 By Tyler King Associated Press SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — For the second straight day, a line drive found the glove of Louisiana shortstop Stan Wiltz and a dogpile en- sued in the infi eld at Lamade Stadium. Stan was fi ne with all that. Nothing seemed to go wrong for the boys from River Ridge over the last week at the Little League World Se- ries, and Stan’s catch ended the game and the tourna- ment Sunday, with Louisiana shutting out Curacao 8-0 to win the state’s fi rst LLWS title. “It felt like my glove was a magnet,” said Stan, who got his team into the cham- pionship on Saturday with a game-ending unassisted double play against Hawaii. The team from suburban New Orleans fought its way back through the losers’ bracket after dropping its opening game of the tourna- ment to Hawaii. Louisiana (against Oregon), it was just a matter of getting on a roll,” Frazier said. Pitcher Egan Prather tossed a two-hit shutout Sun- day, throwing 88 pitches over —Louisiana manager Scott six innings. His performance Frazier in the championship caps off a solid tournament on the won six games in eight days, mound in which he picked up becoming the fi rst team to two victories and struck out win the LLWS after dropping 19 batters in 14 1/3 innings. its fi rst game since the tour- “It makes my job re- nament expanded in 2001. ally easy to mix it up pitches “People from New Orleans when they can execute the and Louisiana in general are pitches,” Frazier said. “Every- very resilient type of people,” thing worked for him today.” manager Scott Frazier said. The offensive break- “And this team exemplifi es through came in the fi fth the resiliency that we have inning for Louisiana as the from the area that we come club representing the South- from.” west region scored four runs Frazier said he felt the on four hits to seize control. momentum shift for his team Reece Roussel smacked an when it won its fi rst game of RBI double that was followed the tournament against Or- by Marshall Louque’s RBI egon. That win set the club up single, his third hit of the day. for victories over some of the “We were going to get those tournament’s best teams — guys, it was just a matter of New Jersey, Virginia, Hawaii time,” Frazier said. “We’ve and Curacao. been so locked in this whole “Once we won that game time.” “This tournament started with approximately 7,700 teams, and here we are with the best out of everybody.” FLORIDA another pass interference call against Trey Dean. One Continued from Page 6A offi cial threw one more fl ag in Miami converted a fourth- the end zone with 20 seconds and-34 play with 1:30 remain- to play, but it was picked up ing when Marco Wilson was following a discussion. fl agged for pass interference. The Hurricanes failed to The Hurricanes moved score, and they needed a the chains again thanks to touchdown after Bubba Baxa missed a 27-yard fi eld goal attempt wide right early in the fourth. “We don’t have the maturity level to see a victory through,” fi rst-year Canes coach Manny Diaz said. “That’s a matur- ing process we have to go through.” TREASURE VALLEY STEEL, INC. -=JQB=?PQNEJC:AA #AA0QNHEJO (KQOA#QOPKI )J(KQOA#QOPKI#QP%T=?P,AJCPDO Curacao, representing the Caribbean region, threatened in the top of the third. The team from Willemstad loaded the bases with one out. But a sharp ground ball to Marshall at third base resulted in a force-out at the plate and a few pitches later, Jurdrick Profar, the youngest brother of Oakland A’s in- fi elder Jurickson Profar, was thrown out trying to score on a wild pitch. “Once I got that out, I knew I was settled in,” Egan said. With Louisiana’s victory, U.S. teams have won back- to-back Little League crowns for the fi rst time since 2009, when a team from Chula Vista, California, capped off a streak of fi ve straight cham- pionships for the United States. “I can’t process it,” Fra- zier said. “This tournament started with approximately 7,700 teams, and here we are with the best out of every- body. It’s just surreal.” Franks took a knee to run out the clock, celebrated with teammates and then ran toward the tunnel and punted the ball into the stands. At least this one didn’t count as a turnover — or result in a penalty. The teams combined for fi ve turnovers — Florida had four — and 225 yards in penalties. Miami got to break out its revised Turnover Chain after each of Florida’s gaffes and was able to debut its Touch- down Rings following both trips to the end zone. “We wanted to spice it up,” Diaz said. “The 305 (chain) came out really well. We talked about offense wanting something else, wanting some- thing different. Hopefully we’ll see a lot more of them.” Miami’s Jarren Williams completed 19 of 29 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown in his fi rst career start. Dee- Jay Dallas ran for 95 yards, including a 50-yard scamper that put the Canes up 20-17 early in the fourth. MCILROY *VSVYZ *\Z[VT;YPT ¹*VYY\NH[LK +LSP]LY`(]HPSHISL -\SS:Vɉ[[3PUL M[.\SM*VHZ[7HULS M[7)97HULS M[4LZH7HULS M[;\Ɉ9PI7HULS :[HUKPUN:LHT $%,)6%29 M[+LS[H9PI !6!),!",% M[7YV7HULS 9A=N&QHH0=EJP7=NN=JPU[7A=PDAN80=EJP3UOPAI ONTARIO 541-889-4214 BOISE 208-336-7505 1460 N. Verde Dr. Toll Free 1-866-887-8335 6619 S. Supply Way Toll Free 1-888-717-8335 WWW.TREASUREVALLEYSTEEL.COM Continued from Page 7A “There was plenty of ex- citement today,” Schauffele said. “The heart rate was up for most of the round. I thought the course was set up really fair, and if you were in the fairway, it was gettable. And if you weren’t, it was exactly what you thought it was. It was just a lot of fun.” Justin Thomas, the No. 1 seed in the FedEx Cup who started with a two-shot lead, lost his way Sunday morning in the conclusion of the third round when he took triple bogey on the 16th hole with a 9-iron from the fairway. He fell four behind and never caught up. Thomas fi nished with two birdies for a 68 and tied for third with Koepka, who ended another big year with a pedestrian closing round of 72. They each earned $3.5 million. As usual with Koepka, there were no complaints, no excuses. “He just played better,” said Koepka, who hit only fi ve fairways in the last round. “He was impressive to watch. He put it in the Continued from Page 7A Team owner Jim Irsay called it a “no-brainer” be- cause his aging team needed to rebuild. “I never felt that he (Luck) owed me to play until he’s 40 or until he’s 36 or whatever,” Irsay said. “I mean, this is an unusual situation.” Luck delivered quickly on his promise. He led the Colts to the playoffs in each of his fi rst three seasons and to the AFC championship game after the 2014 season — without missing a start. But a subpar offensive line struggled to keep Luck upright and in 2015, the shoulder and kidney injuries forced him to miss nine games. The Colts fi nished 8-8 and missed the playoffs. In 2016, after Luck opted not to have shoulder sur- gery, then coach Chuck Pagano gave Luck extra days off to try and keep him healthy. Luck made 15 starts that season though the Colts again fi nished 8-8 and missed the playoffs. While Luck had surgery for a partially torn labrum in January 2017, he never felt right and after throw- ing for two weeks in the fall was shut down for the rest of the season. Last year, Luck looked like his old self. He estab- lished career highs in attempts (639), completions (430) and completion rate (67.3 percent), throwing for 4,593 yards with 39 touchdowns and 15 intercep- tions as he led the Colts back to the playoffs, earned his fourth Pro Bowl selection and was the runaway winner of the league’s Comeback Player of the Year award. Then came the mysterious calf-ankle injury that again never felt quite right. So after marrying his longtime girlfriend this spring and now awaiting the birth of his fi rst child, Luck called it quits. “I am going to retire,” he said. “This is not an easy decision. It’s the hardest decision of my life. But it is the right decision for me.” Players around the league were just as stunned as the Colts. “It was mind-blowing,” Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson said. “It’s something that of course caught everyone off guard. He can control his own future. He’s a great player. He’s a great quarterback. One of the top fi ve quarterbacks in the league. He’s doing it for the right reasons for himself.” Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the reigning MVP, said: “Knowing Andrew he’s a great football player, of course, but he’s also a great human being — I know that he’s going to make the right deci- sion for himself and his family.” Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson, who was in the same draft class as Luck, said he found out from offen- sive tackle Duane Brown before the Seahawks’ game against the Los Angeles Chargers and was surprised, like everyone else. “We all expect we’re going to play this game forever. The reality is for most players, it’s not very long,” Wilson said. “I’ve always loved being around him, and the times we’ve gotten to be around each other. I know this has to be really hard on him. Just praying for him to stay encouraged.” Reich had said he hoped to have an answer about Luck’s availability for the Sept. 8 season opener after the third preseason game. This might not have been the one he wanted — and certainly didn’t expect. “Teams win, don’t write the end of the story yet,” Colts general manager Chris Ballard said. “I’m telling you the story’s not over yet.” Luck fi nishes his seven-year career with 2,000 completions, 3,290 attempts, 23,671 yards, 171 touch- downs and 83 interceptions and those stinging boos as he left the fi eld. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hear the reaction,” he said. “It hurt, I’ll be honest with you, it hurt.” fairway a lot, hit a lot of greens. And even his short game, the up-and-down he made on 11, that was pretty tasty right there. And then the way he fi nished it off was very impressive. Hats off to him.” What looked to be a shoot- out turned into a runaway for McIlroy. The marathon fi nal day — 31 holes for McIlroy and contenders — began with big promise for a wild chase for the $15 million prize. Four players took turns atop the leaderboard in the fi rst 35 minutes of golf Sunday morning, which included Schauffele’s fi rst hole-in-one of his career with a 5-iron on the 240-yard ninth hole. The third round had been suspended Saturday after lightning struck a tree and injured six spectators hud- dled nearby. Police said they were treated and released from medical attention later that night. Koepka birdied the 18th for a one-shot lead over McIlroy and Schauffele. It was tight for the fi rst hour of the fi nal round, and then it turned quickly. Koepka was still up by one shot when he yanked his tee shot into the trees left of No. 7 and never found it. He made double bogey, and it became a three-shot swing when McIlroy made a 25- foot birdie putt. The decisive moment was consecutive two-shot swings — McIlroy birdied Nos. 12 and 13, Koepka missed short par putts on both. Koepka ended the PGA Tour season with three vic- tories, another major at the PGA Championship, a World Golf Championship and the undisputed No. 1 world ranking. He is the favorite to win PGA Tour player of the year again, though McIlroy at least gave players some- thing to contemplate when they vote over the next few weeks. The FedEx Cup counts as an offi cial win, giving him three for the year. And he had 14 fi nishes in the top 10 out of 19 starts, the high- est percentage of his career. Whether it’s enough — Mc- Ilroy doesn’t think so — was of little consequence. McIlroy ticked off every goal he set at East Lake in a performance that $15 mil- lion can’t measure. “I’m going to enjoy this one tonight,” he said.
