The Bayonne Little League team from New Jersey continued its winning streak at the Little League World Series, defeating East Side Little League from West Chester, Pennsylvania, 3-1 on Friday. This marks their second consecutive win in the tournament.
Bayonne opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning. After Jett Bridges reached base and AJ Tapia hit a double, Bridges scored on a wild pitch. Joey Dwyer then singled to score Tapia, extending Bayonne's lead to 2-0.
Pitcher Chase Klimkowski was instrumental in maintaining the lead. In the fourth inning, with West Chester runners on second and third and one out, Klimkowski struck out a batter and then induced a ground ball to escape the jam. He finished the game having allowed one unearned run on six hits over 5 1/3 innings, with six strikeouts and no walks.
Mason Rincon further extended Bayonne's advantage in the fourth inning with a solo home run to right-center field, his second home run of the tournament. Rincon had also hit a walk-off home run in Bayonne's opening game victory.
West Chester managed to score an unearned run in the fifth inning, putting runners on second and third with two outs. Klimkowski again closed the door with a strikeout. Gabe Garcia Jr. recorded the final two outs in the sixth inning to secure the 3-1 victory.
The win extended Bayonne's current winning streak to 15 games. The New Jersey team will advance to play Iowa on Sunday with a spot in the U.S. winners bracket final on the line.