The team representing the Sweetwater Valley Little League was eliminated from the Little League World Series Thursday, losing to the all-stars from Texas' Pearland West Little League, 9-7.
Bonita-based Sweetwater Valley had taken a 7-6 lead in the top of the eighth inning when Jacob Baptista singled in Nate Nankil.
Ben Gottfried homered leading off the bottom of the eighth for Pearland West. Zack Mack followed with a walk. The next batter, Caleb Low hit a 1-1 pitch over the left field fence for the game-winning two-run home run.
The victory advances Pearland West, the Southwest Region champion, into Saturday's U.S. Championship Game against the team representing the Red Land Little League of Lewisberry, Pennsylvania.
Red Land, the Mid-Atlantic Region champion, defeated Pearland West, 3-0, on Wednesday.
The U.S. champion will play for the Little League World Series championship on Sunday against the winner of Saturday's International Championship Game between teams from Mexico and Japan.
The victory was Pearland West's second over Sweetwater Valley in five days. Sweetwater Valley, the West Region champion, had won its first 17 games in five tournaments before an 8-4 loss to Pearland West on Sunday.
Victories Monday and Tuesday gave Sweetwater Valley Thursday's rematch with Pearland West.
Sweetwater Valley got off to a fast start today, with Walker Lannom hitting a three-run homer in the top of the first. Mack responded with a grand slam in the bottom of the first.
Sweetwater Valley took a 6-4 lead in the third on a solo homer by Levi Mendez and Baptista's two-run homer.
Pearland West combined singles by Isaac Garcia, Jarrett Tadlock and Mack for a run in the fourth. Marco Gutierrez's fifth-inning solo homer tied the score for Pearland West.
The game was sent to extra innings when neither team scored in the sixth.
The Little League World Series is played in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Sweetwater Valley was the 11th team from San Diego County to qualify for the Little League World Series and third in seven years.
Two San Diego County teams have won the Little League World Series — the 1961 team from the El Cajon-La Mesa Northern Little League, whose roster included future NFL quarterback Brian Sipe, and the 2009 team from Park View Little League in Chula Vista.
Three other San Diego County teams lost in the Little League World Series Championship Game — squads representing the La Mesa Northern Little League in 1957, the El Cajon Western Little League in 1977 and Eastlake Little League in 2013.
