Magic runs out for Viera Suntree Little League in Junior World Series

Hillard Grossman
Florida Today
Apollos Horrell, left, and Logan Keith were the hitting stars in the sixth inning of Thursday's wild 13-9 win against the host Taylor, Mich., team.

It was an extended summer vacation to remember for players on the Viera Suntree All-Star baseball team.

When they return to school Monday, they'll have plenty of stories to share, including how they won state and regional titles before finishing second in the U.S. bracket at the Junior Little League World Series in Taylor, Mich., with a 15-2 overall record this summer.

A 7-2 loss to Fullerton, Calif., Friday night prevented them from reaching Sunday's championship against Puerto Rico, but the memories of being on the grand stage will certainly be unforgettable.

Among the highlights:

* Opening the tournament with a 13-0 lead after two innings against Maryland, scoring 10 runs in the second.

* Earning a day off after two wins to go see the nearby Detroit Tigers play the Seattle Mariners and getting featured on the Jumbotron.

* Eliminating the host team with an incredible eight-run rally in the bottom of the sixth after surrendering six runs in the top of the inning in a wild 13-9 victory.

Viera Suntree, making its first World Series trip for any team in the 21-year history of the league, scored 42 runs in five games (3-2 record) and out-hit Fullerton 9-6 Friday night but never recovered from California's five-run fifth inning. Fullerton handed Viera Suntree its only other loss, 12-5.

Th Rockledge All-Stars won this tournament in 2012.

During the week, Logan Keith led Viera Suntree's offense with a .588 average that included three doubles, a homer and six RBI; Cameron Simpkins hit .500; Apollos Horrell hit .462 with three doubles, a homer and six RBI; Luke McDonough batted .455; Luc Iten batted .333; Cole Smith hit .333 with a homer and six RBI; Lucas Glendenning batted .316 with six runs scored; and Blake Strode batted .600 in five official at-bats.

How the game unfolded:

Game is underway after a little delay since the first game ran a little long.

 Viera Suntree will be the home team against Fullerton, Calif., in the U.S. final of the Junior Little League World Series.

Fullerton, Cal. ... 001   500   1  --  7  6  0

Viera Suntree ...  000   110   0  --  2  9  1

California's Eric Jeon and Viera Suntree's Apollos Horrell each allowed just one hit through two scoreless innings.

In the third, Fullerton struck first when Jeon, who had homered against Horrell in their previous game (a 12-5 California win), got a two-out, full-count hit to chase home Kyle Kim from second to make it 1-0.

In the fourth, Fullerton loaded the bases with one out. Conor Sunderland, batting .429 entering the game, delivered a two-run single to make it 3-0. Kyle Kim followed with an RBI to make it 4-0.

Cameron Simpkins replaced Horrell on the mound with one out and the bases loaded. Sean Gonnella promptly hit a two-run double to make it 6-0 with his first RBIs of the tournament.

In the bottom of the fourth, Viera Suntree pushed across one run and left two runners stranded to cut it to 6-1.

Dylan Jordan came on in relief with two outs and two on in the fifth for Viera Suntree and retired Jeon.

Viera Suntree scored again in the fifth to make it 6-2 and, at this point, are out-hitting California 7-6.

Jeon struck out four in five innings before giving way to Kim to open the sixth.

An error allowed California to tack on a run in the top of the seventh to make it 7-2.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Little League games don't get much better -- or wilder -- than Thursday night's 13-9 victory by Viera Suntree to earn a spot in Friday night's U.S. final at the Junior Little League World Series.

The game accounted for 26 hits and just one error between the teams in a game that lasted 3 hours and 45 minutes, including a mid-game weather delay in Taylor, Mich.

The sixth inning alone accounted for 14 runs -- six by tournament host Taylor, Mich., in the top of the inning and then eight by Viera Suntree in the bottom of the inning.

More:Wow! Viera Suntree Little League's remarkable rally earns spot in U.S. final at World Series

Apollos Horrell and Logan Keith connected on home runs to highlight the outburst.

Friday night, Viera Suntree will play Fullerton, Calif., in the U.S. final at 6 p.m. 

Teammates Dylan Jordan, Luc Iten, Cole Smith, Apollos Horrel helped shave Brian Iten’s (father of catcher, Luc Iten) hair entirely after a win over Michigan in Taylor, Mich.

You can subscribe to watch the game on ESPN+ at home, but local restaurants are explicitly prohibited from showing games to the public due to the subscriber agreement.

Follow coverage here at floridatoday.com/sports 

Fullerton, Calif., handed Viera Suntree its only loss in the tournament, 12-5, late Wednesday. 

There's plenty at stake tonight. The winner of Friday's game moves into Sunday's World Series final at noon, against Puerto Rico, which beat previously undefeated Chinese Taipei  4-3.

More:Unbeaten Viera Suntree Little League team to face California in World Series

More:Junior Little League World Series: Viera Suntree dominates opener

More:Viera Suntree Little League team heads to Michigan for Junior World Series

The Brevard team, which won the state and regional titles, is now 15-1 this summer.

Viera Suntree is trying to match the feat accomplished by the Rockledge All-Stars, who won this tournament in 2012.

Players on the Viera Suntree Little League team, competing in Taylor, Mich., are shown on the Jumbotron at Comerica Park as they got to see a Detroit Tigers-Seattle Mariners game Tuesday night.
The Viera Suntree Little League players went to Comerica Park in Detroit to see the Tigers play the Mariners on their off-day.
The Viera Suntree Little League team is one of 12 squads from around the world competing in Taylor. Mich., at the Junior Little League World Series.
Viera Suntree Little League Juniors won the Southeast Regional in Broadway, Virginia, and are now headed to Taylor, Michigan, for the World Series.

The Viera Suntree All-Star team is comprised of Aaron Brand, Luke Campbell, Lucas Glendinning, Apollos Horrell, Luc Iten, Dylan Jordan, Logan Keith, Luke McDonough, Cameron Ruston, Cameron Simpkins, Cole Smith, Blake Strode, Brycen Weeks and Camden Wicker.

Managed by Jason Allen, the coaches are John Glendinning and Dustin Keith.

There are 12 teams competing from across the world, including Australia, Italy and Chinese Taipei.

More:Two Viera-Suntree Little League teams win state, head to S.E. Regionals

USA Pool

Central Region: Johnston LL, Johnston, Iowa

East Region: Berlin LL, Berlin, Maryland

Michigan District 5 (Host): Taylor Combined, Taylor, Michigan

Southeast Region: Viera/Suntree LL, Melbourne, Florida

Southwest Region: Tulsa National LL, Tulsa, Oklahoma

West Region: Golden Hill LL, Fullerton, California

International Pool

Asia-Pacific Region: Shing-Ming Junior LL, Taoyuan City, Chinese Taipei

Australia: Perth Metro North LL, Perth, Australia

Canada: Medicine Hat LL, Medicine Hat, Alberta

Europe-Africa Region: Emilia Romagna LL, Bologna, Italy

Latin America: Guadalupe Trevino Kelly LL, Reynosa, Mexico

Puerto Rico: Radames Lopez, LL, Guayama, Puerto Rico

Game results

Sunday's results 

USA Southwest 9, Taylor, Michigan 5

Puerto Rico 4, Canada 0

Viera/Suntree 15, Berlin, Maryland 2

Asia-Pacific 10, Australia 0

Monday's results

Puerto Rico 15, Europe-Africa 4

Viera Suntree 7, Johnston, Iowa 1

Asia-Pacific 7, Latin America 4

Fullerton, Calif. 6, Tulsa, Okla., 2

Tuesday's results

Latin America 10, Canada 1

Maryland 19, Southwest 3

Australia 6, Europe-Africa 0

Michigan 10, Iowa 5

Wednesday's results

Latin America 16, Australia 5

Michigan 5, Maryland 1

Chinese-Taipei 5, Puerto Rico 1

Fullerton, Calif., 12, Viera Suntree 5 

Thursday's results

Viera Suntree 13, Michigan 9

Puerto Rico 2, Mexico 1

Friday's games

International final: Puerto Rico 4, Chinese-Taipei 3

U.S. final: California 7, Viera Suntree 2

Sunday's game

Championship, Noon, California vs. Puerto Rico, ESPN+

Contact Grossman at 321-242-3676 or hgrossman@floridatoday.com