Eastdale bounced from Southwest Regionals with 5-1 loss to Tulsa

It was, by all accounts, a better overall performance for Eastdale Little League. It still wasn’t quite enough to survive another day.

Eastdale’s run in the Southwest Regionals reached an end in 5-1 loss to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in an elimination game on Saturday morning at Marvin Norcross Stadium in Waco, Texas.

“I thought we competed better today,” said coach Mike McDuffie. “We played really well on defense, pitching did really well — just couldn't get the bats going overall. We were able to, kind of like the first game, get some guys on — just weren't able to kind of move them over and get them in, kind of string hits together.”

Eastdale struggled to solve Oklahoma starting pitcher Jackson Timmerman, who pitched all six innings, allowing just four hits while striking out nine. Meanwhile, Oklahoma got all of its offense early, taking advantage of five hits (four singles), eight walks and one Eastdale error to scratch out five runs in the first three innings.

“Nothing overpowering, but good off speed and just mixed it up well, kind of kept us off balance,” McDuffie said of Timmerman. “We just couldn't quite figure him out."

It was a relatively clean game from there for Eastdale, which limited Oklahoma to four hits and no runs over the final three innings behind a solid effort from Coy Crater, who relieved starter Louis Patterson in the third frame. Eastdale was also backed by a handful of sparkling plays in the field, most notably from shortstop Brom Eaton and third baseman Rylan McDuffie.

One of the perks of getting this far is being able to relive some of those highlights.

“They've been pulling them up on their phones and watching the on-demand and, watching the games. Not only ours, but the other teams as well. And they've really gotten a kick out of that,” McDuffie said.

The team broke through for its first run of the tournament in the bottom of the fifth following a single from Patterson and a walk by McDuffie. Patterson would come home on a throwing error to cut the deficit to 5-1, but Eastdale left two runners on base to end the inning. That would be the last significant threat for Eastdale.

While the result wasn’t what they hoped for, it’s about more than just wins and losses in the long run.

“They just all banded together and were all working towards the same goal, which is really special. This is not something that you get out of every team,” McDuffie said. “They'll always have something. I'll always remember them for how they supported each other and rooted for each other and stuck by each other's side.”