Eastdale Little League takes tough loss in first game of Southwest Regionals

The combination of playing against the bracket’s de facto home team, facing some hot pitchers and a case of opening-round butterflies proved to be too much for Eastdale Little League to overcome.

Eastdale spotted Texas West a four-run lead and went on to suffer a 10-0, mercy-rule shortened loss in the first round of the Little League Southwest Regionals at Marvin Norcross Stadium in Waco, Texas, on Thursday afternoon.

Midway Little League, the Texas West representative, is based in Hewitt, which is about eight miles south of the host city. The team’s overall comfort with its surroundings was evident early and often.

“(They) definitely had a packed house, which the boys noticed a bit, but I think they settled in. I think we had a little bit of nerves going into that first inning,” said Eastdale coach Mike McDuffie.

Despite being in a 4-0 hole early, Eastdale had some opportunities to make things interesting when it had two on and none out in both the second and third innings — the latter thanks to back-to-back singles from Kolton Reeves and Brody Whitehurst — but couldn’t convert. Texas West starter Owen Leal doused Eastdale’s hopes by striking out the next three batters in both frames. Three Texas West pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts overall in the abbreviated affair.

“I think especially going down 4-0 after that first inning, had we been able to respond, I think that might have shifted the momentum a little bit or kind of eased the tension a little bit for the kids,” McDuffie said.

Eastdale finished with just four hits on the day. The highlight of those was a double over the center fielder’s head by Coy Crater with one out in the fourth. However, that inning ended with two more strikeouts.

“I think definitely we need to shorten up our swings, especially once we get two strikes on us,” McDuffie said.

On Friday, McDuffie said that in addition to a practice session at the venue’s indoor facility, the team plans on watching the afternoon matchup between Oklahoma and the Louisiana-Mississippi winner. Eastdale will play the loser of that game on Saturday. The team is in good spirits as it heads into a must-win scenario.

“There’s a little bit of a sense of relief, of getting that first one under our belt,” McDuffie said. “…That’s kind of been our mantra — get to the next one, get to the next pitch, get to the next play.”