Council Rock Newtown allows three home runs in loss to Texas in Little League World Series

The 9-0 defeat snapped Newtown’s 18-game winning streak, spanning the district, state, and Mid-Atlantic Regional tournaments.

Mid-Atlantic players leave the field at the end of a Little League World Series game against Southwest at Howard J. Lamade Stadium in South Williamsport, Pa. on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. Southwest won 9-0.Read moreRalph Wilson / For The Inquirer

by Gabriela Carroll

Published Aug. 15, 2024, 9:49 p.m. ET

Council Rock Newtown dropped its first game of the Little League World Series in a 9-0 loss to Boerne, Texas, on Thursday in South Williamsport, Pa.

Newtown’s four pitchers allowed three home runs and the squad got just two hits, both of which came in the first two innings.

Newtown’s fans came out in droves, ready to cheer on their team. From Saverio Longo’s first strike on the first pitch, it was clear that Pennsylvania’s representative in the tournament was a crowd favorite.

Longo allowed a leadoff double but got out of the first inning unscathed. Things devolved from there. Texas, the Southwest Regional champion, got on the board by scoring a run on an error in the second inning. It took a 2-0 lead when Cooper Hastings was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the third.

Caden Guffey hit a home run in the fourth inning, giving Texas a 3-0 lead. Newtown’s offense, which was potent in the regional tournament, faltered, striking out five consecutive times over the third and fourth innings until Longo worked a walk, followed by another strikeout.

The Texas team scored six runs on four hits in the fifth inning, fueled by home runs from Kole Newson and Doc Mogford.

The loss snapped Newtown’s 18-game winning streak, spanning the district, state, and Mid-Atlantic Regional tournaments. Tyler Neeld and Rocco DaBronzo had the Bucks County team’s only hits.

Before Thursday’s game, manager Brad Hamilton praised Newtown’s resilience, battling back after losing in state championships the two previous years to make the Little League World Series.

“Their ability to just keep grinding day in, day out … I think it’s going to really carry them far in life,” Hamilton said before the game. “They’re realizing, ‘The more I work, the better things could be.’ Doesn’t always mean it works out, but you keep moving that needle, you never know what’s going to happen.”

Newtown will need to dig deep to stave off elimination and advance in the tournament against the New England representative from Cranston, R.I. Its next game is Saturday at 7 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN.