Bay City Southwest earns Little League district crown
BAY CITY, Mich. (BVM) — It’s been several years since the Bay City Southwest Little League team made a state title push. But the team has had a special season in 2021, and will compete at state next week after a 6-1 win over Greater Bay in the District 14 championship.
Southwest will now compete at the ages-12-and-under state tournament held at Grosse Pointe Farms-City Little League July 16-22. Southwest will be making its first appearance since 2015, when they ended up winning the state title.
History may very well be on Southwest’s side, as Essexville-Hampton and Bay City Northwest have also come out of District 14 to win state titles over the past six years. The team is also battle tested, as it was not an easy path to state.
Southwest was forced to face an all-star team in Greater Bay this season, as players from Essexville-Hampton and Northwest joined together for postseason play. Although Southwest would dominate them 17-0 in the district opener, Greater Bay won four straight games in the loser’s bracket to get back to the championship game.
The rematch would be much closer, with Southwest scoring a couple of early runs to take a 2-0 lead which they held into the fourth inning. Three more runs in the fourth and another in the fifth gave the team a 6-1 lead they would not relinquish.
Pitcher Brayden Hitts was a big reason for Southwest’s success, allowing just three hits while striking out nine batters. With the pressure on in the final inning of the contest, Hitts retired three Greater Bay hitters in order to preserve the victory for Southwest.
It is not the first time these Southwest players have had success, as they reached the state quarterfinals with their 10-and-under team in 2019. Now, they will have their chance to etch their names in history, trying to join the 2008 and 2015 squads as the only Southwest teams to claim state titles.
