Hinsdale’s Grant Wanless has an advantage on most players in the Little League World Series.
Because no matter what happens on the field, Wanless knows that his father Chad, who is Hinsdale’s coach, is right there with him representing the Great Lakes Region team.
“I think when I can look over in the dugout when I’m pitching or hitting or on base and see him, it just makes me more comfortable to be there,” Grant Wanless said. “It gives me confidence.
“He’s there to support me, give me a boost of confidence that can change an at-bat or an inning.”
Chad Wanless went to his son in relief on the mound Friday in a 5-0 loss to Hawaii in the Little League World Series opener for Hinsdale in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Grant Wanless pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings, finishing with a strikeout and a walk. He also had one of Hinsdale’s three hits. Kellan Goodwin contributed the other two hits.
“I was proud of him because he pitched extremely well,” Chad Wanless said of his son. “I was thrilled for him to get a hit. I want his next hit to be in a win, though.”
Chad Wanless said his team excels hitting pitchers that throw with high velocity. Hinsdale hasn’t run into the likes of Hawaii’s Evan Tavares, however.
After allowing the first two batters of the game to reach base, Tavares retired the next 12, with nine coming on strikeouts.
“He was exceptional,” Wanless said. “We would have loved to have gotten one (in the first). You have to hand it to him. He settled in, got out of a tough jam, got past a couple of good hitters.
“We just didn’t play the way we’re capable. We would have had to have played flawless to beat him.”
Fred Sackley led off the game for Hinsdale with a walk. Goodwin followed with single to the opposite field, putting runners on first and second with nobody out.
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A groundout and two strikeouts ended that threat, however.
Grant Wanless said facing the hard-throwing 5-foot-10 left-hander was a challenge.
“He’s a good pitcher,” Grant Wanless said of Tavares. “He throws hard, he’s big and he’s intimidating. He’s tall, so it comes down on you fast so that makes it hard to hit.
“If we play them again, we have to get the bats going earlier and be more selective. He’s a good pitcher, but we should have hit him better.”
Hinsdale countered Tavares on the mound with its ace, Dillon Phelps.
Phelps gave up a run in the bottom of the first inning but bounced back to strike out the side in the second. He ran into trouble in the third, though, eventually exiting the game down 2-0.
An error scored two more runs that inning, and suddenly, Hawaii led 4-0.
“He didn’t have his best stuff,” Chad Wanless said of Phelan. “Those are the days you have to grind it out. When you have someone on the other side that is as tough as their big lefty is, it’s tough to grind. We couldn’t give Dillon anything to fall back on.
“We’re going to scratch and claw our way to get him another visit to that mound.”
The loss put Hinsdale in an unfamiliar spot. It’s the first time this group has lost a game in three years. The positive? The tournament has a double-elimination format, so Hinsdale is still alive.
Hinsdale will play at 8 a.m. Sunday against the winner of Saturday’s game between Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Staten Island, New York.
“It was a bit of a different feeling,” Grant Wanless said. “It was bound to happen at some point. We were ready for it. We know we’re at the biggest youth tournament in the world.
“Just making it here is a big accomplishment.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for the Pioneer Press.