BC boys shock Japan with 6-run 6th inning to advance at Little League World Series

This scrappy team from Little Mountain Little League in Vancouver might just be the real deal.

After a 7-0 drubbing of Australia in their opening game of the Little League World Series on Wednesday, not many people gave them a shot against the always dominant Japanese team.

But that’s why they play the games, as Canada rode a six-run sixth inning to a 6-0 win over the heavily-favoured team from Takarazuka Little League.

Scoreless through the first five innings, it felt as though Japan had the upper hand but Canada kept escaping high pressure situations.

In the second inning, Jaxon Mayervich came in to replace starting pitcher Lucas Weisser with two outs and the bases loaded and got his team out of a jam by forcing a lazy pop fly to centre from the Japanese hitter.

Mayervich was dominant in relief and ended the game with 10 strikeouts through four-and-a-third innings of work.

When it got dicey again in the bottom of the fifth with the bases loaded for a second time, Mayervich got a clutch strikeout, his third of the inning, to keep his squad in the game.

His teammates rewarded him in the top of the sixth as Braeydyn Lai Hainstock started things by taking a pitch off his back to get on base.

A pair of singles loaded them up and Mayervich came up with a clutch base hit to the left side to cash in Canada's first run.

After one more run came in to score, Benjamin Dartnell crushed a ball over the right fielders head for a bases-clearing double that made it 5-0.

Dartnell would eventually score as well on a fielding error and the 6-0 lead was more than enough for Mayervich in the bottom half, as he went three up and three down to clinch the win.

It will not get any easier for Canada as they advance in the winner’s bracket to take on the high-powered Mexican team on Monday at 2 pm PT.