All Logan Qualls wanted was a second chance.
Qualls ended the White Sox first inning Thursday striking out with two runners aboard. Dejected, Qualls took the field but came up in the second inning and laced a two-RBI triple. But he was not finished.
Needing one run to end the game via the mercy rule, Qualls led off the fourth with a towering home run over the left-field fence, giving the White Sox a 10-0 win over the Mets for the Manteca Little League majors championship at Lincoln Park. The Whites Sox will face Patterson to open the District 67 Tournament of Champions on Saturday, June 18, at 9 a.m.
Qualls was not the only White Sox player who was on fire. Brody Carabello led off the game with a home run, reached base three times and scored three runs. Carabello went the abbreviated distance on the hill and struck out six in the four innings, allowing three hits and walking three.
Due to an error and some defensive indifference, the Mets loaded the bases with no outs in the second inning, trailing just 1-0. Carabello bore down, striking out the next three batters and ending the only legitimate Mets threat.
The White Sox tallied six runs in the second inning on just three hits, including Quells’ two-RBI triple that plated Blake Scalise and Cash Orndoff and an RBI double by Bode Hyatt (3 for 3, two RBI, double, run). In the third inning, Brach Carabello doubled in Brody Carabello and Brach Carabello came in on a Hyatt single.
Ares Musudi (2 for 2) bunted his way on in the second inning for the first of three Mets’ hits. Dominick Kotta singled in the third inning and Musudi singled again in the fourth.