Hagerstown to represent Indiana at Little League World Series after walk-off regional win

WHITESTOWN, Ind. — The score was still tied at 3 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning Thursday, but the game was over. If no one else knew it at the time, Hagerstown Little League manager Patrick Vinson sure did.

“I just had a feeling,” Vinson said.

The Tigers had the top three batters in their lineup coming up to the plate. Jayke Troutwine was a speedy leadoff man and had already singled twice in the game. Kaden Hall was a power-hitting giant of a Little Leaguer and sent the crowd into a frenzy back in the first inning with a two-run home run. Graham Vinson, Patrick’s son, was an all-around stud. He hadn’t recorded a hit to that point, but he was due.

They were stars among stars in their own way, but the biggest at-bat of their lives was moments ahead for each of them. They were about to have a chance to send their team to the Little League World Series (LLWS).

“You look in Jayke, Kaden and Graham’s eyes, and they were scoring a run,” Patrick Vinson said. “I had confidence that they were going to do it, and I knew it was going to happen.”

Troutwine swung at a wild pitch and missed for strike three, but he hustled down to first base to give the Tigers a baserunner. He advanced to second base on another wild pitch and then to third after Hall smoked a ground ball to the second baseman. That brought up Graham Vinson with two outs and a chance to be the hero.

With a 1-1 count, Graham got a high fastball to his liking, and he barreled it to the left-field wall. As Troutwine stomped on home plate, Hagerstown defeated Kentucky 4-3 and punched its ticket to Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Graham’s teammates mobbed him rounding the bases. Patrick met him halfway to third base and picked him up in a bear hug, and the father and son shared an emotional moment in the middle of the diamond.

Those two have been to the Great Lakes Regional before, but Graham was in the stands for that one. His older brother, Grant, played for his dad on the Hagerstown All-Star team that made it to regionals in 2013.

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“We watched the Little League World Series all the time growing up,” Graham said. “My brother came to regionals in 2013, and it was just the best feeling.”

Now, Graham doesn’t have to watch the LLWS because he’ll be living it. To have the opportunity to play in an event he’s admired all his life, he couldn’t think of anything else to say but “amazing.”

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Just looking at all the support on social media, you could tell the entire state of Indiana was behind this team from a town of just 2,000, of which a good fraction was in attendance Thursday. Hagerstown fans, all decked out in purple, took up two-thirds of the stands with no room to spare, and there were plenty more lining the foul lines and outfield fence. After every pitch, the roar from those Tiger fans could be heard across the highway.

“This is the best community in the whole state,” Patrick Vinson said. “I told the boys there was going to be a sea of purple when they showed up. When they started seeing the purple, you could tell they were getting a little more excited. When they got in the dugout, it was game on.”

The Hagerstown Little Leaguers embraced the hype. After every hit and every defensive out, they threw their hands up to pump up the crowd, after which the already-deafening fans took it to another level. At one point, during a replay timeout, “Cha Cha Slide” was playing on the speakers, and every Hagerstown infielder danced along on the pitcher’s mound.

With a smile, Patrick said he didn’t teach them those moves, but he was happy to see them having fun. Graham said this team is “nothing but fun,” and that’s all they’re looking forward to at the LLWS.

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While he doesn't coach this all-star team, Hagerstown High School head baseball coach Jay Hale has worked with these kids since they were 6 and 7 years old, and he likes to have a little fun right alongside them. After Thursday’s game, he peeked into the dugout and yelled, “We’re going to Williamsport,” and the kids screamed right back at him.

“They’re relaxed, they’re out there having fun, they enjoy each other and they enjoy the game,” Hale said. “That’s the big part of it. You come out here and don’t enjoy the game or who you play with, and you’re going to struggle a little bit. When you enjoy the game and have fun with it, everything kind of comes naturally.”

Hagerstown is the first Indiana team to make it to the LLWS since New Castle in 2012. Interestingly, Hagerstown run-ruled New Castle twice in the district tournament this year. That’s when Patrick knew he had a team that could go a long way.

“The first three practices, I knew we were solid pitching,” Patrick said. “We got into districts, and I was like, ‘This is something here. This is really something.’ Going through districts and then state, I could see it, I could smell it, I could taste it. When we got here and got that first win, it was like, ‘Yeah, this is special.’”

Hagerstown, now representing the Great Lakes Region, will continue its special run in its first game of the LLWS at 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 18, against the winner of the Midwest Region.

Now is a time to celebrate for the Tigers, and what they just accomplished might not hit them until they get to Williamsport.

“At some point, I’m going to wake up,” Patrick Vinson said.

Zach Piatt reports on sports and education for The Palladium-Item. Contact him at zpiatt@gannett.com or on Twitter @zachpiatt13.