Brock Myers added his name to the Little League World Series record book but the Goodlettsville All-Stars’ run through the tournament ended prematurely Sunday.
Goodlettsville lost 12-2 to Tokyo, Japan in the championship contest, which was halted in the bottom of the fifth inning due to the 10-run rule. The end came when Tokyo’s Noriatsu Osaka hit his third home run of the game, a two-run shot to center field.
The teams combined to hit seven home runs — five by Tokyo, two by Goodlettsville — in the game played before an announced crowd of more than 24,000 at Williamsport, Pa. and a national television audience.
In Goodlettsville’s case, though, the home runs were all it got.
Myers became the first U.S. player to hit one in five consecutive games. He made it 5-1 when he drove one out in the top of the fourth against Tokyo’s starting pitcher Kotaro Kiyomiya, a 6-foot, 206-pound 13-year-old.
Lorenzo Butler made it 10-2 in the top of the fifth when he hit one off Osaka.
The only other Goodlettsville hitter to reach base was Cole Carter, who walked with one out in the second.
Tokyo, conversely, had 11 hits against three Goodlettsville pitchers. In addition to his three home runs, Osaka also had a triple.
Regardless of Sunday’s result, Goodlettsville left a lasting impression in its first appearance at the event.
Myers’ record was not the only one in which it was involved. Butler set a LLWS record with nine RBIs in a single game when he hit three three-run home runs in the United States championship against Petaluma, Calif. That game — a 24-16 Goodlettsville victory — also was the highest-scoring in tournament history.
In its first LLWS appearance — the first in 25 years by any Tennessee team — the Southeast region champion was undefeated in the United States bracket.
Its collective .385 average, .460 on-base percentage and .748 slugging percentage all ranked first among the 16 domestic and international teams. Its 14 home runs — one more than Tokyo — also topped the tournament.
Myers led all players with five home runs. He and Butler finished tied for fourth with 10 RBIs. Myers was second with 11 hits and third with 10 runs scored.