Texas at the 2024 LLWS: Meet the Boerne Little League team
Meet Team Texas from Boerne. Discover its journey from a small town to the grand stage in Williamsport at the 2024 Little League World Series.
UPDATE: Texas fell to Florida 10-7 in the U.S. finals Saturday. Scroll down for a full recap.
A spot in the Little League Baseball World Series championship game is on the line for Boerne Little League, as they face off Saturday with Lake Mary Little League once again.
The Texas team beat the Florida team on Monday to send them to the loser’s bracket. The Southeast representatives bounced back to the US finals by defeating the Metro, West then Mountain teams over three days to earn the right for a rematch.
Boerne, meanwhile, will have their top pitcher on deck for Florida. Julian Hurst, who served as Boerne’s catcher in Texas’ 5-2 Wednesday win over Nevada, pitched a complete game in Boerne’s 4-1 win over Lake Mary. He’s racked up about 20 strikeouts so far this tournament and has a chance to lead a Texas team to its first U.S. title win since 2017.
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Needville LL, near Houston, made it to the US title game last year but lost to El Segundo, California of the West Region.
The LLWS runs through Sunday, when the winners from the U.S. and international brackets face off in the championship game. Venezuela and Chinese Taipei will play for the international title in the first game Saturday.
Texas vs. Florida in 2024 LLWS: Score updates, highlights Saturday
3:00 p.m.: Boerne’s ace Julian Hurst takes the mound and walks Lake Mary’s lead-off hitter Chase Anderson to start the game. The next batter hits a slow one-hopper to Hurst that allows shortstop Jett Matthews to turn a double-play. A flyout to center field ends the inning.
3:22 p.m.: It’s JJ Feliciano’s turn to take the mound and Hurst is first up for Texas. In the battle of the aces, Hurst jumps on a 2-2 pitch for a single to center field. A wild pitch allows Hurst to reach second. Feliciano strikes out Gray Collins but proceeds to walk Cooper Hastings. Another pitch sneaks past Florida’s catcher, putting runners on second and third. Feliciano strikes out Doc Mogford and Kole Newson to end the inning, but the Lake Mary ace has already thrown 30 pitches.
3:26 p.m.: Hurst starts the second with two quick groundouts. His first strikeout sends Lake Mary back to defense quickly. Just 21 pitches through two innings for Hurst.
3:40 p.m.: A much better start to the inning for Feliciano, with three straight heaters to strikeout Caden Guffey. Jett Matthews hits a grounder into the soft spot of the defense for a single. A passed ball allows Matthews to get to second. Aiden Muñoz walks, as Feliciano is already halfway to his 85 pitch limit. He walks Gage Steubing next to load the bases. A wild pitch gives Texas their first run of the day and Boerne extends the lead on a Kaleb Christ ground out. Feliciano gets a strikeout to end the inning 57 pitches in.
3:49 p.m.: Hurst continues to mow down hitters as he begins the frame with a three-pitch punch out. He follows it up with his third and fourth Ks of the day. Boerne’s ace is hitless through three innings.
4:05 p.m.: Ben Burkhart strikes out to begin Texas’ inning on offense. Returning to the top of the order, Hurst collects his second hit of the day, a single to left. Feliciano walks Collins to put runners on first and second. Hastings connects weakly for a shallow pop-out. With two outs, Mogford hits a two-run double to left that’s just out of reach of the outfielder. Feliciano throws his 84th pitch of the day for a third strike, ending the frame.
4:20 p.m.: Matthews’ throw to first on a grounder to short is barely late, giving Florida their first hit of the day. Hurst throws a wild pitch that allows the runner to advance to second. The pitcher gets back on track with another strikeout, but Lake Mary collects a single to put runners on the corners. A single to center gives Florida its first run and things have gotten interesting. Hurst settles things down with a strikeout. Guffey then throws Landon Bono out after a dropped third strike went to the backstop.
4:26 p.m.: Bono replaces Feliciano on the mound and gets his first out on a grounder to the shortstop. Matthews flies out to left field and Muñoz does the same to right field.
4:49 p.m.: Hurst gives up a double to lead off the inning, and a mound visit reveals that the pitcher is having shoulder problems. He then gives up a single to put Lake Mary runners on the corners. A grounder gets Hurst his first out of the inning but it also makes the game 4-2 with the tying run at the plate. He walks another batter to put the go-ahead runner on first and coach Justin Newson makes his move. Mogford replaces Newson on the mound, and promptly gives up a one-run double to Teraj Alexander. Mogford gets stung on the leg by a comebacker and the game is tied. Injured by the hit, Mogford is replaced by Newson. The pitcher gets a strikeout, but a lapse of concentration allows Alexander to sneak in from third to score. The four run frame ends with another K by Boerne.
5:08 p.m: Texas can still hit, with two of them sandwiched between a strikeout by Christ. Lake Mary makes a pitcher change to Luis Calo with Hurst on deck and runners on first and second. After Burkhart pops out, Hurst walks, loading the bases for Collins. He ties the game with a grounder up the middle. A pitch gets away from the catcher and Boerne takes the lead. Hastings strike out swinging…except he doesn’t. Lake Mary fails to catch strike three and Texas scores as Hastings didn’t even realize he could run at first. A groundout sends Boerne into the sixth with the lead once again.
5:30 p.m.: Christ enters the game to pitch for Newson and walks the leadoff batter. With the tying run at the plate, Florida smokes a double to center that bounces off the glove of Collins. Christ then walks Bono and the bases are full. A shallow pop up gives Boerne a chance for a double play but Christ drops the ball at first base. A grounder takes a bad hop past Matthews and Florida takes a run back to make it 7-6. A sacrifice fly ties the game at 7. With two outs, Calo hits into the right field gap that scores two runs. Alexander then walks and Morrisey, the pitch-runner for Calo at second, tries to advance to third. A throw to third gets away from Texas and Florida scores another run, before Alexander gets caught trying to make it to third as well.
5:37 p.m.: Texas’ spot in the LLWS finals is riding on this frame and Guffey begins it with a strikeout. Matthews gets on base but Lake Mary turns a double play on the very next pitch to end the game.
Texas vs. Florida channel today in LLWS
TV: ESPN, ABC.
Streaming: Watch ESPN.
Streaming: Fubo.
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Texas LLWS schedule
Boerne LL will play in the U.S. title game at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Lamade Stadium. If the Southwest Region champs win they would play Sunday afternoon against the international title game winners. If they lose, they’re headed to the third-place game Sunday morning. Chinese Taipei will play Venezuela on Saturday decide the international side’s champions.
Boerne Little League players
Kaleb Christ
- Jersey number: 4
- Position(s): P/C/OF
- Bats/throws: right/right
Jett Matthews
Doc Mogford
Gray Collins
Dylan Burke
Aiden Muñoz
Gage Steubing
Kole Newson
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Julian Hurst
Ben Burkhart
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Cooper Hastings
Caden Guffey
Has Texas ever won the Little League World Series?
Texas has only made the finals of the LLWS once since 2001, with Lufkin LL finishing as the tournament runner-up in 2017. The last time Texas won the title was in 1966 with Westbury LL, a team based out of Houston. Last year, the Needville, Texas team lost in the U.S. finals.
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All times in CT
Saturday, Aug. 23
Game 35 International: Venezuela vs. Chinese Taipei, 11:30 a.m.
Game 36 United States: Texas vs. Florida, 2:30 p.m.
Updated LLWS bracket
The LLBWS has two brackets, one for the 10 United States regional champions, and one for the 10 International Regional champions.
Saturday, August 24
International Championship Game
Game 35 International: Latin America vs. Asia Pacific, 11:30 a.m. ABC
United States Championship Game
Game 36 United States: Southwest vs. Southeast, 2:30 p.m. ABC
Sunday, August 25
Little League World Series Third Place
Game 37: Loser of Game 35 vs Loser of Game 36, 9 a.m. ESPN2
Little League World Series Championship
Game 38: Winner of Game 35 vs Winner of Game 36, 2 p.m. ABC
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Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
