Crafty, poised southpaw Gavin Weir is making a habit of baffling batters

Gavin Weir finally gave a smile and it mixed with the joy of his South Dakota team after the 13-year-old southpaw paved the way for them to reach the Tom Seaver Bracket championship Saturday.

From there, it will match that winner versus the winner of the Hank Aaron Bracket in the Sunday Little League Baseball World Series title game.

But right now, the spotlight again falls on the 5-foot-8 Weir who hurled his fourth no-hitter during the regions and World Series. This one, played at Volunteer Stadium across from Howard J. Lamarde Stadium, was a 1-0 dandy over the Southern California Northwest Region champs out of Torrence, a suburb of Los Angeles.

The crafty young king of the hill has been untouchable at Williamsport. He baffled a Southern Cal team that had outscored its first two opponents, 19-2, but this one needed only one run, and that came in the opening frame.

The lead-off batter for the Lake Oswego team walked on a 3-2 count. The next hitter struck out against Southern Cal righty Gibson Turner, but up stepped Weir, who clouted a 3-run homer in the win over Oregon, and on the first pitch he lined a single to left field, and with two down, Turner whiffed the third out, except that his catcher dropped the ball, and the inning was still alive when Noah Kuerzi singled to left for the only run needed.

Said Oregon manager Mike Gorsett: “You feel good with a run and Gavin on the mound. Do you know we’ve only totaled six runs in our three wins, so these kids work hard and Gavin calls them ‘His buddies.’

Weir has made 155 pitches from the region to here, striking out 100 and walking only two. He has been reached for only three hit, hit but one batter, and allowed zero runs. this one was his fourth no-hitter of the summer, and this one was back-to-back following the no-hitter over Louisiana.

Is that impressive? You bet it is.

The Torrence Times morning edition said, “Can Torrence bats keep up their hit parade against South Dakota.”

Of course, the later edition had to reveal what really happened. It had to say how California hitters were dazzled by the composed Weir. He mixed in a flurry of breaking balls and fired some fastballs that kept batters off balance. As always, he had stellar control, the ability to bounce back when he was behind in the count. He had batters shaking their heads after fanning.

One of the Torrence coaches said, “We were aware of how good (Weir) was, that he was lights out, had great stuff and we now found this out.”

The coach added that When Mike, the South Dakota manager, walked out to the mound before the fifth inning and began talking to Weir, we thought he was taking him out, giving us a break.

But no break, he broke the California hearts by leaving his ace in because, number one, he was in a safe pitch count, and the manager was thinking of when to give the ball to Weir again. Well, he knows now.

In his three World Series starts, Weir, who hardly ever says much when on the hill,  just gets there, takes the ball, and takes care of business. He saves the smiles until the game is over, and is a great one to interview as if he’s been doing it for years.

Thus, he now has 17-straight scoreless innings in the three outings. Next? Well ask his manager.

In the post-game interview with the media, Weir said that he didn’t want to come out when his manager walked out in the fifth, and then he just looked into my eyes and calmly told me I wasn’t coming out. I then took a deep breath and went about my business.