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Baseball managers have to keep close eye on pitch counts at Little League World Series

South Riding, Virginia, pitcher Justin Lee delivers during the first inning of an elimination game against Coon Rapids, Minnesota, on Sunday at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pa. (AP photo)

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — When Alan Bowden, manager of the Virginia Little League team, called time with one out left in the top of the fourth inning Sunday, it didn’t matter that his team was an out away from an 11-0 victory and its second consecutive no-hitter to start the Little League World Series.

The no-hitter wasn’t on his mind at all — but his starter’s pitch count was.

Little League has strict rules on how many pitches a player can throw before having to take a rest day, ranging from none for up to 20 pitches to four days of rest for 85 pitches, at which point the player has to come off the mound. The rule was put into place in 2010 and has added a dimension to the annual tournament in South Williamsport, giving managers another element of the game to work out.

Managers have to decide, often before a game starts, how many pitches they want their starters to throw. There’s plenty of risk involved, something this Virginia team is aware of. If a pitcher maxes out, that player needs four days of rest before pitching again. By that time, the team could have been eliminated from the tournament.

Bowden and his club have gotten burned in the past by not having enough pitchers available, but at the LLWS, a meticulous approach to the management of their pitching staff and pitch counts has Loudoun South Little League from South Riding, Virginia, in an enviable position.

“The last two years, with this core nucleus of players, we’ve run through the losers’ bracket at state last year and we had to win seven games in eight days,” said Bowden, whose team represents the Southeast region. “This year, we had to win six games in like 10 days, coming out of the losers’ bracket to win just to get out of our district. We’ve gotten pretty good at trying to manage our pitching, and our pitch counts.”

Virginia is just one win away from the U.S. championship game heading into its game with Hawaii today. The club has all of its pitchers available — and they have yet to allow a hit through two games.

“We’ve got a pecking order with the pitchers on our team,” said Bowden, who made no pitching move late in the game Sunday, after double-checking the pitch count.

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