The major league champion Pirates pose with their trophies at the end-of-the-year awards ceremony. The team finished 12-2 on the season. The team consists of coach Cesar Gonzalez, top left, manager, Chip Chittock, coach, Thomas Gonzalez and Bill McCart. Players Jacob McCart, middle row left, Gabby Ordaz, Seth McCart, Hayden Chittock and Gerald Hern. Micah Root, bottom left, Malik Wilcox, Kenton Ritz and Ben Cunningham.Little League wraps up season with a nail-biting championship

June 20, 2012 — The Susanville Little League majors division finished their season with a great championship game Saturday, June 9 at Pat Murphy Field.

The game pitted the number-one seed Pirates, against the number-two seed Giants.

The Pirates would eventually hold off the Giants and win with a final score of 4-3.

Seth McCart would get the start for the Pirates.

He threw four hard fought innings allowing no runs.

McCart had a stellar outing striking out numerous batters for the     Pirates before being taken out due to the 65-pitch rule, where a pitcher is only allowed 65 pitches in a game.

Travis Wood also threw a great game for the Giants.

Despite some defensive miscues, Wood also had several strikeouts on the day and would’ve been able to go the distance if the 65-pitch rule wouldn’t have came into effect.

The Pirates got things started in the bottom half of the second inning, when McCart hit a screaming line drive that made its way to the fence as he dove safely into third for a triple.

Kenton Ritz hit a fly ball right in front of the center fielder that dropped in for an RBI single.

McCart could do no wrong as in the top of the second inning after, allowing one runner to get on base, he struck out the next three batters in a row.

The Pirates got up to bat again in the top of the third inning, and with runners on second and third, Ritz got up to bat again and would hit another fly ball just out of the second baseman’s reach and would drop in for two more RBIs for Ritz.

The Pirates would add one more run in the top of the fourth inning, making the score 4-0.

Gabby Ordaz came in to relieve McCart of his great job on the mound in the bottom of the fourth inning.

With one out, Ordaz would get the next two Giants out — one to a strikeout, and one to a groundout.

With the score 4-0 going into the bottom of the fifth inning, it looked like the Pirates could do nothing wrong.

But the Giants were not ready to give up just yet.

Wood led things off for the Giants.

He would end up getting a lead off single for the Giants, and their push to get the game tied started.

Spencer Lively, who was hit in the stomach earlier in the game got up to bat and hit a fly ball to deep leftfield that would fall in, giving him a double, and advancing Wood to third.

With two runners on, Tucker St. Andre stepped up to the plate.

After a long battle at the plate, and St. Andre fouling off numerous pitches thrown by Ordaz, St. Andre smashed a ball over the centerfield fence, for a three-run homerun bringing the score to 4-3.

St. Andre would come into relief for the Giants in the top half of the sixth inning and would retire the first three batters of the inning, going three-up, three-down.

With the game going into the last half of the sixth, everyone was on their feet waiting to see what was going to happen.

The game came down to the very last at-bat, as Ordaz would strike the batter out, ending the game and crowning the Pirates as the 2012 major champions.

“It’s so awesome how this team came along,” said Chip Chittock, head coach of the Pirates. “We had the last pick when we picked the players, and we pulled it all together and won the championship. My hat goes off to the Giants — they’re a tough team. It seemed like the two times we faced them in the playoffs, the game could’ve had a different outcome both times. I’m so proud of this team and I look forward to seeing what they do in the future.”