WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — To extend their stay at the Little League World Series, Bayonne’s All Stars needed to bounce back from their first defeat of the summer and win Tuesday night’s game against the Great Lakes team from Ohio.
It was Bayonne’s first game in the elimination bracket, and Jett Bridges, who last pitched during the New Jersey state tournament three weeks ago, started on the mound. He recorded three shutout innings before walking the bases loaded with no outs in the top of the fourth. Shortstop Gabe Garcia Jr. then relieved Bridges on the mound and struck out a batter before allowing an RBI single.
But Great Lakes then broke the game open with a double to center. By the end of the frame, Great Lakes led, 5-0, and that was all Ohio needed to eliminate Bayonne.
The final was5-2 after Bayonne’s late rally attempt fell short.
“The kids had a great run,” Bayonne manager Justin Smith said. “I couldn’t be more proud of them. They outplayed us and deserved to win. Couldn’t ask for more.”
Bayonne, which received raucous support on the road from fans who came from Hudson County by the busload and wore “Bayonne vs. Everybody” T-shirts, will head home to a grateful peninsula that is already planning a parade for the first team from the city’s 75-year-old Little League to reach the World Series.
“Hopefully they have kids of their own and play baseball and they can share their story with them,” Smith said. “I know we’re coaching kids, but we’re also trying to raise good men.”
Smith noted that city and Bayonne Little League officials were already coordinating a parade.
“It’s going to be bananas,” he said. “That’s all I do know. It’s never going to end. The Yankees want to meet them. A couple of basketball teams want us to go there. Even through we won’t be here, I have a feeling it’s not really done yet.”
Meanwhile, Great Lakes will play the Southeast team from Phenix City, Ala. that is led by Kinley Rasmus, who wears a white bow in her hair and has struck out 14 batters, which ties her with the most by a girl with Mo’ne Davis.
Metro champion Bayonne Little League faces Great Lakes (Hamilton, Ohio) in Game 28 of the Little League Baseball World Series in South Williamsport, Pa., on Tuesday, August 25, 2026 Ralph Wilson | for NJ.comBayonne’s defense kept the team in the game early. With two outs in the top of the second inning, Bayonne left fielder Dex Zimmerman fielded a ball cleanly and threw to catcher Mason Rincon as a runner strode toward home. The ball beat the runner, and Rincon applied a tag in time to end the inning. “De-fense!” chants with rhythmic claps broke out in the Bayonne cheering section.
An inning later, Zimmerman slapped a single of his own, but Bayonne struggled to string together hits all night. It wasn’t until the bottom of the fifth that Bayonne managed to score a run when A.J. Tapia crossed the plate on a grounder.
Bayonne won its first two games at the Little League World Series before falling to the Midwest All Stars from Davenport, Iowa in the third round. Bayonne finished the World Series in sixth place for the U.S. bracket and No. 12 in the world.
Rincon had led the way with his bat, the most dramatic swing coming on his walk-off home run that won Bayonne’s opener in Williamsport. He also was Bayonne’s most versatile fielder, having pitched, played shortstop and manned centerfield across the first three games before catching, which is his natural position.
Bayonne gave its supporters one last surge in the top of the sixth inning. Connor Reed drew a walk, and Great Lakes starting pitcher Boone Treadway was forced out of the game due to reaching his pitch count limit. Gabe Garcia Jr. poked a single to right field, but Great Lakes reliever Bryson Williams struck out Bayonne’s Owen Feliz.
With one out and runners on second and third, Rincon, facing a full count, flew out to right field. Bridges drove in another run to make it 5-2, but a groundout by centerfielder Chase Klimkowski ended the game. To celebrate, some Great Lakes players threw their gloves in the air as they collected their third consecutive win following a loss in their opener.
“I knew I was going to dominate that game,” Treadway said. “I was throwing strikes in the bullpen, and my defense looked good in warmups.”
By Bayonne’s dugout, coaches consoled distraught players as parents waited to reunite with them briefly by their dorms. After two months of advancing, they were all readying to return home.
For Smith, a Jersey City firefighter who has relished the ability to grow a beard while traveling with and chaperoning his All Stars, lamented the fact that he will soon have to shave again upon his return to work. The process of moving forward started with simple duties around 10 p.m.
“Go back to the dorm and make sure the 12 kids eat, brush their teeth and go to bed,” he said. ”Back to reality soon."
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