Lufkin Advances At LLWS Tournament

Christian Mumphery hit two home runs and Collin Ross pitched a complete game as the Lufkin All-Stars, the Southwest Region champs, beat the New England squad, 6-3, Sunday in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in the winner's bracket at the Little League World Series.

Lufkin advances to the finals of the winner's bracket to face the Southeast champion from Greenville, North Carolina, which throttled California, 16-0, Sunday. Lufkin and Greenville will meet Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

Lufkin catcher Chandler Spencer opened the game with a triple, only to get caught out on a fielder's choice hit by second baseman Malcolm Deason. Deason advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single by Ross.

New England took a 3-1 lead in the top of the second, but Mumphery evened the score when he hit a two-run bomb to center to score Chip Buchanan, who reached on a single to center field. Mumphery hit his second home run in the bottom of the fifth to cap all scoring at 6-3. Both of Humphrey's round trippers came on an 0-1 count.

Lufkin scored two runs in the fourth and Ross took command on the mound. Ross allowed just four hits and one earned run while striking out eight in the complete-game effort. Of his 85 pitches, 62 were strikes (72.9 percent). Lufkin pounded out 10 hits against New England, which will play Washington (Northwest champs) on Monday night.

Lufkin faces a daunting task on Wednesday against the Southeast team that hasn't allowed a hit or run in their two games. Last Thursday they combined to throw a perfect game, and Sunday they combined for a no-hitter.

The winner of Wednesday's game advances to the United States Championship game on Saturday while the loser plays an elimination game on Thursday. The United States Champion will play the international champion on Sunday afternoon.

No Texas team has made the international final since Bellaire did so in 2000, where they fell to Venezuela. The only Texas teams to win the LLWS title are both from Houston (1950, 1966). Other Texas teams to make the LLWS championship game are Austin (1951), Fort Worth (1960), El Campo (1961), and Spring (1995).

Lufkin opened the LLWS with a 5-1 win over the Great Lakes champion from Grosse Pointe, Michigan.

Caption: The Southwest region team from Lufkin, Texas, participates in the opening ceremony of the 2017 Little League World Series tournament in South Williamsport, Pa., Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017.

Livestream the game here: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id...
You can track the tournament at the Little League World Series, and even print your own bracket.

Photo by Gene J. Puskar/AP