While Bayonne romped its way to a pair of victories in the Little League Metro Regional this week, the 12-year-old All Stars from Hudson County approached the championship game from a different vantage point.
Trailing 4-0 after the top of the first inning in Bristol, Connecticut, Bayonne rallied three different times to finally tie the game, 6-6, in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Then, with a single by Jett Bridges, Bayonne took its first lead of the night, 7-6. Chase Klimkowski, the starting pitcher for Bayonne, drove in an insurance run next, and Bayonne star Mason Rincon, who also pitched in relief, finished the sixth inning with a strikeout and two groundouts. He fielded the final grounder back to him, then tossed the ball to Leandro Anaya, the first baseman, to record the last out.
The 8-6 final gave Bayonne the regional championship and propelled the team to the Little League World Series for the first time in the peninsula city's history.
"We got punched in the face, but we were able to punch back and stand together as we went through the finish line," said Gabe Garcia Sr., an ******* istant coach, whose son is the shortstop and leadoff hitter. "The kids are super ecstatic. I don't think it's hit them."

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