Slugger sets tone for blowouts in Little League World Series

South Carolina snuck into the Little League World Series with a five-run rally over the defending champs.

- BY AMANDA VOGT

JARED FREED Associated Press JOE GIULIETTI, center, gets a hero's welcome after homering for Irmo, S.C.

But the club from Irmo, representing the Southeast region, is showing it belongs at the tournament, thanks in part to slugger-pitcher Joe Giulietti.

In the sixth inning of the regional final, the 2024 champions from Lake Mary, Fla., opted to walk Giulietti rather than face him with the game on the line.

The decision came back to bite Lake Mary as Brady Westbrooks hit a walk-off three-run double to win that game 5-4.

When South Carolina made its LLWS debut on Thursday against Braintree, Mass., Giulietti got his chance to hit and made the most of it. He doubled in his first at-bat and, with the bases loaded in the second inning, Giulietti lined the ball to left-center field that cleared the fence for a grand slam that gave his team an 8-0 lead.

"I'm just trying to hit it hard somewhere," he said postgame. "In my mind I was like, 'Please get over the wall.'"

Initially, he wasn’t sure if the ball had the distance, but it cleared.

The entire dugout emptied, swarming him as he crossed home plate.

Giulietti is the first player from South Carolina, and only the sixth from the Southeast region, to hit a grand slam.