Contributed by Dave Bogan
The Irmo Little League All Stars became the fourth team from South Carolina to reach the Little League World Series following a 5-4 win over Lake Mary (Fla.) Wednesday, August 6. (l-r) Palmer Steele, Brady Westbrooks, Ethan Bennett, Bubba McQuilkin, Preston Ware, Brayden Gerard, Ryder Tillitz, Joe Giulietti, Jacob Gibson, Brody Miller, Andrew Bogan, and Sutton Gravelle
Little League All Star Brady Westbrooks blasted a three-run double to left field in the bottom of the sixth inning to give Irmo a come-from-behind 5-4 win over Lake Mary (Fla.) Wednesday, August 6 and earn the team a trip to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
“We’re real excited, very happy,” Irmo manager Dave Bogan said. “We know we beat a really good Florida team. We’re just overexcited. We worked all summer for this and to have the opportunity is just amazing.”
Westbrook’s game-winning hit capped off a five-run sixth inning that began with Irmo trailing 4-0.
“I told our team after our previous game that even though some of the guys in the bottom of the lineup hadn’t had as many hits as they wanted, they were able to grind out a lot of the at bats, see a lot of pitches, and dive deep into counts,” Bogan said. “In little league pitch counts matter, not just the innings.
“When we were going to the sixth we got into a huddle and I said to them Palmer (Steele) is up. We have seven batters to get to Joe Giulietti, our best hitter, and he can end the game with one swing.
“I told them to remember we talked about grinding out at bats and really working hard. Any way you can get on—hit, walk, hit by pitch, or error—we will take any of it. Let’s grind and make it hard on them to win this thing.”
Steele and Ethan Bennett began the inning drawing walks. Two outs later, Brayden Gerard hit a single up the middle, loading the bases with two outs. Preston Ware drew a walk to shrink the gap to 4-1, bringing Giulietti to the plate.
The moment reminded Bogan of an earlier state tournament game against Northwood. Ware had drawn a walk and Giulietti hit a grand slam to give Irmo a 7-0 lead.
With that in mind, Bogan approached Westbrooks and told him to be ready because he thought the Florida coach would walk Giulietti. Moments later, the Florida coach did just that and Westbrooks came to the plate with Irmo down 4-2.
Bogan then app-roached his son, Andrew, who was on deck. He told Andrew if Westbrooks got a single, he wanted his son to relax and enjoy the moment.
Bogan’s moment never came as Westbrooks drove home the winning runs.
“When I saw the left fielder turn around, I thought we were going to win it and we did,” Dave Bogan said. “I’m really proud of the guys at the end of the lineup because they did what we talked about. They were just grinding and got on base. They gave the guys at the top of the order an opportunity. It was really a team effort in that last inning.”
What Irmo accomplished in the sixth had several implications. Irmo had faced Lake Mary a few days prior, losing 14-0. Bogan said Giulietti did not play in that game.
Brody Miller threw well, getting the first ten outs. However, the team struggled from there.
“I told the team I’d prefer it to be 14-0 as opposed to something like 3-1,” Bogan said. “I wanted them to think it was going to be easy. They are an extremely talented team. They have players who play all over the country. I liked our chances if they were overconfident. I don’t know if they were.”
Lake Mary was also the defending Little League World Series champs.
“I think the guys are extremely confident, especially playing from behind,” Bogan said. “Winning helps and those guys are really good baseball players. We talked about shocking the Little League baseball world. We knew we were good enough to do it. We didn’t know if we were going to do it. We had to play a good game, which we did. I think many people thought they were going to punch their ticket and make a run. I think these guys have a lot of confidence and I’m excited to see where that takes us.”
Irmo becomes just the fourth team from the State of South Carolina to reach the little League World Series and the first since Northwood did in 2015. The other two teams were North Charleston in 1949 and Clinton in 1950.
“It means a lot to us, but more importantly we are the first Irmo Little League team to make it,” Bogan said. “I think that means more to this group, to represent our town, our communities, and Richland and Lexington Counties, and to be the first ones to do it in the most premier little league tournament.
“We’ve had plenty of success at other divisions and at other levels, but it’s not as much for this group that we’re from South Carolina. That’s important, but the pride to represent the Irmo Little League was huge.”
Having that opportunity meant so much to the team that instead of wearing the customary South Carolina uniform for the game against Lake Mary, they wore their Irmo uniforms.
One of the more memorable moments of the sixth inning was third base coach Mike Beckwith’s windmill to send the runners home. According to Bogan, Beckwith has been around little league a long time but doesn’t have a kid on Irmo’s team. Bogan says Beckwith has been extremely valuable to him and the team.
“We always joke about lubing up his arm because he has the windmill going,” Bogan said of Beckwith.
Now a season that began in late March/early April and has been highlighted with winning a state tournament and late game heroics in the Southeast Regionals comes down to a few more games.
Irmo came into the season with high expectations from the community. Bogan had to urge those in the community to quiet their expectations as he didn’t want to add any pressure to his players. Nine players returned from a 2024 team that performed well in the regional tournament. Westbrooks, Bennett, and Gerard were three new players to the 2025 Irmo All Stars. Westbrooks has shown to be an important addition as the third hitter in the lineup all year. Gerard played on the All Stars team two years ago, while Bennett was new to Irmo Little League.
Their motto is “Nothing is given; everything is earned.” The slogan was on a sign in their dugout all year.
This round of games come on the biggest stage Little League has to offer, Williamsport, Pa. While there are a lot of unknowns for Bogan and his team, he’s confident the stage isn’t too big for his team.
“The Southeast Region really helps,” Bogan said. “I think the tournament we participated in last year helped. The tournament in Wilson, North Carolina did media. It had postgame interviews and cameras. This one obviously has cameras and television timeouts, whatever you call it. We are used to that. I think the number of people, the crowds we will have, that’s where we as coaches have to help them understand that this stage isn’t too big for them. They’ve earned this right.”
The World Series runs from Wednesday, August 14 to Tuesday, August 26. Irmo’s first game is Thursday, August 14 when the All Stars will take on Braintree American (Mass.) with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.
“I’m looking forward to sharing this experience with my youngest son,” Bogan said. “The biggest thing for me is I’m humbled and excited to represent the community. I’ve talked with people who are going to drive up. I’m not sure how many are going to get to be there. I’ve been humbled by the response I’ve gotten from college friends, neighbors from ten years ago, or coworkers from 15 years ago that have sent their congratulations and have said we are doing great and doing all the right things.
“I’m excited about continuing this journey and representing the community. Win or lose, we’ve done something no one at Irmo Little League has ever done. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, and the coaches and I are going to cherish it as well.”
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