Wisconsin will have to keep waiting for its first appearance in the Little League World Series.
The Whitefish Bay team kept battling back, as it did throughout the tournament to crown the Midwest representative, but bowed out with a heartbreaking 7-6 loss to a squad from Davenport, Iowa, on Aug. 14 in Whitestown, Indiana.
Iowa will send a team to the Little League World Series for the 16th time, by far the most the Midwest region.
Whitefish Bay had a good chance to be the first Wisconsin team to break through and get to Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
At first, it looked like Bay would be stymied by Davenport starter Cooper Thissen. The left-hander, seen as one of the top prospects in his age group, got his first 13 outs on strikeouts. Bay put the ball into play only three times against Thissen.
But Thissen reached the 85-pitch limit and had to exit with a 4-1 lead with two outs in the fifth inning.
Bay showed resilience getting to the Midwest title game via the elimination bracket, including rallying from a 3-0 deficit against Missouri on Aug. 13.
Bay got a run across in the fifth when a pitch from Davenport reliever Anthony Johnson Jr. bounced to the backstop.
That set the stage for Bay's dramatic sixth inning, when Sam Irvin knocked in a run with a double and then the tying run was plated on another wayward pitch.
On the mound in the bottom of the sixth, Irwin wriggled out of a bases-loaded jam to force extra innings with the game tied at 4-4.
Bay had another bounce go its way in the top of the seventh inning when a dropped third strike allowed a run to score for a 5-4 lead. Bay added a run when Eli Liska drew a bases-loaded walk before Johnson got out of the frame.
Davenport had the automatic runner at second base in the bottom of the seventh, and Irwin loaded the bases with no outs after hitting Thissen and walking Johnson.
Davenport's Kannon Kane delivered the clutch hit of the game, a single that drove in two runs. After a forceout advanced Johnson to third base, he scored the walk-off run on a pitch that bounced away.
That sent Davenport to the Little League World Series, which will begin Aug. 19 in Williamsport. The field will include 10 regional winners from the United States and 10 international teams.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Whitefish Bay comes heartbreakingly close to Little League World Series