SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Coeur d’Alene Little League’s offense looked sluggish to open the second crossover game of the Little League World Series on Thursday.

Six of the first seven batters were retired with the only base runner reaching on a walk. The offense finally came to life in the fourth inning when a double and three singles put the game’s first runs on the board.

The offense would hold for Coeur d’Alene as two doubles in the fifth extended the lead and gave it a 5-0 win over Barcelona, Spain, for the team’s final game of the Series at Lamade Stadium.

“We got key hits from some of the guys who normally aren’t key hitters for us,” Coeur d’Alene manager Sean Cherry said. “Those guys broke the game open for us and that’s really awesome to see.”

Coeur d’Alene’s offense struggled in the opening portions of the crossover game, pitting teams that had lost their first two games in the Series and were eliminated from championship contention. Avrey Cherry struck out to open as Salazar finished his first two innings with three strikeouts.

“We’ve been sitting there in the barracks waiting out the rain and the baseball energy just wasn’t there to start,” Cherry said. “Thankfully the energy started to pick up. We got a few hits and that really started to pick up the energy in the dugout. That’s what we were really missing in the dugout at the beginning of the game.”

Avrey Cherry singled in the third for Coeur d’Alene’s first hit, but a string of hits from a few of the lesser known names ended up being the difference in the game. Austin DeBoer came off the bench to hit a two-RBI single and was followed by Caden Symons, who laced a single through the infield for an RBI.

Left fielder Cooper Erickson got the Coeur d’Alene fans energized with a diving catch near the foul line for the second out of the third inning. Ronald Vizcaio connected with what looked to be the game’s first extra base hit until Erickson made up the ground and dove through the air for the out.

“That was absolutely huge for us,” Cherry said. “Erickson is fleet of foot and he’s just such a good player period. He can play anywhere. That play was an amazing effort. He read the ball off the bat and just made a spectacular catch.”

Cherry completed a 10-pitch at bat in the third with a single to right field.

“You need to break the ice,” Sean Cherry said. “We knew this kid was a first-strike pitch thrower and we needed to jump all over him. The kids were a little tentative, taking some first-pitch strikes. Once we corrected that things really started to happen for us.”

AJ Currie started the game for Coeur d’Alene and quickly ran into trouble after three walks loaded the bases in the second inning. The defense was able to get through the first after a single from Salazar, but Cherry wasn’t willing to take another chance and called on Christopher Reynolds to finish the inning.

“I was nervous, but once I realized I was throwing strikes I would be fine,” Reynolds said. “I thought I would let up a few runs. The double play and the diving catch were really good. After those plays I felt like anytime they hit the ball we would get them out.”

Reynolds has been the team’s ace throughout the Series and he didn’t disappoint when called on in the second. He forced a groundout to first to end the inning in two pitches. He then hit a ground rule double down the left field line to open the fourth inning. Reynolds advanced to third on a single from Braeden Newby before a base hit from DeBoer brought both runners home. Symons followed with a single to score DeBoer and put Coeur d’Alene up by three runs.

“Christopher has been extremely steady for us all year with the bat,” Cherry said. “He usually comes through in those high-pressure situations where we really need him.”

Reynolds hit another double in the fifth to move Chase Saunders to third. Saunders came on as a pinch-hitter and lined a ball into left for a base hit.

Newby, the shortstop, flashed the leather in the fourth after two walks put runners on first and second. The rally ended when Newby snagged a ground ball up the middle and started a 6-3 double play to end the inning. He also caught a line drive in the third for the second out.

“The momentum-killing play by Newby really put out the fire for Spain,” Cherry said. “He made a nice stop to pick it up and fire it across the infield for the double play.”

After scoring a run in the fourth, Newby continued to rake, connecting with a double down the left field line to score two runs in the top of the fifth. Reynolds hit two doubles and Newby collected one as Coeur d’Alene did all of its scoring after the third inning.

Coeur d’Alene 000 320 — 5 8 1

Spain 000 000 — 0 3 1

AJ Currie, Christopher Reynolds (2), and Avrey Cherry. Juan Salazar, Lucas Iriarte (4), and Javier Arroyo. W — Reynolds. L — Salazar.

HITS: Cd’A — Cherry, Saunders, Reynolds 2, Newby 2, DeBoer, Symons. Spain — Salazar 3. 2B — Newby, Reynolds 2.