August 28, 2019

On Sunday, August 25, an all-star baseball team from River Ridge, Louisiana, won the Little League World Series (LLWS), defeating a team from Willemstad, Curaçao, 8-0. (River Ridge is a suburb of New Orleans. Curaçao is an island in the Caribbean Sea.) The LLWS is a competition played each year in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, among kids aged 11 to 13. The tournament, first played in 1947, includes 16 Little League teams from the United States and the rest of the world. Little League Baseball is the world’s largest organized youth-sports program, with nearly 180,000 teams.

Louisiana’s Eastbank Little League all-stars pose with the LLWS championship banner on Aug. 25, 2019. Credit: Courtesy of Little League Baseball and Softball

The ballplayers from Louisiana’s Eastbank Little League dominated the LLWS final at South Williamsport’s Howard J. Lamade Stadium. Starting pitcher Egan Prather went the distance, limiting the Curaçao team to just two hits and no runs over the game’s six innings. Egan fanned six batters and surrendered just two walks. On the offensive side, Louisiana busied the bases with 10 hits and 5 walks. Louisiana outfielder Reece Roussel scored three runs and had two hits, giving him a record-setting 17 hits in the LLWS (in just 23 at-bats—a .739 batting average). Third baseman Marshall Louque drove in three runs while going 3 for 3. Curaçao starter Kevin Rosina gave up three runs in four innings. Reliever í-Zion Mogen allowed five runs in his two innings. Louisiana played flawless defense, and Prather recorded the final out in the sixth on an infield line drive.

Little League World Series Logo.
Credit: © Little League

After a joyful celebration beside the pitcher’s mound, members of the Louisiana team thanked their Curaçaoan opponents. They then raced to the center field wall to rub the bronze bust of the stadium’s namesake, Howard J. Lamade—a longstanding tradition for the winning team. (Lamade was a Pennsylvania newspaper publisher and a key figure in the early years of Little League Baseball.)

The Eastbank all-stars rolled through the United States bracket of the tournament, winning all five of their games by a combined score of 36-8, including a 9-5 win over Central East Maui Little League (Hawaii) to reach the LLWS final. The championship was the first for the state of Louisiana. The Pabao Little League squad from Willemstad, Curaçao, fought through the tough international tournament, edging the all-stars from Chofu City, Japan, 5-4 to reach the final. Curaçao’s only LLWS title came in 2004. The 2019 tournament’s 32 games drew a total of some 300,000 fans.

August 29, 2018

On Sunday, August 26, an all-star baseball team from Honolulu, Hawaii, won the Little League World Series by defeating a team from Seoul, South Korea, 3-0. The Little League World Series is a competition played each year in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, among kids aged 11 to 13. The tournament, first played in 1947, includes 16 Little League teams from the United States and the rest of the world. Little League Baseball is the world’s largest organized youth-sports program, with nearly 180,000 teams.

The Honolulu Little League all-stars flash the traditional Hawaiian shaka “hang loose” hand greeting after winning the 2018 Little League World Series on Aug. 26, 2018. Credit: Courtesy of Little League Baseball and Softball

The ballplayers from Honolulu Little League dominated the final at South Williamsport’s Howard J. Lamade Stadium. Starting pitcher Ka’olu Holt went the distance, limiting the South Koreans to just two hits and no runs over the game’s six innings. Holt fanned eight batters and surrendered just one walk. On the offensive side, Honolulu first baseman Mana Lau Kong homered on the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning, igniting a boisterous Hawaii dugout. Seoul starter Yeong Hyeon Kim settled in after that, but he was the victim of his own lack of control in the bottom of the third. With the bases loaded on a hit and two walks, a wild pitch allowed Honolulu’s Zachary Won to score from third base, and an errant throw on the play brought Taylin Oana home from second to make the score 3-0. Hawaii played flawless defense, and Holt recorded the final out in the sixth on a swinging strikeout.

2018 Little League Baseball World Series.
Credit: © Little League Baseball

After a joyful celebration in front of the pitcher’s mound, members of the Honolulu team thanked their South Korean opponents. They then raced to the center field wall to rub the bronze bust of the stadium’s namesake, Howard J. Lamade—a longstanding tradition for the winning team. (Lamade was a Pennsylvania newspaper publisher and a key figure in the early years of Little League Baseball.)

The Honolulu all-stars rolled through the United States bracket of the tournament, winning all five of their games by a combined score of 26-3, including a 3-0 win over Peachtree City (Georgia) American Little League to reach the World Series final. The championship was the third for the state of Hawaii: the Ewa Beach team took the title in 2005, and the little leaguers from Waipio won it all in 2008. The Seoul, South Korea, squad fought through the tough international tournament, edging the all-stars from Kawaguchi, Japan, 2-1 to reach the final. South Korean teams previously won the Little League World Series in 1984, 1985, and 2014. The 2018 tournament’s 32 games drew a total of nearly 500,000 fans.

August 29, 2017

On Sunday, August 27, an all-star baseball team from Tokyo, Japan, won the Little League World Series by defeating a team from Lufkin, Texas, 12-2. The Little League World Series is a competition played each year in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, among kids aged 11 to 13. The tournament, first played in 1947, includes 16 Little League teams from the United States and the rest of the world. Little League Baseball is the world’s largest organized youth-sports program, with nearly 180,000 teams.

On Aug. 27, 2017, young Tokyo ballplayers celebrate their Little League World Series championship at Howard J. Lamade Stadium in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Credit: Courtesy of Little League Baseball and Softball

The ballplayers from Tokyo’s Kitasuna Little League dominated the final at South Williamsport’s Howard J. Lamade Stadium, despite a lightning start by the boys from Texas. Chandler Spencer blasted the first pitch of the game from Tokyo starter Tsubasa Tomii for a long home run to left. Two batters later, first baseman Hunter Ditsworth tucked one inside the right field foul pole for another homer and a 2-0 lead. That was it for Texas, however, and Tokyo responded with three runs in the second inning and four in the third.

Tokyo continued the attack in the fifth, and the team’s lead quickly approached the 10 runs needed to win by the so-called “mercy rule.” After tallying four in the inning for an 11-2 lead, a single to right by outfielder Natsuki Yajima drove in the 12th run to end the game. After a quick celebration in front of their dugout, members of the Kitasuna team respectfully thanked their opponents. They then raced to the center field wall to rub the bronze bust of the stadium’s namesake, Howard J. Lamade—a longstanding tradition for the winning team. (Lamade was a Pennsylvania newspaper publisher and a key figure in the early years of Little League Baseball.)

The Tokyo all-stars rolled through the international bracket of the tournament, winning all five of their games by a combined score of 39-3, including a 5-0 win over Mexico to reach the Little League World Series final. The championship was the 4th for Tokyo in the last six years, and the 11th overall for teams from Japan. The Lufkin, Texas, squad fought through the tough domestic tournament, edging the all-stars from Greenville, North Carolina, 6-5 to win the United States title and reach the final. The tournament’s 32 games drew a total of nearly 500,000 fans.

August 30, 2016

On Sunday, August 28, an all-star baseball team from Maine-Endwell, New York, won the Little League World Series by defeating a team from Seoul, South Korea, 2-1. The Little League World Series is a competition played each year in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, among kids aged 11 to 13. The tournament, first played in 1947, includes 16 Little League teams from the United States and the rest of the world. Little League Baseball is the world’s largest organized youth-sports program with nearly 180,000 teams. Endwell’s Little League title was the first for a U.S. team since 2011, and the first for a New York team since Staten Island won in 1964.

On Aug. 28, 2016, New York’s Ryan Harlost scores on a passed ball in the fourth inning of the Little League World Series title game against South Korea in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. New York defeated South Korea 2-1. Credit: © Rob Carr, Getty Images

Pitching and defense dominated the title game at South Williamsport’s Howard J. Lamade Stadium. Endwell’s Ryan Harlost and Seoul’s Junho Jeong mowed down hitters and both teams made sparkling defensive plays to help keep the game scoreless through three innings. New York’s first hits came in the decisive fourth as the team pushed two runs across on three singles and a passed ball. South Korea’s Yoomin Lee homered in the fifth, narrowing the score to 2-1. The Seoul Little Leaguers kept the pressure on in the sixth and final frame, putting two runners aboard with two outs. Harlost fanned young Minho Choi to end the game, however, and Endwell hats and gloves flew into the air before a miniature team pile formed near home plate. A raucous and happy home crowd cheered the New York champions, who gathered with the gracious South Koreans for a group jog and wave around the ball field. U.S. President Barack Obama took a few minutes from his busy schedule to place a congratulatory phone call to the champs after the game.

The Seoul all-stars rolled through the international bracket of the tournament, downing a tough Panama team 7-2 to advance to the World Series title game. The undefeated Endwell ball club won the U.S. championship 4-2 over the all-stars of Goodlettsville, Tennessee. The tournament’s 32 games drew a total of nearly 500,000 fans.

September 1, 2015

Japan celebrates after winning the Little League World Series Championship baseball game over the team from Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, August 30, 2015. Japan won 18-11. Credit: © Gene J. Puskar, AP Photo

On Sunday, August 30, an all-star baseball team from Tokyo, Japan, won the Little League World Series by defeating a team from Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, 18-11. The teams combined for 7 home runs, and the 29 total runs were the most ever in the sport’s championship game. Japanese teams have won four of the last six Little League World Series, a competition played each year in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, among kids aged 11 to 13. The tournament, first played in 1947, includes 16 Little League teams from the United States and the rest of the world. Little League Baseball is the world’s largest organized youth-sports program with nearly 180,000 teams.

Tokyo’s Kitasuna Little Leaguers started the slugfest with two runs in the top of the first inning. Lewisberry’s Red Land Little League all-stars then exploded for a record 10 runs in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by 12 year-old Dylan Rodenhaber’s grand slam home run. Japan bounced back with seven runs in the second inning, five of which came on back-to-back-to-back homers by Yugo Aoki and twin brothers Kengo and Shingo Tomita. Four more runs in the third put Kitasuna up 13-10, and they never looked back. Japanese pitcher Nobuyuki Kawashima kept Red Land in check over the final five innings, recording the last out on a chopper to shortstop.

The Red Land Pennsylvanians defeated a team from Pearland, Texas, 3-2 to win the U.S. championship and advance to the World Series title game. Japan reached the final by defeating Mexico 1-0. The tournament’s 32 games drew a total of nearly 500,000 fans.

August 26, 2014

The Little League World Series was held on August 24 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, between South Korea’s national champions and the U.S. national champion—a team from the South side of Chicago out of the Jackie Robinson West Little League program. The program is held in Jackie Robinson Park, named for the baseball great Jackie Robinson, who was the first African American to play modern Major League baseball.

The Little League World Series is for children 11 to 13 years old. The tournament features 16 teams, 8 from the United States and 8 from other countries. All teams in the series represent a geographic region of the United States or the world.

The Americans played well in the tournament final but were out-hit by the Seoul team for a final score of 8-4. The South Korean team had a 7-run lead at one point in the game, but Chicago—known as a team that can come from behind—rallied, adding 3 runs in the sixth inning before the game ended.

A Little League game follows most of the same basic rules as an adult baseball game. Little League was founded in 1939 and the organization is headquartered in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. (© David Bergman, Corbis)

One of the big stories of this year’s tournament was a player out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mo’ne Davis. Little League rules began allowing girls to try out for the sport after the organization lost a lawsuit filed by the National Organization for Women (NOW) in the 1970′s. Davis, 13, is the first girl to ever pitch a shutout (a complete game pitched by one pitcher in which the other team is allowed no runs) in a Little League World Series game.

The city of Chicago was planning a victory parade on August 27 for the home team.

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