Taiwan fell just short in Sunday’s championship game of the Little League World Series (LLWS) in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, losing 2-1 to Florida.
Despite the defeat, it was still the best finish for Taiwan at the LLWS since Taoyuan’s Guishan Little League, the country’s representative again this year, lost the 2009 championship game 6-3 to California.
Entering Howard J. Lamade Stadium on Sunday on a five-game winning streak in Williamsport, Guishan took an early lead in the opening frame on an RBI single by Hu Yen-chun.
Photo: AP
However, Guishan failed to extend the margin as its players struggled at the plate, tallying only five hits throughout the entire game.
In contrast, Florida managed to overcome adversity with tenacity. Taiwan clung to a 1-0 lead from the first inning until Florida’s last at-bat. The Southeast region representatives outhit Taiwan and had a runner on third in three separate innings, but could not get a run across.
Then, in the bottom of the sixth, Florida got runners on first and second and DeMarcos Mieses, who struck out in his previous two at-bats, delivered.
Photo: AP
Hitting the gap in shallow left, he gave Chase Anderson enough time to sprint home and tie the game.
In the eighth, Lathan was placed by rule on second base to start the inning. Hunter Alexander bunted and the throw to first went into the outfield. Florida players poured out of the dugout while the Taiwan players crumpled.
Although they trailed for most of the game, they forced extra innings by tying the game in the bottom of the sixth and walking it off in the eighth.
It is the first championship in nine tries for Florida, which also came from behind in its 10-7 semifinal win over Texas on Saturday, scoring five runs in its final at-bat.
“We came here to do something. We came here to do a job, and today we accomplished that job,” Florida manager Jonathan Anderson said. “We took a loss to Texas, we battled all the way back and here we are to talk about how we won this whole thing.”
Taiwan’s decade-long title drought, which stretches back to 1996, continues.
The LLWS consists of 20 teams from around the US and the world, with half coming from regions outside the US.
Teams from Taiwan have won 17 titles at the tournament, second only to the US with 30, while Japan has the third most with 11.
Taiwan was a dominant team at the LLWS from 1969, when it won its first championship, to 1996, when it claimed its 17th. However, it had only made the title game once since, in 2009, before Sunday.
Lee Cheng-ta managed that team and this year’s club.
Last season, he led the same team — with a completely different roster — to a third-place finish.
Coaches for Taiwan, representing the Asia-Pacific region, declined to attend the postgame news conference.
Additional reporting by AP
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