close
close

first Drop

Com TW NOw News 2024

Lake Mary beats Chinese Taipei to win Florida’s first-ever Little League World Series championship
news

Lake Mary beats Chinese Taipei to win Florida’s first-ever Little League World Series championship

The boys from Lake Mary, Florida won the Little League World Series in thrilling fashion on Sunday night, 2-1 in overtime against Chinese Taipei.

A team from Florida had a record of 0-8 in all-time LLWS title games, but Lake Mary had fought tooth and nail in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, throughout this series, going through four elimination games to reach the final against the team from Taoyuan, Taiwan. This team had not lost a single one of the five games they had played since coming to the United States.

After Lathan Norton ended his 3.2 innings with a scare when Taoyuan’s Hu Yen-Chun flew out of the air and landed on the warning track in the eighth inning, he moved to second base to start the eighth inning with the game tied 1-1.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Lake Mary Little League Celebrates Victory

South-East Region celebrates after the match against Asia-Pacific Region at the Lamade Stadium. (Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports)

The final batter in Lake Mary’s lineup, Hunter Alexander, came on the field in a clear bunt scenario, with his only thought being to move Norton to third base.

But Taoyuan, perhaps the team with the best starting skills in the tournament, had no one to cover first base when Alexander hit his bunt to right field.

The ball was thrown out and Lake Mary immediately celebrated as Norton rounded third base and scored the winning run.

YANKEES RESPOND TO LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES COACH WHO DISMISSED AARON JUDGE: ‘I CAN LEARN A LOT FROM HIM’

Lake Mary teammates touch gloves

Southeast Region pitcher Jacob Bibaud (12) reacts with infielder DeMarcos Mieses (25) against the Asia-Pacific Region in the first inning at Lamade Stadium. (Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports)

But despite having just won it all, the Lake Mary team was seen giving hugs and pats on the back to their opponents in Taoyuan, who were upset about how everything had turned out. It was the definition of sportsmanship before it was time to lift the trophy.

What made this win for Lake Mary even more impressive was the end of the sixth inning when they trailed 1-0 despite having a large number of runners on base throughout the game.

DJ Mieses hit an RBI double and Chase Anderson rounded the bases to score, forcing extra innings. Mieses’ reaction said it all, as he riled up his dugout and the crowd.

Lake Mary was eliminated twice in the semifinals against the Southwest Region representatives from Boerne, Texas on Saturday night, but their fourth and final elimination match ended in a 10-7 victory.

Lake Mary Little League Celebrates Victory

South-East Region celebrates after the match against Asia-Pacific Region at the Lamade Stadium. (Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

These boys proved resilient and were rewarded with this unique victory that also made state history.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports reporting on Xand subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.