Little League World Series expansion is set for 2021, increasing the number of teams to reach Williamsport from 16 to 20. Four teams also will be added to the Softball World Series.
Only one team will leave the Little League World Series as champions, but every kid, coach and parent who makes it this far will never forget what it’s like to play on the biggest stage in Williamsport, Pa. A team from Elizabeth, N.J. had its LLWS run come to an end Wednesday when it lost 4-1 to a team from River Edge, La.
The number of girls who have played in the Little League World Series is still so few, it’s countable by fingers and toes. That’s steadily growing with Coon Rapids-Andover (Minn.) starting second baseman Maddy Freking the 19th girl to play in the 72-year history of the LLWS and only the sixth American. More honestly, it’s a 45-year history since the Little League Federal Charter wasn’t amended to allow girls until 1974. Freking, 12, is the only female playing this year in the 16-team field and the first since Mo’ne Davis broke into the national lexicon in 2014.
With action already underway in the Southeast and Southwest regions and Canada, 2019 Little League World Series qualifying opened Saturday in the Midwest region. Between the four tournaments, 12 games are on tap throughout the day and into the evening. Here's a brief overview of the results from across the continent. Each of the regional brackets is available through the Little League's official site.
The odds were stacked against the Silver Creek Little League Major All Stars going into the Indiana state title game, and they are again after an historic win launched the program into the Great Lake Regional to play for a spot in the Little League World Series. The team will take on the Ohio state champions, West Side Little League, in Game 1 of regionals on Sunday, and should Silver Creek win, it will ll face the state champions of Kentucky, Bowling Green East Little League, on Monday.
Organizers of the annual Little League World Series held their bracket building luncheon today in South Williamsport. The players will once again be treated to the M-L-B Little League Classic. Members of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs will play a game for the Little Leaguers at nearby Bowman Field.
This summer, history will be made as every game in each of the seven divisions of the Little League® World Series will be covered live on ESPN networks and streaming services for the first time ever. A total of 345 Little League Baseball and Softball World Series and Regional tournament games will be aired live over the course of the summer (up from 231 games televised in 2018), with 263 airing exclusively on ESPN+, the direct-to-consumer sports streaming service.
Honolulu brings home the 2018 Little League World Series title thanks to a 3-0 over South Korea
The international and national champions have been chosen and by this afternoon, Lamade Stadium will host a showdown between only the two unbeaten teams in the 2018 Little League World Series. The West Regional Champions, of Honolulu, Hawaii, and the Asia-Pacific Regional Champions, of Seoul, South Korea, both took the final wins in their brackets on Saturday. Hawaii came out on top against the Southeast regional champions of Peachtree City, Georgia, at 3-0, scoring two final runs at the bottom of the fifth inning.
After striking out his 15th batter to end the game, Hawaii’s Aukai Kea pumped his fists and let out a shout for all to hear. Within seconds, Kea’s teammates sprinted to the pitcher’s mound to congratulate their team’s ace, hugging and pounding on him. Hawaii shut out Georgia 3-0 and Kea’s complete game sealed its berth in the Little League World Series championship. “I just pitched my heart out,” Kea said. “Did as best I could.”
South Korea won the international bracket Saturday at the Little League World Series and there's no question who led the way. Choi Ji-hyung blasted his third home run of the LLWS, then struck out seven over 4 2/3 innings Saturday, giving South Korea a spot in the tournament championship with a 2-1 win over Japan.
Every August since 1947, the Little League World Series has taken place in Williamsport, Pennsylvania., featuring the best teams of 10- to 12-year-old baseball players in the world. Here's a look back at every World Series winner from 1947 until 2017.
It's been nearly 10 years since Chula Vista's Park View Little League team won the Little League World Series. Pitcher and first-baseman Luke Ramirez said it was baseball and that big win that led him to where he is today. Ramirez was just 13 years old when he and his teammates took home the trophy from the 2009 championship game.
The Little League World Series is a showcase for some of the best and brightest baseball players, but perhaps the same can’t be said of the tournament’s umpires.
Should Little League World Series games be televised?
The 16-team field for the 2016 Little League World Series is set, with eight teams from the United States and eight teams from the rest of the world angling to be the best group of 11- and 12-year-old baseball players around.
Sunday's Little League World Series game between Maine-Endwell and Tennessee has been postponed due to weather.
The opening round of the Little League World Series brought a few surprises— the biggest being when Canada upset Japan on Friday. The Canadian team, from Hastings Community Little League in Vancouver, British Columbia, defeated the Chofu Little Leaguers from Tokyo, Japan, 10-4 to pull off something that hadn’t been done in 51 years. It was Japan’s first opening-round loss since 1965.
Goodlettsville’s pursuit of a Little League Baseball World Series title was put on hold for a day. Heavy rain that created poor conditions on the game fields and throughout the entire complex led to Sunday’s entire series schedule, including Goodlettsville’s afternoon game, being pushed back to Monday.
Day 4 of the 2016 Little League World Series features all eight teams that won in the opening round, trying to advance to within one game of either the United States or International Championship Game.