Current:Home > StocksLake Mary, Florida, rallies to beat Taiwan 2-1 in 8 innings to win Little League World Series title -Zenith Investment School
Lake Mary, Florida, rallies to beat Taiwan 2-1 in 8 innings to win Little League World Series title
View
Date:2025-04-12 19:36:21
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Lathan Norton was sick and didn’t play on Saturday at the Little League World Series. But on Sunday he scored the winning run in the championship.
Lathan raced home from second base on an overthrow at first as Lake Mary, Florida, rallied to beat Taiwan 2-1 in eight innings and claim the title.
“It was the greatest feeling ever,” said Lathan, who had a fever of 102 on Saturday but recovered before the championship. “I still haven’t had time to let it all sink in, but it feels like the most amazing thing ever.”
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 couldn’t 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. 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.
“I was just thinking, ‘Stay fair, stay fair,’” Hunter said. “After that ball goes past me, I say, ‘Let’s go!’”
Taiwan drew two straight walks to start the game. After a bunt moved the runners over and a pop out, Hu Yen-Chun hit a ball toward third, which ricocheted off James Feliciano. Chiu Wei-Che scored easily. But it was Taiwan’s only run.
This 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 was a dominant team at the LLWS from 1969, when it won its first championship, to 1996, when it claimed its 17th. But it had only made the title game once since, in 2009, a loss to California, before Sunday. Lee Cheng-Ta managed both that team and this year’s club, Kuei-Shan Little League from Taoyuan, Taiwan. 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.
___
Amanda Vogt is a student in the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State.
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
veryGood! (6125)
Related
- Skins Game to make return to Thanksgiving week with a modern look
- The average American feels they need to earn over $180K to live comfortably, survey shows
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, The Sims
- A Florida woman posed as a social worker. No one caught on until she died.
- FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup
- Wisconsin Supreme Court changes course, will allow expanded use of ballot drop boxes this fall
- For some toy sellers, packing shelves with nostalgia pays off
- 2 teenagers die while swimming at New York’s Coney Island Beach, police say
- How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
- Justin Timberlake exudes sincerity at Baltimore show a week after apparent joke about DWI
Ranking
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- New Dutch leader pledges to cut immigration as the opposition vows to root out racists in cabinet
- 1 dead, 3 injured after severe thunderstorm tears through state park in Kansas
- The average American feels they need to earn over $180K to live comfortably, survey shows
- Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
- Hailey Welch, aka the 'Hawk Tuah girl,' learns firsthand what it means to go viral
- Jennifer Lopez Shares Glimpse at Fourth of July Weekend With 16-Year-Old Emme
- Jennifer Lopez Shares Glimpse at Fourth of July Weekend With 16-Year-Old Emme
Recommendation
Small twin
Dehydrated coyote pup dies after it was rescued by California firefighters
Joey Chestnut nearly eclipses Nathan's contest winner during exhibition at Army base in Texas
Alex Morgan responds to accusations involving San Diego Wave, Jill Ellis
The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
YouTuber Pretty Pastel Please Dead at 30
How a unique Topeka program is welcoming immigrants and helping them thrive
2 teenagers die while swimming at New York’s Coney Island Beach, police say