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Florida has proven itself to be a resilient team at this year’s Little League World Series, and that courage was evident on Sunday.
Lake Mary defeated Taiwan 2-1 in eight innings and secured the championship game with a bunt and an error.
It was the first time a Florida team won the Little League World Series and the sixth consecutive title for the United States.
Taiwan led for most of this game, as Hu Yen-Chun’s RBI single early in the first inning and some fantastic pitching put the Asia-Pacific team just one inning away from the title.
But DJ Mieses’ RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning sent the game into overtime, and from then on, drama ensued.
Small League @Little League
FLORIDA WILL NOT GIVE IN 😤
DJ Mieses hits an RBI double to tie the game and sends the #LLWS Championship to extra innings pic.twitter.com/i2nwmfMXCk
Little League fans were stunned by Florida’s clear victory after the championship game on social media:
Jeremy Murphy @BigJerm18
What an LLWS championship game!!!
People say the NCAA tournament is the best tournament to watch…I would like to say the @LittleLeague The World Series is the BEST week in sports. Tell me otherwise!!!
Lake Mary Little League are your LLWS Champions!!!
Adam @atm929
CONGRATULATIONS Lake Mary!!!!! Can’t wait for the parade when you get back. All the other teams that played did a great job too!!!! #LittleLeagueClassic
Tim TechNFX 🇺🇦🌻🇺🇸🏳️🌈 @TimTechEFX
Congratulations to the Lake Mary All Stars on their #LLWS World Cup win! You are all amazing and deserve this EPIC win!
🎣 Bait and tackle shop🌲 @DavidRosaIs
Congratulations to Lake Mary, Florida, what a game. Too bad for Taiwan, but they should be proud. I love their coach. #LLWS
This ended an otherwise dominant performance by Taiwan, which defeated its opponents – Canada, Australia, Cuba, Japan, Venezuela and finally Florida – 37-6 despite Sunday’s loss.
But Florida’s own pitchers – Lathan Norton and Jacob Bibaud combined to allow just one run and five hits and strike out five players – their fantastic fielding and timely hits proved to be just enough to secure the win in a championship game that will not soon be forgotten.
Small League @Little League
Spin-o-rama by Chase Anderson for the out 😵💫
Florida leads 1-0 in the fifth game of the #LLWS championship pic.twitter.com/hMMxs9OTet
Venezuela had earlier beaten Texas 4-3 in the third-place match earlier that day. Texas had beaten Florida earlier in the tournament, but then lost to Florida in the U.S. championship game.
But Florida survived the losers bracket and will now be forever immortalized in Williamsport history.
