×

Mexico, South Korea win regions to come to LLWS

Matamoros Little League from Tamaulipas, Mexico and South Seoul Little League from Seoul, South Korea are the latest two regions to earn spots at the 2018 Little League World Series.

Australia was the first region to earn a tournament berth this summer.

Matamoros LL earned its berth thanks to a 5-3 win over last year’s representative, Guadalupe, Trevino Kelly LL. Matamoros LL combined over the tournament for 59 runs in eight games and shut out its opponents on three occasions to go 8-0, the only undefeated team in the tournament.

This is the fifth time Matamoros LL will make an appearance in the Little League World Series, having previously been there in 1990, 2001, 2006 and 2008. It’s also 10 years after their league won the International Championship before going on to lose the World Series final to Waipio (Hawaii) LL.

Much like Matamoros LL having a strong offense, so did South Seoul LL during its regional tournament, combining for 68 runs in the Asia-Pacific Region while its defense had three consecutive shutout victories to get to the championship game. South Seoul LL also went undefeated like Matamoros LL in its region, going 5-0.

This will be the third consecutive year — and fourth time in the past five — that a team from South Korea will represent the Asia-Pacific Region. There have been eight teams from South Korea at the Little League World Series: 1984, 1985, 2014, 2016 and most recently last year. South Korea won the World Series in 1984, 1985 and 2014.

Both teams will open the tournament on Thursday, August 15. Mexico will play Australia at Volunteer Stadium at 5 p.m. and South Korea will play the Caribbean at 1 p.m. at Volunteer Stadium.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today