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Panama earns LLWS berth by winning Latin America region

PANAMA CITY, PANAMA — For the 10th time in its nation’s history, a team from Panama will be heading to the Little League World Series as Vacamonte Little League from La Chorrera, Panama, won the 2018 Latin America regional.

The Vacamonte Little League offense opened the tournament on fire by outscoring its opponents, 35-3, over the first three games before taking home a 5-4 victory over Venezuela. Following a 6-3 win over Nicaragua, Vacamonte Little League lost its only game of the tournament, 8-0, to fellow Panamanians, Aguadulce Cabezera Little League. The team bounced back in the semifinals, defeating Aguadulce Cabezera Little League, 2-0, in a rematch to earn a spot in the championship against Rivas Little League from Nicaragua. That momentum was all Vacamonte Little League needed to cap off a 7-1 record with a 6-3 victory over Rivas Little League in the final.

This will be the first time that Vacamonte Little League makes a trip to the Little League Baseball World Series and the 10th time a team from Panama heads to South Williamsport. Panama, along with Canada, has the distinction of being the first country outside of the United States to charter a Little League program. In 1950, two leagues were formed in the country, one on each side of the Panama Canal. A team from Panama has never won the World Series.

Vacamonte Little League will open the Series against Canada on Friday, August 17, at 6 p.m. in Volunteer Stadium.

Panama’s berth is the second-to-last international region to clinch. The only international region yet to be determined is Canada. Seoul, South Korean (Asia-Pacific); Gold Coast, Queensland (Australia); Guayama, Puerto Rico (Caribbean); Barcelona, Spain (Europe and Africa); Kawaguchi, Saitama (Japan) and Matamoros, Tamaulipas (Mexico) are the others.

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