Florida beats Chinese Taipei in walk-off fashion to win state’s first LLWS title
Hunter Alexander brilliantly executing a little thing made Lake Mary, Florida a giant in the Little League world.
A team which earned labels such has resilient and hard-working throughout the 77th Little League World Series earned a new title Sunday afternoon at Lamade Stadium:
World’s best Little League Baseball team.
Alexander dropped a perfect bunt up the first base line to open the eighth inning and when nobody covered first base on the throw, Lathan Norton came sprinting home as Lake Mary edged Chinese-Taipei, 2-1 in one of the most thrilling world finals ever played. Lake Mary became the first team from Florida to win a world crown and did it as it has done so many things this year–the hard way.
DJ Mieses hit a two-out, game-tying single in the bottom of the sixth, Norton made Houdini blush with his ability to pitch out of pressure situations and Alexander put the capper on a remarkable summer as Lake Mary authored a fairy tale ending a year after suffering heartbreak in the Southeast championship.
“We finished what we started. We came here to do something. We came here to do a job and today, we accomplished that job,” Lake Mary manager Jonathan Anderson said. “It’s the best. I told them the story is being written right now. Let’s finish the story. We’re in the final chapter; finish writing the story. And oh what an ending to a story it is.”
This story was filled with plenty of twists and turns, but Lake Mary kept finding the way. Following a loss last Monday against Texas, Lake Mary won five straight elimination games, avenging its loss against Texas in the U.S. Final before roaring back against Chinese Taipei.
Lake Mary refused to leave without a world title banner, winning the U.S. Championship after trailing by two runs in the sixth inning and the world crown after being an out from defeat.
Time after time, opponents put Lake Mary on the ropes and every time, the world champions came fighting back. Ultimately, they were the ones who landed the knockout blow and made history in dramatic fashion.
“We knew that we had so many people in our lineup. We have twelve people that can hit the ball and we knew that one of them was going to tie it and that we were going to win this,” Norton said after earning the win and throwing 3 2/3 scoreless innings. “We knew from the beginning of the game to it being 1-0 going into the sixth that we were going to win this game.”
“We’re going to be celebrities (at home),” Jacob Bibaud said after returning from last year’s team and throwing 4 1/3 brilliant innings Sunday. “I was a celebrity last year, too, and we didn’t even make it to Williamsport.”
This year, Lake Mary did and it stayed as long as possible, concluding one of the more amazing runs. The world champions were down two runs in the sixth inning Saturday against Texas and won, 10-7. They were down to their final out against Chinese-Taipei, a team which had allowed five runs in five games at that point, but never flinched.
Even after stranding 13 runners in the first seven innings, including 10 in scoring position and five at third base, Lake Mary kept grinding. A team that attended a boot camp before the Southeast Regional kept working and now sit atop the Little League mountain.
“( said), ‘The train is moving. It’s coming, boys. The train is coming. They’re not going to stop it. It’s going to happen; keep fighting,'” Anderson said. “( I said), ‘Just stay in this fight. Keep going because this is going to be a great story when it’s all over.'”
Chinese-Taipei did its best to make it a heartbreaking story, scoring a first-inning run and moving within an out of its first world championship since 1996 and its 18th overall. But lead-off hitter Chase Anderson was hit with a pitch to open the bottom of the sixth before Landon Bono drew a two-out walk. Facing a 2-0 count, Mieses delivered the hit of his life, hitting a single into left-center field and tying the game, 1-1.
Although Lake Mary left the winning runs at second and third and Chinese Taipei put runners on first and second with one out on the seventh, Lake Mary remained unbreakable. Norton, who missed Saturday’s game with illness, resumed his Series role of dominant closer, inducing consecutive pop outs.
Christopher Chikodroff (3 for 3) smashed a two-out double down the left field line in the seventh after Luis Calo walked but they were stranded. The eighth inning brought the tie-breaker into play and each team put a runner on second with no outs. Norton again owned the moment, getting a strikeout, grounder and flyout.
The book was almost complete. All it needed was an ending.
Norton and Alexander were the ones who wrote the final chapter. Norton was on second to open the inning and Alexander dropped his bunt up the first base line. It was a perfect bunt and Alexander perfectly moved Norton over for the top of the order coming up.
But it became a moment Alexander will never forget when the pitcher threw toward first and nobody was there. The ball went down the right field line and Norton easily scored the winning run. Alexander was swarmed by happy teammates throwing water toward him as others embraced Norton.
After 77 years, Lake Mary had brought a world championship to Florida.
“It’s crazy. I don’t know what to say. I was thinking, ‘Just stay fair and then I looked up and nobody was covering first,” Alexander said. “I saw the ball go past me and I said, ‘Let’s go!’ When I see Lathan slide, I’m like, ‘Yeah!’ and everybody is coming out and I get mobbed and it was great.”
“It was the greatest feeling ever,” Norton said. “I still haven’t had time to let it all sink in, but it feels like the most amazing thing ever.”
As did Texas and Venezuela managers following Saturday losses in the U.S. and International championships, Chinese-Taipei manager Lee Cheng-Ta declined to attend the post-game press conference and salute his valiant team on its sensational season.
Chinese-Taipei looked to do some early damage when its first two batters opened the game with walks. Hu Yen-Chun then ripped a two-out RBI single. But it turned out to be a mirage and Bibaud and Norton stifled the International champions from there, allowing no more runs and just four hits over the final seven innings.
Bibaud kept his team in the game, retiring 10 straight batters from the first inning through the start of the fifth.
“I just settled in. I felt good after that first inning,” Bibaud said. “I got all my nerves out. The rest of the innings I felt great.”
A day after feeling awful physically and while having to watch the U.S. Final on TV, Norton never felt better after taking the mound in the fifth. Runners were on second and third with one out, but Norton put our fires all Series long and he did so again in the biggest moments Sunday.
Norton walked a batter to load the bases, but then induced a pop out and a flyout. He worked a perfect sixth inning and Mieses then kept the world championship dream alive.
Playing its sixth game in seven days, Lake Mary kept going strong, winning for the third time after trailing late in the game and for a third time by one run. All 12 players took turns, whether fielding, hitting or pitching through eight grueling Series games, making their mark.
All 12 working as one helped Lake Mary leave the biggest mark in state history. It now stands alone as not just the world’s best Little League team but as the best in Florida history. Wherever they go, whatever they do these players and coaches will be linked together as one of the best to ever play Little League Baseball.
Story, finished.
“I’ve been around some pretty good teams, but I’ve never been around a team that has gone into this many close games and pulled it out,” Anderson said. “We go back to our room and the coaches end the conversation with, ‘It’s our summer.’ That’s all you have to say.
“Somehow the universe dictated that we were winning this thing and there was nothing anybody could do to stop it.”