SPORTS
September 1, 2014
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 9
Asians in American sports w Asian Americans in world sports
Undefeated South Korea wins
third Little League World Series
SOUTH KOREAN SWEEP. South Korean Little
League players celebrate a solo home run by Sang
Hoon Han during the Little League World Series tour-
nament held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The
South Korean squad defeated the team from Chicago
to win its third title. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
By Mike Street
Special to The Asian Reporter
A
sian teams have long had a strong
showing at the Little League
World Series, and this year was no
exception, but this time a former champion
returned to glory. Taiwan and Japan have
won 17 and nine championships,
respectively, and Japan has represented
the international bracket in the past four
finals, winning three. South Korea, on the
other hand, had won just twice before this
year, back in 1984 and 1985, the only two
times they’ve reached the annual
tournament held in South Williamsport,
Pennsylvania. Continuing that efficient
legacy this year, South Korea qualified
and then won the series, setting a new
tournament record in the process.
Defending champion Japan played well
in the opening rounds of the international
bracket, defeating Venezuela 1-0 and
coming back against Mexico to win 9-5.
Their pitching dominated both contests, as
Takuma Takahashi struck out 14 against
Venezuela, while Joichiro Fujimatsu and
Suguru Kanamori combined to whiff 15 in
the Mexico game.
The team from Seoul, South Korea
proved equally dominant in its first two
games. In their opener against the Czech
Republic, Seoul won 10-3 and scored in all
but the first inning. Like Japan, their
pitching was strong: starter Hae Chan
Choi held the Czech team hitless in his two
innings while reliever Jae Yeong Hwang
whiffed eight batters in three innings.
South Korea added offense to the mix,
however, banging out 13 hits against the
Czechs before adding 13 more in their next
game against Puerto Rico. Seoul had to
come from behind to win in the second
matchup, trailing 1-5 in the fifth before
bringing in seven runs through the final
two frames while holding Puerto Rico
scoreless. Jae Yeong Hwang was the star
of that matchup, pitching those final two
innings while also driving in two runs.
In addition, Hwang was instrumental in
the international semifinal against Japan,
a tight game between two very strong
teams. Neither team pushed across a run
in the first two frames, and then “Little
Monster” Hae Chan Choi hit a two-run
homer in the third. Japan responded in
their half of the inning, knotting the score
on a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch.
The teams battled through two more
scoreless innings before Hwang gave
South Korea the lead again on a solo homer
in the sixth. Dong Wan Sin added another
run on an RBI double later in the inning,
and Dong Hyeok Kim held the Japanese
team to just a single in the bottom of the
sixth, ensuring the win for Seoul.
Saddled with its first loss, Japan found
its offensive stroke against Mexico in the
elimination bracket, winning 12-1. But the
newly energized Japanese team still
couldn’t overcome a stronger South Korea
in the international championship, as
Seoul showed off the pitching and hitting
that brought them to the Little League
World Series.
Hae Chan Choi and Dong Wan Sin
combined to drive in five runs on two
doubles in the second inning, part of a
seven-run inning that Japan could not
overcome. Though they scratched out
three runs of their own, the team from
Tokyo gave up five more runs to South
Korea, who won easily, 12-3. Along with
Choi and Sin’s heroics, Sang Hoon Han
and Jun Ha Yoo both homered, while Choi
and Yoo combined for two shutout innings,
and Jae Yeong Hwang held Japan hitless
in his two innings.
The boys from Seoul now faced an
American team from Chicago that had won
four straight elimination games prior to
the final, including a win in the U.S.
championship against a Nevada squad
that had outscored its opponents 33-5 over
its first three games. Undaunted, Chicago
came back against Nevada, scoring three
runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and
hanging on to win 7-5 to advance to the
World Series final for the first time since
1983.
Seoul ended Chicago’s miracle run in
this year’s final, taking an early lead and
never relinquishing it. Hae Chan Choi
drove in the game’s first run with a one-out
double in the first inning, and starting
pitcher Jae Yeong Hwang surrendered no
hits to Chicago through the first two
innings.
Hwang was subbed out because he was
feeling ill, but Choi replaced him on the
hill, giving up just one run over the next
three innings while his teammates flexed
their offensive muscles. Hwang drove in a
run in the third inning, Gyu Heon Kwon
added an RBI of his own in the fourth, and
Dong Wan Sin crushed a solo homer in the
fifth. Sin would finish the tournament as
Seoul’s leading hitter with a .545 batting
average, while Hwang led the team in
slugging with three homers and two
doubles.
South Korea did not rest on its laurels
with a 4-1 lead in the top of the sixth
inning, scoring four more runs on a double
from third baseman Shane Jaemin Kim
and a solo homer from Choi. They needed
those insurance runs, as Chicago did not
go quietly, scoring three runs before Choi
retired the final batter to give his team the
victory. Choi and Hwang led South Korea
on the mound in the tournament, each
winning two games, with Hwang notching
a team-best 1.16 Earned Run Average
(ERA) and recording the team’s only save.
In addition to winning this year’s
championship,
Seoul
extended
its
undefeated run at the Little League World
Series with a 11-0 record in three
appearances. It also established a new
record as the only city Little League team
to win three World Series titles. Although
it lacks the number of appearances and
championships boasted by its Asian rivals
Japan and Taiwan, South Korea proved at
this year’s Little League World Series that
quality can be just as important as
quantity.
See related story on page 16.
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