Curaçao, Hawaii set for LLWS championship

After a long day of baseball in Williamsport, Pa., the final round matchup of the 2022 Little League World Series is set.

The International Championship game between Fu-Lin Little League (Taipei City, Chinese Taipei) and Pabao Little League (Willemstad, Curaçao) was a pitchers’ duel settled ultimately by outstanding defense. Curaçao scratched just one run across against Chinese Taipei starter Li Fang-Mo, who took a hard-luck loss in an otherwise superb three-hit, nine-strikeout performance.

For Curaçao, right-handers Reangelo Decaster and Qshondrickson Doran combined for six scoreless innings, allowing just four hits. What would have been a clutch game-tying home run with one out in the sixth for Chinese Taipei was robbed by center fielder Davey-Jay Rijke, also the architect of Wednesday’s 15-strikeout masterpiece against Nicaragua.

The sole RBI of the game belonged to Jaydion Louisa, whose seeing-eye single was all the offense Curaçao needed to clinch the International Championship, 1-0.

There was more offensive action in the United States Championship, in which Honolulu Little League (Honolulu, Hawaii) defeated Nolensville Little League (Nolensville, Tenn.) by a score of 5-1.

Hawaii, which had dominated tournament opponents by a score of 42-1 entering Saturday’s contest, didn’t skip a beat in the finale, as starting pitcher Cohen Sakamoto, one half of Hawaii’s combined no-hitter on Aug. 19th, tallied seven strikeouts and gave up Tennessee’s only run. On the other side of the ball, it was outfielder Rustin Hiyoto’s two-run home run to dead center that stole the show.

Despite taking the loss, Tennessee’s Trent McNiel put together a complete-game performance, throwing 76 pitches in his effort.

Both winning teams will look to add to rich Little League World Series histories in the championship game on Sunday (3 p.m. ET), with Honolulu Little League aiming to become the fourth Hawaiian team to take home the title since 2005. Pabao Little League, having defended their 2019 International Championship title, looks to win its second championship and first since 2004.