Little League World Series 2013: Japan and Teams Bound for Strong Performances

Japan is always a contender in Williamsport for the Little League World Series and it’s one of the teams bound for a strong run in 2013.

Japan has won the international tournament’s crown eight times in the history of the Little League World Series, which is second all time to Taiwan—which has 17 titles. The team has been dominant in recent years, making it to the title game three straight times and winning the championship twice, including in 2012.

As the defending champions, it will be interesting to see if Musashi Fuchu Little League can replicate what Tokyo Kitasuna Little League did in Williamsport a year ago. Based on the results from the Japan Regional tournament, it seems likely that the boys from Japan are going to be a tough team to beat in the coming weeks.

Musashi Fuchu defeated Hiroshima Saeki 6-3 in the regional opener and then went on to scored 11 runs against Kishiwada while only allowing one batter to cross the plate. After an 8-5 victory over Sendai Aoba, Musashi Fuchu clinched a trip to Williamsport with an 11-6 win over Miyagino.

Based on the results from the regional tournament, Japan’s pitching staff might not be as good as it usually is—the team only allowed five earned runs at the Little League World Series in 2012. It still looks as if the offense will power the team throughout the tournament, though, which bodes well for the team’s title hopes.

While Japan is definitely a team to watch in the coming days from Williamsport, there are a few other teams that are bound to impress at the Little League World Series. That being said, here are two other teams that should go far.

Westport, Connecticut (New England)

A team from Connecticut hasn’t made a championship appearance or won the Little League World Series since Trumbull did it in 1989. But the kids from Westport have a lot of talent and could potentially end the state’s title drought.

Connecticut didn’t lose any of its games throughout the New England Regional tournament. Westport defeated Vermont 9-2 in the team’s opener and then took down Maine 8-0 in the second game. A 12-run outburst against New Hampshire and a 10-run day against Massachusetts showed the other teams how good it truly was.

While Maine allowed eight runs to score against Connecticut earlier in the regional, it limited the team to just three later in the competition. But Maine couldn’t put a run on the board and Westport advanced to the championship, 3-0. Westport clinched a spot in Williamsport with a 1-0 victory over Rhode Island.

Connecticut has a pair of aces on its squad who are bound to impress once they take the mound at the Little League World Series. Harry Azadian threw 4.2 shutout innings against Maine and Chad Knight allowed just one hit and struck out 14 batters in the regional final, per Doug Bonjour of the Connecticut Post.

South Nashville (Southeast)

Goodlettsville, Tenn. was one of the best teams in Williamsport a year ago. The Southeast made it all the way through the Unites States’ side of the bracket and looked to take down Japan in the World Series Game. Unfortunately for them, Japan crushed them to win the title by a score of 12-2.

This time around, it will be the boys from South Nashville, Tenn. looking to win the coveted Little League World Series crown. Based on the team’s play throughout the Southeast Regional tournament, there’s a strong possibility they’re able to achieve that goal—even though it dropped a game in the tournament.

Tennessee lost the Southeast Regional opener to Virginia by a score of 3-1. The team bounced back nicely, winning its next four games. It got its revenge over Virginia as well, defeating it in the regional championship by a score of 5-3. This team tends to play very tight games, but has been victorious in all but one of them.

Four runs or fewer decided four games throughout Tennessee’s run through the regional tournament. The offense has the ability to break out at any moment, as it scored 17 runs in its second game of regional tournament play. It will be interesting to see if the pitching staff can limit the number of runs it allows (16 in five Southeast Regional games).

All statistics in this article were obtained via LittleLeague.com unless otherwise noted.