Little League World Series 2013: Japan Proves Pitching Trumps Big Bats

Japan (Musashi Fuchu Little League) won the 2013 Little League World Series, thanks to an excellent pitching staff that shut down opposing offenses with consistency throughout the tournament.

It was Japan's second title in a row, third in four years and ninth title overall, as noted by ESPN's SportsCenter:

Heading into the final game against the West representative Eastlake LL, Musashi Fuchu LL had only scored 17 runs in four games but had only allowed nine runs.

In direct contrast to this low-scoring trend was Eastlake LL's potent offense, which generated an astonishing 36 runs in its first four games.

It's worth noting that the team from Chula Vista, California also shut opposing offenses down, allowing just seven total runs before running into the technically sound lineup of Japan. 

Featuring a loaded lineup, headlined by Grant Holman, Nick Mora and Michael Gaines, Eastlake LL blasted eight home runs and six doubles in its first four games, leading to 29 RBI.

In the championship game, however, the big bats of Eastlake LL went quiet, thanks to a superb effort by a trio of Japanese pitchers. 

Holman, Mora and Gaines, who had accounted for six home runs and 19 RBI in the team's first four games, could only manage to eek out a single RBI and zero extra-base hits.

Kyousuke Kobayashi, Kazuki Ishida and Keita Saito brilliantly challenged the talented Eastlake LL lineup throughout the contest, and as a result Japan won yet another Little League World Series title.

For the tournament, Musashi Fuchu LL put up some outstanding pitching numbers: 1.800 ERA with 24 hits allowed, just 13 bases on balls compared to 39 strikeouts—a terrific ratio of 3-1 in favor of strikeouts.

Dominant pitching usually trumps hot bats, and in this case it certainly did. 

Holman, Mora, Gaines and the rest of the team from Chula Vista put together an exciting run, but in the end Japan's pitchers were too good to overcome. 

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