South Korea vs. New York: Score and Reaction for 2016 LLWS World Championship
Maine-Endwell Little League from New York took home the Little League World Series title with a 2-1 victory over South Korea on Sunday.
The Mid-Atlantic champions became the first United States team to win the LLWS since Huntington Beach, California, accomplished the feat in 2011. As ESPN Stats & Info noted, it concluded an incredible run through the summer:
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Ryan Harlost was the star of the day, pitching a complete six innings while allowing just one run with eight strikeouts. He also scored what ended up being the decisive run in the fourth inning.
Although the squad only had three hits in the game, all in one inning, it was enough to come through with the dramatic victory.
It was an outstanding pitcher's duel to start the game, as neither team was able to get onto the scoreboard. While Michael Mancini had been New York's ace for much of the tournament, Harlost did a great job of keeping his opponents off balance and held South Korea scoreless through four innings.
On the other side was Junho Jeong, who was perfect through the first three innings with a stretch of seven straight strikeouts.
The performance impressed Larry Burneal of WBNG:
New York didn't get its first hit until the bottom of the fourth inning when Jude Abbadessa got a single. He later came around to score the first run of the game on an RBI bloop single by Conner Rush. Harlost then made it a 2-0 lead when he sprinted home from third base on a passed ball.
Jeong finished the game with just those runs allowed and three hits in four innings to go with nine strikeouts.
South Korea answered back in the top of the fifth inning with a Yoomin Lee solo home run to cut the lead in half to 2-1.
"South Korea not going away quielty!
— Baseball Tonight (@BBTN) August 28, 2016"
A solo HR from Yoomin Lee makes it a one run game in the #LLWS Final.https://t.co/633EprKGdK
Lefty pitcher Wontae Cho then sent down the New York team in order in the fifth to keep the pressure on heading into the final inning.
After South Korea got two runners on base in the top of the sixth, however, Harlost closed things out himself for the win. Jeff Reinhart of PennLive.com described the atmosphere:
Prior to Saturday's contest, South Korea was 15-1 in LLWS games, including 3-0 in title games, most recently winning in 2014. However, the squad wasn't able to keep it going as New York did just enough to win.
This had been an incredible summer for Maine-Endwell, which won the Mid-Atlantic Championship before going 4-0 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania to win the U.S. title. While there is plenty of talent on the roster, chemistry was also important during this run.
"I think it has helped that they're friends," manager Scott Rush said after his team's win over Tennessee, per Rob Centorani of the Press & Sun-Bulletin. "We've spent the last three to four weeks together—11 kids and three coaches, and they're brothers now. It's great."
The squad from upstate New York also earned some extra motivation for the game from President Barack Obama, per Baseball Tonight:
"A pregame good-luck message from the President? Not bad. #LLWShttps://t.co/Z3OzZblyeq
— Baseball Tonight (@BBTN) August 28, 2016"
The athletes will now all return to school for the fall with memories they will never forget.
Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter.
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