This was the Lake Mary Little League Summer of 2024.
A Florida minor league baseball team won the state’s first Little League Baseball World Series championship on Sunday, Defeat Chinese Taipei 2-1 in eight rounds. The team never took the lead in the game, but secured the win thanks to a crucial strike from Hunter Alexander.
Chinese Taipei easily blocked Alexander’s strike, but Chinese Taipei had no one on first base for Alexander’s throw, which flew to the outfield allowing the runner on second base to score.
Both teams dominated the field, with Chinese Taipei scoring in the first inning but starter Jacob Bibaud and substitute Lathan Norton holding them back for the rest of the game. Florida trailed 1-0 with just three innings remaining, but first baseman DeMarcus Messis tied the score with a single to left field.
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Florida vs. Chinese Taipei in 2024 LLWS Championship Game: Score Updates and Highlights
Final score: Florida 2, Chinese Taipei 1
6:25 PM: Florida does it! Florida starts with a player on second base, who scores a run on a shortstop. Chinese Taipei blocks the shortstop well, but no one covers first base, so the strike goes to the outfield. Florida wins the LLWS for the first time ever.
Best of 8th round: Chinese Taipei 1, Florida 1
6:22 PM: Norton keeps the pressure on, shutting down Chinese Taipei again. Florida has another chance to go in the eighth.
6:17 PM: Norton’s fastball continues to force retirement for Chinese Taipei players, as he gets another strike.
7th and final round: Chinese Taipei 1, Florida 1
6:13 PM: Florida hits a big shot to end the round. But she misses a chance and will need to get three more shots.
6:10 PM: Florida hits a double to left field, but it prevents the runner from reaching third base. He might have had a chance to score the winning run.
6:09 PM: Another Florida hit for the second inning. Both teams are dominant on the mound today.
6:08 PM: Florida starts the inning with a strikeout, but gets a base runner on a single after a walk.
Best of the 7th round: Chinese Taipei 1, Florida 1
6:01 PM: Norton got another chance to get out of the inning. Florida is one run away from winning.
6:01 PM: Norton forces the catcher to bounce on the second strike of the inning. Great bounce after two straight strikes.
5:55 PM: Chinese Taipei with back-to-back singles, putting runners on first and second bases with an out.
5:53 PM: Norton continues to spark fire on the mound, striking out another batter. His fastball was tough for Chinese Taipei.
Lower 6th round: Chinese Taipei 1, Florida 1
5:48 PM: Florida was unable to score the game-winning run, but managed to force extra innings. Free baseball game!
5:46 PM: Tie. Game. DeMarcus Messis hits a foul ball to left to score Anderson at second base. Bono reaches third, giving Florida a chance to win by one hit here.
5:44 PM: Florida’s four-inning player Landon Bono walks, putting runners on first and second bases with two outs.
5:42 PM: Rohhausen hits an out, even though he appears to be backing off. The first base umpire decides he swung the ball, and the play cannot be reviewed. Florida now has two outs.
5:41 PM: Florida pulls the ball deep into midfield, but Chinese Taipei makes a great save in midfield to score the first goal of the half. Tough play.
5:37 PM: Perfect start for Florida, as first baseman Chase Anderson was hit with a 3-1 leadoff hit. Now the tying batter is on base.
6th round: Chinese Taipei 1, Florida 0
5:31 PM: Norton strikes out a batter to end the inning. Florida has three more runs to play with a chance to tie or win.
5:30 PM: Both players pitched well. Norton with two quick hits early in the sixth inning.
Bottom 5th inning: Chinese Taipei 1, Florida 0
5:24 PM: Chinese Taipei eliminated two Florida players at the end of the game, leaving Florida with only a few more chances to tie the score.
5:20 PM: Florida’s second batter of the inning reaches base with a single up the middle. Then he proceeds to hit the net. Classic move.
Fifth round: Chinese Taipei 1, Florida 0
5:14 PM: Norton got another strong run to end the inning. Both teams had difficulty scoring runs with runners in scoring position so far.
5:12 PM: Norton forces a hard shot in the second period. The Chinese Taipei bases are still full of outfielders.
5:11 PM: Norton walks the batter to load the bases.
5:06 PM: Lethan Norton will replace Bibaud, who played well enough to win. Norton will hope to keep Florida in this game late in the game.
5:04 PM: Chinese Taipei got the ball rolling with Bebo, who fired a double into the gap in left field to put runners on second and third bases with an error. Bebo had 72 outs.
Bottom 4th round: Chinese Taipei 1, Florida 0
4:56 PM: Florida goes to the right goal line, but it goes straight to the Chinese Taipei right fielder. The score is still 1-0 heading into the fifth period.
4:54 PM: Florida with a runner on third base with two outs. The inning could have ended with a player out at first base, but review showed the runner was safe before advancing to third base.
Fourth round: Chinese Taipei 1, Florida 0
4:40 PM: Peapod is now ready, having struck out 10 straight batters. Florida gets out of the inning thanks to a great ball from the center fielder, who dives to his left and spins to beat the runner at first base.
Third Round Bottom: Chinese Taipei 1, Florida 0
4:33 PM: Florida couldn’t capitalize, coming out of the game to end the inning. Florida had four hits to Chinese Taipei’s one, but still trailed.
4:32 PM: Florida applies double steal, putting runners on second and third bases with two outs.
4:31 PM: Florida hit a hard ball to second base, but the ball was well blocked and nearly turned into a double play. But Florida was safe at first base, keeping the inning going with two outs.
4:23 PM: Back-to-back hits for Florida put runners on first and second base with two outs. Can the team finally make a big breakthrough here?
Third best: Chinese Taipei 1, Florida 0
4:19 PM: Bebo was impressive from the first half, successfully stifling the Chinese Taipei attack, then he took the Taipei players out of the game again in the third period.
Second half: Chinese Taipei 1, Florida 0
4:12 PM: Tough attack for Florida, who couldn’t score in the second half. Chinese Taipei still led 1-0, but Florida’s attack woke up.
4:09 PM: Another Florida hit to load the bases with two outs. Another big moment here.
4:07 PM: Wow. Tough start for Florida, as he hit the ball right to the third baseman, who turned it into a double by pulling it out of the infield and throwing it in.
4:05 PM: Florida with the bases full and no errors. There’s a chance to do some big damage here.
4:01 PM: Florida got off to a great start in the first inning, reaching base on an infield groundout.
Best second half: Chinese Taipei 1, Florida 0
3:57 PM: Bebo is adjusting well, taking out Chinese Taipei players in order. Florida’s lineup is looking to tie this match now.
First half: Chinese Taipei 1, Florida 0
3:49 PM: Florida was unable to capitalize on this opportunity, trailing 1-0 heading into the second half.
3:46 PM: The first Florida players went down in order, but the batters in the third and fourth holes managed to reach base with two outs.
Best first half: Chinese Taipei 1, Florida 0
3:34 PM: Florida was able to get out of a bases-loaded jam with a hard hit to left field to end the inning. Peapod did a good job of limiting the damage after two walks to start the inning.
3:32 PM: Chinese Taipei scored their first point of the game on a strong ground ball to the center. Florida had two points early in the first half.
3:28 PM: Florida gets an out on a sacrifice bunt, but Chinese Taipei moves runners to second and third bases with one out.
3:26 PM: Chinese Taipei started the game early, scoring two goals in a row early in the match. The team has not yet managed to strike a strong blow against Beppu.
3:21 PM: Florida is the home team, and left fielder Jacob Bibaud is on the mound.
3:02 PM: The hill is full and the LLWS Championship game is about to get ready for first pitch.
2:20 PM: Florida and Chinese Taipei arrive at Lamade Stadium for the LLWS Championship Game:
- when: 3pm ET Sunday, August 25
- where: Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, Pennsylvania
- 10 am: Barquisimeto, Venezuela (Latin America) vs. Burnie, Texas (Southwest) on ESPN2
- 3 pm: Taoyuan City, Chinese Taipei (Asia-Pacific) vs. Lake Mary, Florida (Southeast) on ABC
- August 14: Lake Mary, Florida (southeast) Beat Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Midwest) 2-1
- August 16: Lake Mary, Florida (southeast) Beat Puyallup, WA (NW) 6-1
- August 19: Bourne, Texas (Southwest) excels Lake Mary, Florida (southeast) 4-1
- August 20: Lake Mary, Florida (southeast) Won Staten Island, NY (Metro) 6-1
- August 21: Lake Mary, Florida (southeast) Defeated Wailuku, Hawaii (Western) 4-3
- August 22: Lake Mary, Florida (southeast) Beats Henderson, Nev. (MT) 6-3
- United States Championship: Lake Mary, Florida (southeast) Defeated Bourne, Texas (Southwest) 10-7
- LLWS Championship: Taoyuan City, Chinese Taipei (Asia Pacific) vs. Lake Mary, Florida (southeast)3pm Sunday, August 25th on ABC
- Number 7 Chase Anderson: center fielder / second baseman / center fielder
- Number 8 Chris Chekhodrov: pitcher/outfield
- No. 9 Lethan Norton: Outfield/Pitcher/Third Base
- Number 10 Hunter Alexander: Rule 2/Rule 3
- Number 12 Jacob Bibaud: Outfield/Pitcher
- Number 14 JJ Feliciano: Shortstop/Third Base/Pitcher
- Number 15 Liam Morrissey: pitcher/pitcher
- Number 18 Louis Kalou: pitcher/outfield
- Number 19 Landon Bono: Catcher/Pitcher/Third Base
- #22 Garrett Rohusen: feasibility
- No. 25 DJ Missy: The first rule
- No. 26 Tiraj Alexander: First base/catcher/thrower
Where is Lake Mary, Florida?
Lake Mary is a suburban city in Seminole County, central Florida, about 20 miles north of Orlando.
Has Florida ever won the Little League World Series?
Lake Mary is making its first trip to the World Junior Championships. It is the 24th team from Florida to make the trip to Williamsport, and while eight teams from the Sunshine State have finished second, no Florida team has won the tournament.
How many innings are there in the Little League Baseball World Series?
Minor league baseball games do not last nine innings like Major League Baseball and college baseball. Minor league baseball games only last six innings. If the score is tied after six innings, the game continues to extra innings until there is a winner.
LLWS Throwing Limits: How many pitches are in the Little League World Series?
Little League International limits the number of balls players are allowed to throw in a given time period. For 11-12 year olds in the Little League World Series, players are limited to 85 balls per game.
There are also requirements regarding how long a player must rest between matches. Here are the following: Comfort Requirements for Rams Ages 14 and Under:
- 66 or more shots in a match: 4 days rest before next appearance on the pitch
- 51-65 pitch: 3 days
- 36-50 pitch: 2 days
- 21-35 Pitch: One day
- 1-20 Stadium: No need to rest
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