RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent
Players from Venezuela celebrate with one another after defeating Japan in Thursday’s elimination game to be guaranteed a spot in the International championship on Saturday against Chinese Taipei.
It’s been an exciting ride up to this point.
This year, the international side of the Little League World Series has produced a vast array of nailbiters, blessing fans across the country with great baseball. And although over half its teams proved themselves as championship worthy, only two would punch their tickets to the international final when it was all said and done.
When the dust had cleared following Thursday’s consolation final, Chinese Taipei and […] stood as the two teams that remained.
Each team is just two wins away from being crowned the 75th champion in the tournament’s history, 38th on the international side. They’ve both shown they have the means to do so.
The question is, who will remain after Saturday?
DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette
Chiu Wei-Che of Chinese Taipei slides home safely as Sayre Howick of Australia tries to make the play in the first inning at Volunteer Stadium during a game this tournament. Chinese Taipei will face Venezuela in the International championship game on Saturday at Lamade Stadium.
Familiar territory
After a long quest to bring the country of Taiwan a title, its first since 1996, Chinese Taipei manager Lee Cheng-Ta and his 2023 team stood two steps away from doing just that, a team which many considered the tournament favorite soon after they made their debut.
With a fiery top of the order and the trustworthy arm of ace pitcher Fan Chen-Jun, it was the closest Cheng-Ta had gotten to a championship through his three appearances in the 21st century (2009, 2012 and 2023). They just needed a win over Curaçao – who they previously defeated by a score of 9-1 – and one over either California or Texas to take it home.
But nothing’s a guarantee in the Little League World Series. At Lamade Stadium, Curaçao shook off that loss and proved itself more than worthy of a crack at the title, defeating Chinese Taipei in upset fashion, 2-0.
Now, one year later after starting 4-0 at the series for the second straight season, he finds himself in familiar territory.
MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent
Chinese Taipei’s Hu Yen-Chun celebrates after hitting a single in the first inning against Cuba. Chinese Taipei will face Venezuela on Saturday.
“I had the exact thought as everybody else,” said Cheng-Ta through an interpreter after his team advanced to its second straight international final on Wednesday. “We have the four games already. So, these next few days, we’re going to focus on what we did not do (last year) and what we should do (this year).”
As mentioned in previous articles, this team is different than last year’s squad, less star-powered but more team-oriented.
Ten of its 12 players have logged multiple hits throughout the series, with six batting above .300 and five holding an OPS above 1.000. And from the mound, four players have pitched over three innings and three have over seven strikeouts on the series.
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t stand outs.
It has a clear ace in Lai Cheng-Xi, who’s posted 19 strikeouts to two walks through 8 2/3 innings pitched. He’ll be available for either the international final or
And from the plate, Hu Yen-Chen has been one of the most consistent batters of the entire tournament, logging five hits in six at-bats (.833) and eight on-base appearances in nine appearances at the plate.
He, Yu Chia-Jui and Chiu Wei-Che have combined for seven doubles throughout the tournament as well – a testament to the team’s overall success in the slugging department.
“I was a little tight in the beginning (of the series),” said Yen-Chen on his success at the plate. “Coach said to just relax and adjust my batting movement a little bit, and I was able to rip it off.”
“I’ve just followed what coaches said,” added Chia-Jui.
It’s a team with a considerable number of tools that have helped them make it this far. As the only undefeated team left at this point, with wins over Canada, Australia, Cuba and Japan, the hope is to keep it going and build off last year.
“Hopefully, we can do better during the International and World Championship,” said Cheng-Ta.
Long time, no see
After seeing a lot of success in the Little League World Series from the 1980s to 2000s, including two titles in 1994 and 2000, Venezuela would struggle to replicate that through the next two decades.
Represented most consistently by Maracaibo, Valencia and Barquisimeto, it fell just short of the international final on multiple occasions, with Barquisimeto’s most recent run in 2015 concluding just won win away.
With that in mind, this year’s team knew the path to the World Championship would be difficult, even after bulldozing its way through the Latin America regional.
“We open with some confidence, but we know we have to come here and work really hard,” said Venezuela manager Domingo Carrasquel through an interpreter ahead of the event. “They played hard and so well so that they could be here.”
Despite a lack of close games ahead of the series, Venezuela proved it was up to the task when the going got tough.
After opening its series run with a run-rule win over Mexico, Venezuela suffered its first loss since its formation on Monday, falling to Japan in a nailbiter, 2-1. But when it stood three outs away from elimination in its following game, it fought its way to victory, walking it off against a stout Aruba team.
That was the start of a three-game surge back to the top, as it broke the game open early against Mexico before avenging its loss to Japan the following game.
Like its win over Aruba, it once again proved it could handle the pressure of having its back against the wall, battling its way out of holes in the fourth and sixth to punch its ticket to the international final. It’s more than proven that it can handle close-game scenarios.
“I knew that when we came here, we were going to face the best 20 teams in the whole world and that it was going to be different,” said Carrasquel. “But this team, they’re warriors, and they’re going to do their job, and they will continue to do their job. So, I’m happy to be in the top four in the world.”
It’s a team that possesses similar balance to Chinese Taipei.
Offensively, its order has proven capable of attributing hits from top to bottom, with eight of its 13 batters logging three or more hits on the series and batting above .300. That room is led by first baseman Willian’s Mora, who’s posted six hits, four doubles and three RBIs throughout the team’s run.
From the mound, it’s seen four guys pitch through five or more innings in Luis Yepez, Diego Biarreta, Willian’s Mora and Jhonson Freitez, a quartet that’s combined for 36 strikeouts to 19 walks and proven capable of getting their team out of dire situations on multiple occasions. Yepez has operated as the team’s ace, allowing just one run through 7 2/3 innings pitched, and he’ll be available whenever the team decides to use him this weekend.
All in all, it’s a team that recognizes the historical significance of this run, as Venezuela returns to the international final for the first time since 2000. But of course, the hope is to carry that forward into a title.
“I’m very proud of the team. Venezuela is a very baseball-rich player, and they have a lot of good players there,” said Carrasquel on the run. “We’re very happy and we just hope that we can finish the job for Venezuela.”
“Chinese Taipei is a very good team with good techniques, but we’re just going to keep playing our game. It’s been good for us the whole tournament,” he added on his thoughts heading into the team’s matchup with Chinese Taipei.
The stage is set for 12:30 p.m. at Lamade Stadium on Saturday, as both teams look to keep their Little League World Series runs alive another day.
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Publish date : 2024-08-23 17:39:00
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