Japan Little League champions

Powerhouse wins third title in 4 years

JAPAN 6 CALIFORNIA 4

The victory lap around Lamade Stadium never gets old for Japan, nor does the players’ ritual of scooping up some souvenir dirt near the mound after another Little League World Series triumph.

A perennial power in youth baseball, Japan rallied past Chula Vista, Calif., 6-4 on Sunday to win its ninth title and third in four years, the only disappointment in that recent span a loss in 2011 to Huntington Beach, Calif.

Ryusei Hirooka won this one with a two-run double in the bottom of the fifth inning and Shunpei Takagi hit two solo home runs to help keep the Tokyo team undefeated in the tournament.

“In all honesty, I’m really happy,” said Japan manager Masumi Omae, who also led the 2003 Japan team to the World Series title. “I definitely always dreamt about coming back to win again. To be able to trust the kids and their abilities is something I’m most proud about.”

Facing one last threat in the sixth, the Japanese players erupted in glee, tossing Omae in the air near the mound after his slick fielders had turned a game-ending double play.

“Wanting to be World Series champs is all we’ve talked about for the last two years,” Takagi said. “I was thinking, just get a hit at the plate. The outcome was two homers, so I was really happy.”

It was the 14th championship game for Japan and 23rd for California, which has won seven World Series titles.

Giancarlo Cortez had a tworun single and Grant Holman an RBI single for Chula Vista.

Trailing 4-3 after Cortez’s clutch single in the fourth, Japan tied it on Takagi’s second homer and won it when Hirooka lined a 2-2 pitch down the left-field line after not being able to sacrifice the runners up a base.

“My mind was full, trying to get the bunt down,” Hirooka said. “When I didn’t get (the bunt) down, my mind was blank. I’m just so happy I could get a hit to help our team win.”

California beat Westport, Conn., 12-1 in the U.S. championship game Saturday, while Japan edged Mexico 3-2 for the international title.

The Americans left 12 runners on base in a game that was there for the taking.

“We left some opportunities out there, but give Japan credit,” Chula Vista manager Rick Tibbett said. “They made some great defensive plays.”

Unbeaten, too, entering the game, Chula Vista struck early to send a message that it would be a tense affair.

Keyed by the shaggy-haired duo of Micah Pietila-Wiggs and Jake Espinoza at the top of the order, California scored twice in the top of the first against Japan starter Kazuki Ishida to put the pressure on. Pietila-Wiggs was hit by a pitch leading off and Espinoza lined a double down the left-field line. Pietila-Wiggs came around to score on a passed ball and Holman singled home Espinoza.

California received a scare when Cortez was hit by a pitch in the helmet during the first inning and departed for a pinch-runner after being examined on the field.

Holman, who pitched a nohitter in the World Series, hadn’t pitched since Wednesday and was shaky at the outset, walking two of the first three batters and throwing a wild pitch as Japan quickly mounted a threat of its own and tied the score. Takuma Gomi, whose dramatic solo home run in the top of the sixth had given Japan a 3-2 victory over Mexico in the international championship Saturday, lined an RBI single. A botched throw in from the outfield on the hit sailed wide of home plate, allowing Takagi, who had walked, to score the second run.