New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Hawaii shuts out Georgia to win US title, will face South Korea
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Aukai Kea struck out 15 while throwing a complete game as Hawaii went ahead on a pinch-hit single by John De la Cruz and defeated Georgia 3-0 to advance to the Little League World Series championship on Saturday.
De la Cruz’s hit broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning. Hawaii added the game’s final two runs in the fifth, on an RBI triple from Bruce Boucher, followed by Jace Souza’s run-scoring single.
Eight days after striking out 10 Georgia batters in 61⁄3 shutout innings, Kea struck out the side in three of the first four innings Saturday, and a batter in all six.
Hawaii, the U.S. champion, will play South Korea on Sunday after the AsiaPacific regional champs defeated Japan 2-1 earlier in the day.
Over two games at the double-elimination tournament, Georgia played 17 innings against Hawaii but was held scoreless. Much of that was due to Kea, who also hit a walk-off, two-run homer to end the teams’ 11-inning game last week.
SOUTH KOREA 2, JAPAN 1
Choi Ji-hyung blasted his third home run of the Little League World Series, then struck out seven over 42⁄3 innings, giving South Korea a spot in the tournament championship.
With two outs and nobody on in the first inning, Choi’s homer went into the fans sitting beyond the left-field fence. He raised his right index finger in the air as he rounded first and high-fived his third base coach with both hands on his way home.
Choi Soo-ho’s double to center then drove home Kim Gi-jeong, who reached second on a throwing error by Japan.
Choi Ji-hyung started on the mound for South Korea, keeping Japan scoreless on three hits while he was in, but got pulled in the top of the fifth with runners on the corners.