Little League World Series: Japan crushes Tennessee in championship final

Little League World Series: Noriatsu Osaka's three home runs propelled the Japanese squad to their second Little League World Series title in three years.

By Genaro C. Armas,?Associated Press / August 27, 2012

Tokyo, Japan's Noriatsu Osaka (10) rounds the bases past Goodlettsville, Tenn., second baseman Lorenzo Butler (8) after hitting a walk-off, two-run home run in the fifth inning of the Little League World Series championship baseball game in South Williamsport, Pa., Sunday, Aug. 26.

Gene J. Puskar/AP

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Fast friends in the Little?League dorms, the boys from Japan and Tennessee played one last game Sunday to decide which team would be crowned World?Series champions.

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Noriatsu Osaka's big bat helped send the team from Tokyo home with the title banner.

Osaka's third home run of the game put an exclamation point on Japan's 12-2 victory over Tennessee in five innings in the Little?League?World?Series championship game Sunday.

The 12-year-old Osaka added a triple for good measure in his 4-for-4 afternoon. In a symbolic gesture, Japan's players jogged the traditional postgame victory lap carrying the flags for both their home country and the United States.

"We had such a great time in Pennsylvania and we really played a good game today. It was kind of a, 'Thanks,'" Osaka said through an interpreter.

Starter Kotaro Kiyomiya struck out eight in four innings and added an RBI single for Japan. The game ended in the fifth after Osaka's third homer made it a 10-run game.

"We thought we played the best in the tournament so far, especially to win by the 10-run rule in the finals," said 12-year-old Rintaro Hirano, who homered in the fourth to make it 10-1.

A day after pounding out a 24-16 win over California in the U.S. title game, the Goodlettsville, Tenn., sluggers could only muster two hits ? solo homers by Brock Myers and Lorenzo Butler.

It was a bittersweet final for two teams that grew close during their two weeks in South Williamsport. They exchanged customary postgame handshakes at the plate before Japan received the World?Series championship banner and took their warning-track run.

"Tennessee was our best friends in the U.S. division," Kiyomiya said.

Japan's jog finally stopped in front of the team's giddy cheering section as proud family members and friends stood shoulder-to-shoulder to take pictures through the infield fence.

There were so many highlights, including five home runs off Tennessee pitching.

That was more than enough offense for 13-year-old ace Kiyomiya, who had a fastball clocked in the high-70s. The right-hander with the hitch in mid-delivery pitched like a big league ace in allowing just one hit.

Regardless, this is still a banner year for Goodlettsville after its exhausting victory Saturday over Petaluma, Calif., for the U.S. championship. That game set a record for most combined runs in the World?Series.

The thrilling victory kept the Tennessee players and their families up late into the night.

"(The parents) must have partied harder than the kids did," manager Joey Hale said. "I knew we'd be flat today."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/Ewj3_4rS0is/Little-League-World-Series-Japan-crushes-Tennessee-in-championship-final

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