2022 Little League Baseball® World Series – August 17-28

Only four teams remain as they look to take home the Championship Banner at the 75th Anniversary of the Little League Baseball® World Series. Fu-Lin Little League (Taipei City, Chinese Taipei) will face Pabao Little League (Willemstad, Curaçao) in the International Championship, with Honolulu (Hawaii) Little League squaring off against Nolensville (Tenn.) Little League in the United States Championship game.

Here’s how the four best Little League Baseball teams in the world made it to Championship Weekend:

Fu-Lin Little League is looking to add to Chinese Taipei’s LLBWS-record 17 championship banners. Those 17 championships across 30 appearances make up nearly half of the 37 total international championship titles over the course of the event’s 74-year history. The Region’s history at the LLBWS has produced multiple records, including the most consecutive appearances in championship games with six (1977-82; 1986-91) as well as two of the tournament’s seven perfect games (1973, 1979).

Fu-Lin Little League’s Region tournament started poorly after falling to South Korea in its  opening round game. However, the loss would be its last of the summer as the team rebounded quickly by putting together three straight wins, including a tightly contested rematch against South Korea in the championship game.

The squad brought its momentum to Williamsport, where the Asia-Pacific Region Champions pulled out a 2-0 first-round win against the team from Italy before defeating Panama, 7-0. The Fu-Lin pitching staff would then go on to surrender its only run in Williamsport to Mexico but remained in the winner’s bracket thanks to some hot bats.

Tseng has been the centerpiece of Fu-Lin’s elite defense and a menace in the batter’s box, knocking in two RBIs while batting .455 in the tournament. He has logged a hit in every game so far, including a pair of two-hit games against Mexico and Europe-Africa.

Wang’s .500 batting average is 20th in the tournament and his four RBIs rank 13th among all LLBWS players. Wang has paced the dynamic Asia-Pacific hitters from the cleanup spot, collecting six total bases and only one striking out once.

Pabao Little League from Willemstad, Curaçao, is back in the International Championship game for the second consecutive time after placing second in the 2019 LLBWS. The league makes up 10 out of Curaçao’s 14 appearances in Williamsport and will look to tack on one more win to the country’s 46-24 record in the LLBWS. Curaçao’s sole championship banner came in 2004 but has since finished as runners-up in 2005 and 2019.

This year’s Caribbean Region Tournament saw Curaçao win five of their six matchups in the Dominican Republic, and the team replicated their Region Tournament record in Williamsport. In fact, this year’s Pabao Little League team took the exact same path as last year’s, with both squad’s losing their second-round matchup before battling through the elimination bracket to the International Championship game.

In Williamsport, the Curaçao team has managed to grind out win after win with its back against the wall, with three of the elimination games being decided by two runs or less. The strength of this team has been on the pitcher’s mound, where Reangelo Decaster, Jay-Dlynn Wiel, and Davey-Jay Rijke have shut opposing hitters down.

Davey-Jay Rijke has done a little bit of everything for Pabao Little League. The leadoff man has notched six runs for his team while hitting .353, but his real strength is on the bump. While he will be ineligible to pitch for the rest of the tournament due to pitch count rules, Davey-Jay has already asserted himself as a dominant force on the mound with a LLBWS-leading 31 strikeouts, zero walks, and only one earned run through 12 innings of work.

The one-two punch of Davey-Jay and Jay-Dylnn has silenced opposing bats all tournament, with Jay-Dlynn only giving up one earned run in 10 innings while striking out 13 hitters. The ace will be unavailable for the International Championship game but is capable of picking up the slack with his bat hitting .333 with two RBIs and only one strikeout.

Hawaii has sent a team to Williamsport 15 times, winning three championship banners and claiming runner-up honors twice. As it did in 2018, Manager Gerald Oda’s We>Me motto has once again powered Honolulu Little League back into the U.S. Championship game after a dominant run through the West Region and LLBWS tournaments.

The West Region tournament saw the team from Hawaii put up 25 runs while allowing just five in San Bernardino, California. There was only one occasion throughout the entire West Region tournament when the team found itself losing, 3-2, against Northern California after three innings. The lead didn’t last for long, as the Honolulu team would go on to 10-run-rule Northern California, 13-3, in five innings. Kekoanui Payanal was the team’s leader through the Region tournament, batting .600 with five RBIs and two of the team’s five home runs across three games.

Hawaii brought the same powerful bats with them to Williamsport, where they have put together a tournament-leading 11 home runs in four games. Of the top six hitters who have hit the most homeruns in the LLBWS, four of them play for Hawaii.

Jaron has become must-watch television during his four games in Williamsport, batting .600 to go along with five RBIs, two home runs, and only one strikeout. The shortstop has also made his fair share of remarkable plays in the field, and despite being one of Hawaii’s top pitchers, has only been called upon to pitch a total of four innings. In four innings of work, he has yet to allow an earned run and struck out eight total batters.

Cohen’s 17 strikeouts through nine innings of work is second in the LLBWS so far, and he has yet to allow a hit in the entire tournament. His dominance on the mound is not to be overshadowed by his skill in the batter’s box, where he has logged a hit in five of his seven at-bats, launching two home runs and raking in nine RBIs. His .714 batting average is first amongst LLBWS players with at least five at bats in the tournament.

The leadoff hitter on one of the most dominant offenses in the LLBWS this year, Kekoanui Payanal is one of the few Little Leaguers® who has played in Williamsport twice. Kekoanui is a returner last year’s Honolulu Little League squad that placed second at the LLBWS and has blasted the second most home runs in the tournament so far while batting .308 and knocking in four RBIs.

Nolensville Little League returned to Williamsport again this year, but their appearance in the U.S. Championship is a drastic improvement from last year’s tournament when they lost their first two games. Playing in Tennessee’s 10th LLBWS appearance, the team will look to win the state’s first-ever championship and clinch a spot in the final for only the second time.

Nolensville Little League outscored opponents in the Southeast Region Tournament, 28-5, led by returning players Jack Rhodes and William Satinoff, plus manager Randy Huth. The experienced trio has guaranteed Nolensville a top five finish in this year’s LLBWS, the best season in league history.

So far in Williamsport, the Southeast Region champions have thrived on the defensive side of the ball and produced by committee on offense. Nolensville has seen it all through its five LLBWS games. An extra innings victory against Indiana proved its ability to win close games, and an 11-run game versus Utah asserted the squad as a force in the batter’s box. The first game of the LLBWS against New England and the most recent victory against Texas displayed Nolensville’s ability to play solid baseball for a full six innings.

William Satinoff has produced multiple web gems from shortstop, earning a tip of the cap from opposing fans and coaching staff’s with his highlight reel plays. Batting leadoff on offense, Sati is also hitting .400 with three RBIs through his five LLBWS games.

While Josiah is legally blind in his right eye, you would never know by looking at his stats. He is batting .400 with six RBIs, good for fourth most in the entire tournament. Porter is taking Williamsport by storm this summer while holding it down in the outfield, putting away four batters without registering a single error.

One of two returning players, Jack has paced the Nolensville Little League team from the top of the lineup and is tied for most hits in the tournament so far with eight. He also leads the LLBWS in doubles so far, collecting a total of 11 bases across five games.

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