SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — After coach Teraj Alexander led his Florida team to the Little League World Series semifinals, he was asked about Saturday's rematch with Texas, the only team to beat a Southeast Regional representative.
“It's time for revenge,” Teraj said.
Probably, but it won't be easy. Texas is unbeaten and has a good path to get there.
Taiwan will face Venezuela in the international semifinals early Saturday morning. Taiwan has won all four games, scoring 32 points.
Teraj made his tournament debut on Thursday in the deciding game against Nevada, striking out five in 3 2/3 innings to help Florida win 6-3.
Manager Jonathan Anderson previously alluded to Teraj's two-way ability, as he led the team in batting average at .400 in the tournament and struck out just once.
“Teraj fills the zone,” Anderson said. “He's got a funky form. I think there's something different about him.”
Teraj was one of three pitchers to take the mound for Florida on Thursday. Lantan Norton started the game, with J.J. Feliciano filling in for Teraj. Florida has had seven pitchers take the mound in the LLWS. They have a combined ERA of 1.88.
Florida has played four straight games since Monday and won all of them.
Now the focus shifts back to Texas, a team based in Lake Mary, a city in the Orlando metropolitan area, where Texas pitcher Julian Hurst struggled to capitalize on his offense, even though he struck out 10 batters and pitched a complete game.
“We're ready to welcome Julian back and see what he can do,” Anderson said.
After Texas' win over Florida, Julien announced that 71.79% of his pitches were strikes, a career high.
“I just stay focused on striking,” Julien said.
Julien pitched a total of 10 innings and recorded 20 strikeouts. He did not pitch in Wednesday's game but still scored two of the team's five runs in a 5-2 win over Nevada.
Texas, a team from Borne near San Antonio that represents the Southwest region, will be well-rested on Saturday, having lost 3-0 and not played back-to-back games. They also have a deep roster, with a team batting average of .324.
In international competition, Taiwan represents the Asia-Pacific region and has had little trouble in the tournament. A win would be especially meaningful for Taiwan, which finished third in the tournament last season despite having an all-rookie roster. Meanwhile, the country has not won the LLWS since 1996 after three decades of dominance.
Taiwan has scored eight, 11 and 10 runs in their first three games, respectively. Additionally, the team has recorded two shutouts and two pitchers have recorded double-digit strikeouts throughout the tournament.
Lai Sung-hee led the team with 19 strikeouts, while Chiu Shi-kai had 10.
Venezuela came back strong to exact revenge on Japan after losing 1-2 to the Japanese team in their second match of the tournament.
The Taoyuan-based Taiwanese team will be forced to contain Willian Mora, who is batting .600 with four doubles and five RBIs.
The Venezuelan team from Barquisimeto has five pitchers who have pitched at least three innings in the LLWS and can make any pitching moves they want.
The semifinal winners will play off on Sunday afternoon for the tournament championship.
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Avery Hill is a student at Penn State's John Curley Sports Journalism Center.
