The Asia-Pacific team will face Australia in the Little League World Series on Friday, August 16, 2024 (8/16/24) in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Fans can watch the game without cable through free trials of Fubo TV and DirecTV Stream.
Here's what you need to know:
Opponents: Asia Pacific vs. Australia
Contents: Little League World Series
Date: August 16, 2024 (8/16/24)
Location: Little League Baseball World Series
Time: 5pm ET
Television: ESPN
Channel Finder: Verizon Fios, AT&T U-verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, DIRECTV, Dish, Hulu, fuboTV, Sling.
Live Stream: Fubo TV and DirecTV Stream
Here are some recent AP baseball articles:
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Quaternary Little League is poised to make another run at the Little League World Series, but this time they're hoping for a happier ending.
The team from Taoyuan, Taiwan, that came to South Williamsport last year with its best pitchers and finished third in the tournament, is back again under coach Lee Chen-ta, but with a much different roster.
No players are returning, but that's not a concern for Centa. “We don't have one star player on the team, and everyone is contributing,” Centa said through a translator.
Taiwan is hoping to follow in the footsteps of last year's team and has been training hard to qualify for a return to the tournament, which begins on Wednesday with four matches scheduled, including an international match between Taiwan and Canada.
Last year, Taiwan outscored the three teams 25-1 heading into the final weekend, thanks in large part to the efforts of ace pitcher Hwang Cheng-jun, but lost 2-0 to Curacao in the semifinals, managing just one hit and ending Taiwan's hopes of winning its first LLWS championship since 1996.
Prior to 2023, Quachan had been to South Williamsport twice before: in 2009, when the team lost to California in the finals, and in 2012. Centa was part of the team in all of those games, but he said the current lineup is the best he's ever coached.
“They're smart and can overcome a lot of weaknesses that physical strength can't cover,” he said.
In the Asia-Pacific tournament, Kuei-Shan went 5-1. Eight teams competed over the course of a week for a spot in the LLWS tournament.
Keisan lost to South Korea 13-3, but faced them again in the regional finals in early July, with Taiwan winning 3-0.
“This team is very good defensively and (errors) are very rare,” Centa said. “As long as they can maintain their defensive game, they usually do pretty well.”
Offensively, the team has also performed well: All of its other region tournament wins have come by margins of at least 10 points and as many as 20 points.
Taoyuan does not have an indoor facility where the Little League team can practice, and the weather in July was wet, limiting the team's preparation before traveling to the United States.
The winner of the Taiwan vs. Canada game will face Australia, who received an exemption in the opening match. The loser will play in the repechage.
“It's a tough journey coming here because it's a different team,” Centa said, “Win or lose, just enjoy the journey to Williamsport. I hope the kids make some great memories in Williamsport.”
This was Cuba's second time competing on the international team, representing the Santa Clara Little League in Villa Clara. In their first appearance last year, Cuba quickly lost two games and their assistant coach was no longer with the team.
Is the West still the strongest?
Teams from the Western Region have won the Little League World Series three times since 2018. Although there was no tournament in 2020 and only teams from the United States competed in 2021, the region has still continued to dominate.
Hawaii took home the title in 2018 and 2022, and last year El Segundo, California, beat Curacao to stay atop the West Region.
Hawaii will be representing the West for the 16th time with Central East Maui Little League from Wailuku. This is a different team from the Honolulu team that took home the trophy, but made it to the U.S. finals in 2019 before losing, losing to Japan in the repechage round.
En route to Pennsylvania this year, CEM went 3-1 in the Western Regional Tournament, and after losing to Southern California 11-3, Friday's regional final was a rematch, with the Hawaii team winning, this time 2-1.
“It's just an honor just to have the opportunity to come here and play,” head coach Daniel Balduc said.
On Wednesday, Central East Maui will play Salem Little League from the New England Region.
The secret, Bolduc said, is “just staying focused. It doesn't matter the score or winning or losing. You just have to stay focused. In baseball, you always have to keep moving forward. We've preached that message a lot to the boys and I feel like they're really starting to believe it.”
Thank you for trusting us to provide you with journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.
