2019 Little League World Series

The 2019 Little League World Series was held from August 15 to August 25 at the Little League headquarters complex in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Eight teams from the United States and eight teams from around the world competed in the 73rd edition of the Little League World Series. Eastbank Little League of River Ridge, Louisiana, defeated Pabao Little League of Willemstad, Curaçao, in the championship game by an 8–0 score.

This was the first championship for a team from Louisiana, and in doing so, they became the first team to win the championship after losing its first game since the tournament expanded to 16 teams in 2001. With a team from Honolulu having won the 2018 championship, this was the first time U.S. teams won consecutive titles since 2008 and 2009.

Tournament changes

Among the changes made by the Little League International Board of Directors to the rules, regulations, and policies of Little League was introduction of a rule concerning tied games. Should a game complete seven innings with the score still tied, the offensive team in each subsequent half-inning will start with a runner placed on second base. The runner is the player in the team's batting order who is scheduled to bat last in the half-inning.

Teams

Regional qualifying tournaments were held from June to August 2019.

Results

The draw to determine the opening round pairings took place on June 13, 2019.

United States bracket

Upper round 1Upper round 2Upper finalFinal
August 16 – Game 2
Rhode IslandRhode Island0
August 18 – Game 14 (F/4)
VirginiaVirginia3
 Virginia11
August 16 – Game 4
 Minnesota0
MinnesotaMinnesota2
August 21 – Game 24
KentuckyKentucky1
 Virginia9
August 16 – Game 6
 Hawaii12
HawaiiHawaii5
August 18/19 – Game 16
LouisianaLouisiana2
 Hawaii6
August 16 – Game 8
 New Jersey0
OregonOregon2August 24 – U.S. championship
New JerseyNew Jersey6 Hawaii5
 Louisiana9
Lower round 1Lower round 2Lower round 3Lower final
August 20 – Game 18
August 17 – Game 10 New Jersey2August 22 – Game 26 (F/5)
 Rhode Island6 Rhode Island0August 21 – Game 22 Virginia0
 Kentucky1 New Jersey1 Louisiana10
August 19 – Game 20 (F/4) Louisiana4
August 17 – Game 12 Minnesota0
 Louisiana3 Louisiana10
 Oregon2

International bracket

Upper round 1Upper round 2Upper finalFinal
August 15 – Game 1 (F/4)
CuraçaoCuraçao11
August 18 – Game 13
AustraliaAustralia0
 Curaçao0
August 16 – Game 3
 South Korea4
South KoreaSouth Korea10
August 21 – Game 23
VenezuelaVenezuela3
 South Korea2
August 16 – Game 5 (F/5)
 Japan7
JapanJapan20
August 18 – Game 15
ItalyItaly0
 Japan5
August 16 – Game 7
 Mexico0
MexicoMexico5August 24 – International championship
CanadaCanada0 Japan4
 Curaçao5
Lower round 1Lower round 2Lower round 3Lower final
August 19 – Game 17
August 17 – Game 9 Mexico7August 22 – Game 25
 Australia0 Venezuela8August 20 – Game 21 South Korea3
 Venezuela2 Venezuela2 Curaçao5
August 19 – Game 19 Curaçao9
August 17 – Game 11 (F/4) Curaçao8
 Italy0 Canada1
 Canada10

Crossover games

Teams that lost their first two games played a crossover game against a team from the other side of the bracket that also lost its first two games. These games were labeled Game A and Game B. This provided teams who were already eliminated the opportunity to play a third game. This was the last LLWS to have these games.

 
Game A
 
  
 
August 19 – Volunteer Stadium
 
 
 Kentucky4
 
 
 Australia1
 
 
Game B
 
  
 
August 20 – Lamade Stadium
 
 
 Italy3
 
 
 Oregon4
 

Third place game

This consolation game is played between the runner-up of the United States championship and the runner-up of the International championship.

 
Third place game
 
  
 
August 25 – Lamade Stadium
 
 
 Hawaii0
 
 
 Japan5
 

World Championship

 
Little League World Championship
 
  
 
August 25 – Lamade Stadium
 
 
 Louisiana8
 
 
 Curaçao0
 

Champions path

The Eastbank LL reached the LLWS with an undefeated record in nine games. In total, their record was 15–1.

The Eastbank Little League team with President Donald Trump in October 2019

MLB Little League Classic

On August 19, 2018, it was announced that the third MLB Little League Classic would be played on August 18, 2019, at BB&T Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field, featuring the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates made their second appearance in the annual game, having won the inaugural Classic in 2017. The game was won by the Cubs, 7–1.

References

Uses material from the Wikipedia article 2019 Little League World Series, released under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.