2017 Little League World Series

2017 Little League World Series
Dates	August 17–August 27
Teams participating	16
Champion	Tokyo Kitasuna Little League Tokyo, Japan
Runner-up	Lufkin Little League Lufkin, Texas

The 2017 Little League World Series was held from August 17 to 27. Eight teams from the United States and eight teams from around the world competed in the 71st edition of the tournament.^[1] Tokyo Kitasuna Little League of Tokyo, Japan, defeated Lufkin Little League of Lufkin, Texas, in the championship game by a 12–2 score. It was the 11th time that a team from Japan won the tournament. Tokyo Kitasuna became the first league to win the tournament four times.

Teams

Regional qualifying tournaments were held between June and August 2017.

United States	International
Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan Great Lakes Region Grosse Pointe Woods-Shores Little League	Seoul, South Korea Asia-Pacific and Middle East Region West Seoul Little League
Jackson, New Jersey Mid-Atlantic Region Holbrook Little League	Sydney, New South Wales Australia Region Hills Little League
Sioux Falls, South Dakota Midwest Region Sioux Falls Little League	White Rock, British Columbia Canada Region White Rock South Surrey Little League
Fairfield, Connecticut New England Region Fairfield American Little League	Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic Caribbean Region Los Bravos de Pontezuela Little League
Walla Walla, Washington Northwest Region Walla Walla Valley Little League	Emilia, Italy Europe and Africa Region Emilia Little League
Greenville, North Carolina Southeast Region North State Little League	Tokyo Japan Region Tokyo Kitasuna Little League
Lufkin, Texas Southwest Region Lufkin Little League	Maracaibo, Venezuela Latin America Region Luz Maracaibo Little League
Rancho Santa Margarita, California West Region Santa Margarita National Little League	Reynosa, Tamaulipas Mexico Region Guadalupe Treviño Kelly Little League

Results

The draw to determine the opening round pairings took place on June 15, 2017.^[2]

United States bracket

	August 17 – Game 2
	New Jersey	6
					August 20 – Game 14
	Connecticut	7
					Connecticut	3
	August 17 – Game 4
					Texas	6
	Texas	5
									August 23 – Game 24 (F/7)
	Michigan	1
									Texas	1
	August 18 – Game 6
									North Carolina	2
	Washington	0
					August 20 – Game 16 (F/5)
	California	9
					California	0
	August 18 – Game 8
					North Carolina	16
	South Dakota	0
	North Carolina	6
																	August 26 – U.S. championship
																	North Carolina	5
	August 19 – Game 10 (F/4)
																	Texas	6
	New Jersey	15
					August 21 – Game 18
	Michigan	5
					California	9
					New Jersey	12
									August 23 – Game 22 (F/5)
									New Jersey	2
	August 19 – Game 12
									Connecticut	12
	Washington	4
					August 21 – Game 20
	South Dakota	3
					Connecticut	14
					Washington	6
													August 24 – Game 26 (F/5)
													Texas	14
													Connecticut	4

International bracket

	August 17 – Game 1
	Venezuela	4
					August 20 – Game 13
	Mexico	1
					Venezuela	3
	August 17 – Game 3 (F/4)
					Canada	7
	Canada	12
									August 23 – Game 23 (F/5)
	Italy	2
									Canada	0
	August 18 – Game 5
									Japan	10
	Japan	8
					August 20 – Game 15
	Australia	0
					Japan	4
	August 18 – Game 7
					South Korea	1
	Dominican Republic	1
	South Korea	10
																	August 26 – International championship
																	Japan	5
	August 19 – Game 9 (F/4)
																	Mexico	0
	Mexico	13
					August 21 – Game 17
	Italy	0
					South Korea	0
					Mexico	1
									August 22 – Game 21
									Mexico	8
	August 19 – Game 11
									Venezuela	0
	Australia	7
					August 21 – Game 19
	Dominican Republic	8
					Venezuela	3
					Dominican Republic	2
													August 24 – Game 25
													Canada	2
													Mexico	6

Consolation games

Teams that lose their first two games get to play a crossover game against a team from the other side of the bracket that also lost its first two games. These games are labeled Game A and Game B.

	Game A
	August 21 – Lamade Stadium
	Italy	7
	Michigan	11

	Game B
	August 22 – Lamade Stadium
	Australia	11
	South Dakota	7

Third place game

This consolation game is played between the loser of the United States championship and the loser of the International championship.

	Third place game
	August 27 – Lamade Stadium
	Mexico	14
	North Carolina	8

World Championship

	Little League World Championship
	August 27 – Lamade Stadium (F/5)
	Texas	2
	Japan	12

2017 Little League World Series Champions
Tokyo Kitasuna Little League Tokyo, Japan

Champions path

The Kitasuna LL reached the LLWS with a record of nine wins and only one loss.^[3] In total, their record was 14-1.

Round	Opposition	Result
All-Tokyo Tournament
Opening Round	Chofu LL	17-2
Quarterfinals	Fuji LL	14-1
Semifinals	Inagi LL	11-0 (F/5)
Winners Bracket Final	Nakano LL	5-6
All-Tokyo Round Robin Playoff
Game 1	Chofu LL	9-7
Game 2	Hachioji LL	13-0 (F/4)
Japan Regional Tournament
Opening Round	Hiroshima Nishi LL	12-1 (F/4)
Quarterfinals	Gifu Tohno LL	16-2 (F/6)
Semifinals	Osaka Namihaya LL	4-1
Finals	Chiba City LL	17-0 (F/4)

MLB game

Major League Baseball and Lycoming County officials announced on March 9, 2017 that the area would host an MLB game. The game took place at BB&T Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field and was attended by the Little Leaguers and their families, along with select Lycoming County residents. The teams competing were the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates as the home team. The August 20 game was also televised on ESPN as part of Sunday Night Baseball, ESPN Deportes and MLB Network.^[4]

References