Thank you for joining me today for what turned out to be an amazing game. Please follow this link and join my friend Josh Schwam for the United States championship game.
Bottom 7th 2 outs- Koki Jo hits into a walk-off fielder's choice to end the game. Japan advances to the Little League Championship game!
Bottom 7th 1 out- Strikeout is the first out of the inning.
Bottom 7th 0 outs- Kabu Kikuchi strikes out swinging but advances to first when the catcher doesn't thrwo to first to complete the out. Bases loaded
Bottom 7th 0 outs- Japan has runners on second and third with nobody out.
Bottom 7th 0 outs- The no hitter is over after Aoki beats out a infield hit to the shortstop.
Top 7th 3 outs- The inning ends with a strikeout. Still scoreless
Top 7th 2 outs- Another strikeout for the second out of the inning
Top 7th 1 out- Nice play by the Japan right fielder at the wall to make the catch for the first out of the inning
Bottom 6th 3 outs- A groundout to third ends the inning. Time for extra innings
Bottom 6th 2 outs- After the umpires get together, the call stands. Runner on second with two outs. Play is ruled an error, so Japan still hitless
Bottom 6th 2 outs- Japan gets a hit when the left fielder drops the ball.
Bottom 6th 2 out- Groundout to third base for the second out
Bottom 6th 1 out- Verdugo gets his eighth strikeout.
Top 6th 3 outs- Japan turns a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning!
Top 6th 1 out- Strikeout for the first out of the inning
Top 6th 0 outs- Tough start to the inning for Japan, the right fielder dropped a catch to put a runner on first
Bottom 5th 3 outs- After a strikeout to end the inning, Japan has gone five innings without a hit.
Bottom 5th 2 outs- Groundout to second for the second out of the inning
Bottom 5th 1 out- Kikuchi strikes out swinging
Top 5th 3 outs- Another strikeout ends the inning! Clutch pitching from Japan keeps the game scoreless!
Top 5th 2 outs- Kicuchi racks up a clutch strikeout.
Top 5th 1 out- Mexico playing small ball. Sacrifice bunt advances runner to third base
Top 5th 0 outs- Daniel Zaragosa doubles to left center field to lead off the inning.
Bottom 4th 3 outs- Kengo Tomita flies out to right field. After 4 innings, Japan does not have a hit yet.
Bottom 4th 2 outs- Flyout to Lopez for the second out
Bottom 4th 1 out- A strikeout is the first out of the inning.
Top 4th 3 outs- Jordan Solorio strikes out swinging.
Top 4th 2 outs- Raul Leon pops out to the third baseman.
Top 4th 1 out- One pitch, one out after a pop out to the catcher
Bottom 3rd 3 outs- Shingo Tomita grounds out to end the inning
Bottom 3rd 2 outs- Hayato Yumasashi strikes out swinging
Bottom 3rd 1 out- One pitch, one out as the leadoff batter lines out to second base
Top 3rd 3 outs- Hector Sanchez goes down swinging and we are still scoreless from Lamade Stadium
Top 3rd 2 outs- Jorge Armenta grounds out to second base.
Top 3rd 1 out- Derik Lopez strikes out swinging.
Bottom 2nd 3 outs- Koki Jo strikes out on a foul tip. Scoreless after two innings in the International Championship game.
Bottom 2nd 2 outs- A groundout to second base is the second out of the inning
Bottom 2nd 1 out- Kabu Kikuchi strikes out swinging
Top 2nd 3 outs- Ernesto Rios strikes out looking. We are still looking for the first run of the game
Top 2nd 2 outs- Alberto Bustos flies out to right field
Top 2nd 1 out- Daniel Zaragoza singles to left field. Runners of first and second now
Top 2nd 1 out- Armando Verdugo strikes out on a high fastball. One out
Top 2nd 0 outs- Raul Leon singles to right field for the first hit of the day for either team
Bottom 1st 3 outs- Kengo Tomita grounds into a 5-3 double play to end the inning. Nice work by the Mexico third baseman to turn two.
Bottom 1st 1 out- Yugo Aoki strikes out swinging for the first out of the inning
Bottom 1st 0 outs- Yuma Watanabe reaches on what should be an error on the second baseman
Bottom 1st 0 outs- Shingo Tomita draws a leadoff walk, the first baserunner of the game
Bottom 1st 0 outs- Armando Verdugo gets the start for Mexico.
Top 1st 3 outs- Mexico goes down in order on just six pitches. 0-0 after one half inning of play.
Top 1st 2 outs- A groundout to shortstop is the second out of the inning
Top 1st 1 out- The leadoff batter flies out to center field for the first out of the game.
Top 1st 0 outs- The first pitch of the game is over for a strike
We are underway from Lamade Stadium!
Record crowds of up to 50,000 are expected for the United States Championship game, but before that, we have to determine who will advance from the International side.
Stay tuned here for live coverage of today's International Championship game! The first pitch will be thrown at 12:30 pm ET.
Fielding has been a major strength for Mexico in the tournament as they have only committed one error in 108 total chances while Japan has two in 81 total chances.
The teams are built very differently offensively with Japan focusing more on contact and Mexico having a team that will hit a handful of home runs. Their pitching staffs, however, are both geared more towards striking batters out, with Japan having 33 strikeouts in 20 innings and Mexico striking out 37 across 26 innings pitched.
Japan also has very good numbers with a .346 team batting average and .997 OPS. Additonally, their pitching has been fantastic, too, with a 2.40 ERA and a WHIP of 1.20.
Both teams have had very impressive numbers during the series but the team that stands out most to this writer is Mexico. The team has an extremely impressive .319 batting average and a 1.022 OPS as a team and an ERA of 1.61 with a WHIP of 1.19. They have an extremely well-rounded team with very few players not getting on base and scoring runs.
Mexico has also played very good baseball, winning games against Canada (1-0), Australia (14-3), Asia-Pacific (11-1) and Latin America (11-0). The team is led by Raul Leon who is 8-15 in the tournament with two home runs and Daniel Zargoza who has yet to give up a run in 10.2 innings on the mound with 16 strikeouts.
Japan has had a very good run to this point defeating Asia-Pacific by a score of 7-5, Mexico (3-1), and Latin America (5-4). They have been led by Kengo Tomita who is 4-8 in the tournament with two home runs and Kikuchi who has pitched seven innings giving up four earned runs and striking out 14 batters.
The pitching staffs of both these teams have been able to command the strike zone and prevent opposing hitters from getting free passes. Mexico has thrown strikes 69 percent of the time while Japan has thrown 62 percent strikes. Mexico has an advantage in regards to pitching efficiency, with their pitchers tossing 15 pitches per inning. Japan, comparatively, throws an average of 18 pitches per inning. However, Japan has gotten their bullpen involved more which means their top starting pitcher, Kikuchi, has thrown less pitches, which could put him in a good position to start against Mexico today.
A major strong point shared by both teams is their ability to have quality at-bats. For Japan, 44 percent of their plate appearances have been quality at-bats, while Mexico 46 percent quality at-bats. Jorge Amenta has been the leader for Mexico in that department with 7 quality at bats in 12 plate appearances. The leader for Japan is Shingo Tomita who has had seven of his 11 plate appearances considered quality at-bats.
The two teams that will face off in today's International Championship decider have both played Asia-Pacific and Latin America, with Japan winning both games by very close scores (7-5 and 5-4) and Mexico blowing both of them out (11-1 and 11-0 respectively). While that doesn’t necessarily mean anything in regards to the Japan vs. Mexico match-up it does suggest that the teams have very different mindsets with Japan focusing more on pitching and Mexico being more of an offensively-minded team.
This game is a rematch from earlier in the tournament when Japan bested Mexico by a score of 3-1, thanks heavily to strong pitching by Nobuyki Kawashima and RBIs from Kabu Kibuchi as well as a solo home run by Fukutaro Kiyomiya. Mexico scored its only run on a solo home run from Gerardo Lujano.
The game features Mexico and Japan in a showdown to see who will face Texas in the Little League World Series Championship.
Above this point will be news and notes for you to know ahead of today's International Championship game.
Hello and welcome to VAVEL USA's LIVE coverage of the 2015 Little League World Series International Championship game! My name is Stevie Larson and I'll be bringing you minute-to-minute coverage of today's game.