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Well, it was an excellent championship game. This is your host, Aidan Thomas, signing off! Make sure to check back later for a game recap

In the end, the backbreaker for Southeast was from an unexpected source. A two-run single from Billy Dundon,  a pinch-hitter who was hitless in the World Series, gave New York their third and fourth runs, which made the differences after McWilliams hit his blast

Mancini gets the win, Duffer the tough-luck loss, as he pitched five excellent innings for the Southeast

IT'S OVER! Abbadessa remains collected, induces a ground-out, and New York advances to the title game, tomorrow at 3:00!

Down to their last strike

McWilliams extends the game with a monster two-run shot, his fourth of the World Series. 4-2 New York

It's been an excellent, gritty run by this Southeast squad. But they're one out from elimination

A popout from Tyler brings up McWilliams. He's Southeast's last hope

Tanner Jones grounds into a fielder's choice. One down and a runner on first. He'll hope his twin brother, Tyler, can bring him in now

Leadoff walk and the top of the order is now up for Southeast. Tanner Jones up now. 

New York has not made it to the title game since 1964. 

Jude Abbadessa will look to get the final three outs for New York

Another groundout back to the pitcher and we head to the sixth! 9-1-2 batters due up for Southeast!

Duffer induces a ground ball right back to himself for the second out. Runner on third with two outs

Harlost strikes out...Duffer's first K since the first inning

Harlost up against Duffer

No longer hitless against Tennessee! Abbadessa doubles to right-center

He's 7-8 against teams not called the Southeast. 0-5 against this Tennesee squad

Abbadessa leads off for New York. 

Abbadessa needs one pitch to end the fifth inning. A quick ground out to end the frame. 4-0 headed to the bottom of the fifth. New York has the top of the order up to extend their lead

Two down in the fifth. Southeast will be happy to see someone not named Mancini on the mound...but Abbadessa is an excellent pitcher and will be tough to rally off of

Mancini drops in three straight curveballs to pick up a K in his final batter. 4.2 innings, and Mancini is done. Jude Abbadessa in to pitch for New York

RJ Moore pinch-hits for Southeast

Simmons gets Southeast's first hit of the game! A single after a five-pitch at-bat. Mancini at 82 pitches. Almost certainly his last batter now

Pinch-hitter Jon Simmons is in for Southeast

Jackson did a good job, working a six-pitch at-bat, before flying out to center field. One out...five to go for New York to clinch this thing

Ethan Jackson leads off for Southeast. He and other Tennesee hitters will look to force a lot of pitches from Mancini

Reminder: Mancini only has 14 pitches left to throw

Mancini grounds out to Tyler Jones at first base. Jones makes a spectacular dive to beat Mancini to the bag and end the inning, but New York gets four in the inning. Six outs between New York and the title game!

Dundon, a non-starter for this team came off the bench for New York and does his job! A two-run single to left field and it's 4-0!!! Might be insurmountable as long as Mancini is hurling for New York

Another pinch-hitter in Billy Dundon is up for New York

Pinch-hitter Jayden Fanara grounds out on a swinging bunt, but the runners advance into scoring position

James Fellows connects sharply for the second time. The ball is knocked down by the infield, but no outs can be made. First and second with one out. 2-0 NY

Tanner Jones made a spectacular play to get the tag down for the out on that play

The call stands. One out with runners ont he corners!

The runner was called out, but New York challenged the call

A challenge as McWilliams threw to home plate to cut down a runner

A RUN! New York strikes with a single to left field. Runners advance on the throw. Second and third and nobody out. 1-0 NY

Despite having thrown 9 straight balls, Duffer induces a foul ball from Hopko...1-1 count

First and second with nobody out

A four-pitch walk issued by Duffer, who is suddenly struggling with his command

Duffer has thrown five straight balls, inducing a mound visit from his catcher and manager

He walks him...runner on first and nobody out for Connor Rush

Duffer being careful with Harlost, a dangerous hitter

Harlost leads off for New York. Rush and Hopko to follow

Mancini picks up his tenth strikeout. 71 pitches through four innings. 85 is the maximum

Two down for Rucker

After a foul ball, Mancini paints the black, zipping his fastball on the inside corner for his ninth strikeout

How gutsy is Mancini? He throws a 3-1 breaking ball and gets a swinging strike

Mancini up to 63 pitches in the fourth inning, one down and a 2-1 count on McWilliams. 

Southeast puts a rare ball in play, but Tyler Jones ground out to the shortstop. One out. 

Tyler Jones, Zach McWilliams, and Carson Rucker, all strikeout victims of Mancini, up for Southeast in the top of the fourth

Abbadessa does it to! Swings at the first pitch and grounds out to third base! 3 pitches and 3 outs for Duffer, who has thrown just 30 pitches through 3 frames. 0-0, halfway through an excellent U.S. Championship game so far!

Mancini swings after the first pitch and grounds out to second base

Owens flies out to right field on the first pitch

Jordan Owens leads off, Mancini and Abbadessa to follow

Couple of close calls didn't go the way of Mancini, but the right-hander recovers. Whiffs Tanner Jones for his eighth K. We head to the bottom 3.

Tanner Jones walked earlier off Mancini. No batter has reached since

Mancini allows a ball to be hit...but he makes the play. Catches a pop-up in foul territory for the second out. Back to the top of the order for Southeast

Easton Dillard tries to break the K streak by Mancini

Mancini strikes out his seventh straight batter!!! One down in the third

Duffer leads off for Southeast

The Southeast has a big fan in Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts. A recent tweet from the 2016 All-Star: "Look at them TN boys do work!! Keep it rollin fellas! #Goodlettsville #dirtysouth"

Cool under pressure! Duffer induces a groundout to second base. Excellent work in a tough jam by Duffer. 0-0 after two complete

Fellows lines out sharply to left. Runners thought it was dropping and didn't tag. No runs score. Two outs. 

James Fellows is up for New York. 4-6 at the World Series so far

Runners on second and third with one out

Raleigh was hitless in the Little League World Series, but he hammers Duffer's offering into the gap for a double

Jack Hopko is the first runner for New York.  Earns a walk and there is a runner on with one out

Duffer recovers to induce a ground-out for the first out

Rush shows some opposite field power. A long, long, foul ball down the right field line

Connor Rush looking to be the first baserunner for New York. 2-1 count

Rush, Hopko, and Raleigh up for New York

Another long at-bat, but Mancini fires a high fastball past the swinging bat of Oden. He's thrown 38 pitches over two innings though. No runs, but the pitch count is good news for Southeast

Ryan Oden up for Southeast

Carroll forced Mancini to throw 8 pitches, but the right-hander finally whiffs his fifth straight batter on a biting curveball

Robert Carroll up now

Mancini recovers from a 3-1 count, strikes out his fourth straight batter. 1 out

Ethan Jackson leads off the second inning for Tennessee. 2-0 count

Duffer needs just seven pitches for a 1-2-3 inning after striking out Harlost! Great start to this U.S. Championship!

Abbadessa grounds out on the first pich. New York is hacking early against Duffer

Mancini gets a taste of his own medicine, whiffing on a breaking ball

Mancini was hacking to begin the game, fouling Duffer's first pitch hard. Takes a called strike and down 0-2

Mancini leading off for New York

New York has scored at least two first-inning runs in each game in the Little League World Series

Mancini blows away Carson Rucker with a 71 mph heater. He struck out the side and is about to come to the plate for New York. 0-0 after half an inning

Mancini whiffs McWilliams, as Southeast's best hitter swings over a curveball. 

Zach McWilliams up now. He homered off Mancini on  Monday

Mancini freezes Tyler with a curveball that breaks over the plate. One down and Tanner Jones on first

Tanner's twin, Tyler is up now

And Jones earns a walk...Mancini didn't walk a batter in his prior start

Tanner Jones works a 3-1 count in the first at-bat of the game

Ball 1 and we are underway

Tanner Jones in to start the game!

New York is warming up!

Excellent national anthem and the first pitch is coming up in just a couple of minutes!

New York, represented by Maine-Endwell, is located just 116 miles from Williamsport. They have thousands of fans here. A small but loud contingent from Tennessee have also made the trip

New York Lineup: Mancini, Jude Abbadessa, Ryan Harlost, Conner Rush, Jack Hupko, Brody Raleigh, James Fellows, Justin Ryan, Jordan Owens

As expected, Michael Mancini will get the start on the mound for New York. 

Goodlettsville, Tennesse was here before. In 2012, they won the USA Championship 24-16 over California in seven innings, after giving up ten runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. They look for another victory here 

Tanner Jones, Tyler Jones, Zach McWilliams, Carson Rucker, Ethan Jackson, Robert Carroll, Ryan Oden, Brock Duffer, Easton Dillard...the lineup for the Southeast. Duffer, who pitched against New York in their first matchup, takes the mound for Tennesee. 

Quick update: Winner of this game will play South Korea, representing Asia-Pacific, who beat previously unbeaten Panama, representing Latin America, 7-2

Barely 20 minutes until this game gets underway! Mid-Atlantic vs. Southeast coming up at 3:30! I'll get starting lineups here in a moment!

Make sure you tune in for the of updates and results, brought to you by VAVEL USA!

Mid-Atlantic's offense has only been slowed down by the Southeast. They've scored 23 runs in three games, and 20 of those have come in their two games not against the Southeast's stingy pitching. They'll look to do better the second time around. Jude Abbadessa was 0-3 the first time around against the Southeast, but he is 7-8 in their other two games. Batting out of the two-hole, he needs to jumpstart New York's offense. Harlost is 4-8 with plenty of walks. Although not a starter, James Fellows has been been reliable off the bench, going 4-6 in limited plate appearances. Mancini has been quite good out of the leadoff spot, so he and Abbadessa will be asked to get on base for the big bats in the middle of New York's offense. Will it be a pitcher's duel or a slugfest? Time will tell. 

Offensively, the Southeast will look to the top of their order for a spark. Twins Tanner and Tyler Jones have been sparkplugs at the top of the order. Tanner has gone 7-17 at the Little League World Series. Tyler has gone 4-11 with a healthy dose of walks. McWilliams has gone 5-14, rounding out the top three of Southeast's order. Carson Rucker hits cleanup, but he has slumped recently, going just 3-15 in the tournament. Ethan Jackson has been solid out of the five-spot, hitting right around .500 in Williamsport. The bottom of their order hasn't been bad, but it's been the top of the order doing the damage for Tennessee. 

Meanwhile, the Southeast has had to grind their way through this tournament, featuring plenty of grit and determination along the way. They won a battle in their opener, a 3-2 walkoff victory over the Northwest. After suffering the setback to New York, the Southeast had to win three straight elimination games in as many days to get to this point. They did just that, taking down the Midwest 14-3, the West 4-2, and the Great Lakes 8-4. Even their lone blowout victory, against the Midwest, was a tough game, as they overcame a 3-1 deficit halfway through the elimination contest. They'll look for revenge over the Mid-Atlantic on Saturday. 

The two teams' road to the U.S. Championship have been quite different. With plenty of rest between each game, Mid-Atlantic has sailed to a 3-0 record. They recorded an easy 7-2 win over New England to earn a spot in the winner's bracket. They didn't give up that spot, edging Southeast in the second round, and outslugging the Great Lakes to advance to the title game. Unlike the Southeast, they have been able to stick to a set system of starters, alternating between Mancini and Harlost. Their pitching is set up perfectly for the final weekend of the Little League World Series. They look to bring the Mid-Atlantic back to the championship game. Lewisberry, Pennsylvania represented Mid-Atlantic  in 2015, losing to Japan in the championship game. 

Southeast's pitching choice is not quite as easy. They've had a wide range of hurlers take the mound in Williamsport, and, having played every day except Friday this week, some of their best arms are unavailable. Their ace, Zach McWilliams, isn't available until Sunday, while Ryan Oden pitched on Thursday. Brock Duffer pitched last time against Mid-Atlantic, but he struggled and hasn't pitched since. Robert Carroll has done some work on the mound, including one start in which he gave up 3 runs over 4.1 innings. He may be the most likely option to begin the game on the bump for SoutheastRJ Moore hasn't started, but he looked pretty good in slamming the door on the Great Lakes on Thursday. He's available to pitch, and may come out of the bullpen. If Southeast can mix together the right mix of pitchers to advance to Sunday, they will have McWilliams ready for the title game. 

Michael Mancini was all smiles when he dominated the Southeast on Monday. Saturday's probable starter, can Mancini do it again?

Michael Mancini was the man of the hour for New York in their victory over the Southeast, striking out 13 batters. Mancini could very well get the call again on Saturday, as ace Ryan Harlost is unavailable after throwing 70 pitches against the Great Lakes on Wednesday. If Mancini pitches on Saturday, it would leave Harlost available for Sunday, if the New Yorkers advance to the overall championship game. 

That game was a rare pitchers duel on the U.S. side of the bracket, which has had a healthy dose of slugfests. This included Mid-Atlantic's last game, a wild 13-10 victory over the Great Lakes, who were then eliminated by the Southeast. 

Hello, I'm Aidan Thomasand I will be your host in this LIVE commentary of the 2016 Little League World Series U.S. Championship between the unbeaten Mid-Atlantic squad out of New York, and the Southeast representative, a team that hails from Tennessee. The squads have met once in Williamsport this season, with the New Yorkers triumphing 3-1.  

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