Florida on Sunday won its first Little League World Series title, and they did so in dramatic fashion.
The team from Lake Mary, Florida beat Chinese Taipei on a wild play in the ninth inning. With a runner at second and nobody out, Florida opted to try to bunt the runner over to third. The bunt was perfect — so perfect, in fact, that both the pitcher and first baseman attempted to field it. That left no one to cover first, and the subsequent errant throw allowed the runner to score from second.
FLORIDA WINS THE LLBWS ‼️
CHAOS ON THE FINAL PLAY TO WIN IT 🤯 pic.twitter.com/HoqU8mlqRr
— ESPN (@espn) August 25, 2024
There were a lot of moving pieces on defense there. Realistically, the second baseman should have moved toward first to try to cover, but it’s easy to understand why a team of youngsters didn’t get it right. It’s also not clear if it would have even salvaged the play.
This actually marks the second consecutive year the Little League World Series has ended on a walk-off play, though Florida didn’t benefit from an announcer jinx this time.
