Seoul Little League defeated Jackie Robinson West (Chicago) Little League to win the 2014 Little League World Series. Seoul won Sunday's finale 8-4.
Seoul, the representative for the Asia-Pacific group, went 5-0 in the LLWS, often flashing a powerful offense, averaging more than 8 runs per game.
This marks the third championship for a team from South Korea, but the first since 1985.
The game was close for a bit, as Jackie Robinson West cut the Seoul lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the third inning. Seoul would tack on one run in each the fourth and the fifth, making it 4-1 heading into the sixth and final frame. That's when Seoul broke the game wide open with a four-run inning, collecting five hits in the first six at-bats of the inning.
The offensive star Sunday was Dong Wan Sin, as he went 2 for 3 with a home run. Gyu Heon Kwon added two hits while Jae Yeong Hwang collected two RBI and a double.
Jackie Robinson West, representing the Great Lakes region, was aiming to become the first Little League World Series winner from Illinois. They were held to just two hits -- one each by D.J. Butler and Ed Howard -- by Seoul pitchers Jae Yeong Hwang and Hae Chan Cho through the first five innings.
Despite a seven-run deficit heading into the bottom of the sixth, Jackie Robinson West made a run at a comeback.
Pierce Jones and Trey Hondras collected singles before being driven home on Darion Radcliff's two-run single. Joshua Houston followed with a single and Radcliff scored on a passed ball. The rally fell short after that, though, and Seoul prevailed.
The United States last had a champion in this event in 2011, when Huntington Beach, Calif., took home the title. Each of the previous two seasons champions hailed from Tokyo.
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