AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar
With a win of 5-2 over Ohio on Sunday, Michigan won the title in 2021 Little League World Series.
Taylor North Little League was the first Michigan team ever to win the championship, since 1959.
Jackson Surma was a big winner in the all-Great Lakes final. He scored two hits and had four RBI. Jakob Furkas was the Michigan runner-up.
West Side Little League had six hits, but the Ohio team left runners on base all the time. The Michigan pitching duo Ethan Van Belle & Gavin Ulin only allowed two runs.
Ohio was able to set the tone with bases loaded in the first innings. Van Belle then struck out with a clutch strikeout.
Van Belle managed to escape danger several times more and was able to finish the game with only one run and eight strikeouts in just four innings.
Michigan was better at capitalizing on its opportunities and scored three runs in the first to grab the lead. Surma scored a 2-run double to get his team on top.
Ohio's Cooper Clay scored an RBI single in the second to reduce the deficit, but it was hard for Hamilton to score runs.
It got two runners on the fifth and a double play 6-4-3 ended the inning.
This was a crucial moment, as Surma made it back to the plate in the fifth.
Ulin loaded the bases, and walked in the sixth. However, Taylor won the game by forcing Chance Retherford to a game-ending flyout.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's tournament was restricted to teams from the United States. This allowed two teams from each area to progress to Williamsport, instead of one winner.
They also set up the first ever regional rematch in final.
Rick Thorning, Michigan manager, stated that there were two good teams out of the Great Lakes.
Ohio lost its first regional tournament game before reaching the final. The national tournament was a similar story. Ohio needed four consecutive wins in the consolation bracket in order to reach the title game.
Michigan was dominant in the last month. They went 4-0 in regional competition and lost only one match to Hawai'i at the main bracket. To reach the championship, the team overcame its single defeat in the Hank Aaron Final.
The final game was one for all, and Michigan came out on top.
The tournament was a thrilling return to the event after it was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19. However, fans should be hopeful that the full field will return in 2022 with international competition.
