Jay-Dlynn Wiel and Nasir El-Ossais got back-to-back singles off Taiwanese ace Fan Chen-Jun and later scored, leading Curacao to a 2-0 victory over Taiwan on Saturday in the semifinals of the Little League World Series.
Taiwan came into the game having outscored its opponents 25-1 in its three previous outings at the tournament, but Curacao – which lost 9-1 to Taiwan on Wednesday – kept the Taiwanese bats quiet until the Caribbean team broke through. “I’m very proud of these guys,” Curacao manager Zaino Everett said.
Curacao didn’t have an easy path to the championship. In the rematch Saturday, Curacao beat Taiwan 2-0 to win the international bracket and move to the final. Taiwan brought in ace Fan Chen-Jun, who was the talk of the tournament for throwing 81 mph, as a reliever in the fourth inning.
Little League Baseball and Softball might be as American as apple pie, but the Little League World Series has split the champions with international teams