JUNIOR LEAGUE WORLD SERIES continues at Heritage Park August 22-23

Teams from Chinese Taipei, Puerto Rico, Iowa and Virginia have earned spots in the final four of the Junior League Baseball World Series at Taylor’s Heritage Park

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On Saturday (August 22), the Asia-Pacific champions from Tai Chung, Chinese Taipei, will play the Puerto Rico national champions from Caguas for the International championship at 3 p.m.

At 6 p.m., USA Central Region champion Johnston, Iowa, will play Southeast Region champion Frederick County, Virginia, for the USA championship.

The winners of those two games will play at 1 p.m. Sunday (August 23) for the ultimate prize: the world championship. This is the first time in the 35 years of the World Series that the final game will be played on a Sunday.

The championship game of the World Series will be broadcast live by ESPN.

Admission to Saturday’s games and the Sunday game is $5 per carload per day. Parking is included.

The Junior League World Series is the international tournament for the best teams of 13- and 14-year-old baseball players. It’s the “older brother” of the more famous Little League World Series for 12-year-olds in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

The Junior League World Series has been held in Taylor since its inception in 1981. This is its 35th year.

Teams win national and/or regional championships in tournaments around the globe to qualify for the weeklong international World Series.

The four remaining teams emerged during round-robin pool play that took place this past Sunday through Thursday. Chinese Taipei (4-0) and Puerto Rico (3-1) placed first and second, respectively, in the International Pool. Iowa (4-0) and Virginia (2-2) earned the top two spots in the USA Pool.

Virginia actually finished in a three-way tie for second with Ridgewood, New Jersey, and Pearl City, Hawaii. The teams remained tied after the first tie-breaker: head-to-head competition. The next tie-breaker – total defensive runs given up divided by the number of innings played on defense – is computed for each team involved in the tie. The team with the lowest run differential advances. As a result, Virginia qualified to play Iowa.

Crossover consolation games are scheduled for today between the third-place teams from each pool (Panama vs. Hawaii), the fourth-place teams (Czech Republic vs. New Jersey) and the fifth-place teams (Canada vs. Texas).

The annual Home Run Derby is scheduled for noon Saturday.

Games on Saturday will be streamed on www.vaughnlive.tv/jlws.

FINAL POOL STANDINGS

International Pool

Chinese Taipei         4-0

Puerto Rico         3-1

Panama                  2-2

Czech Republic         1-3

Canada                  0-4

USA Pool

Iowa                           4-0

Virginia                  2-2

Hawaii                  2-2

New Jersey         2-2

Texas                  0-4

THE REST OF THE SCHEDULE

Saturday, August 22

Home Run Derby, Noon

International Championship Game, 3 p.m.

USA Championship Game, 6 p.m.

Sunday, August 23

World Championship Game, 1 p.m., Broadcast Live on ESPN

Closing Ceremonies

THURSDAY GAME SUMMARIES

Johnston, Iowa 9, Weslaco, Texas 5: The Central Region champions remained undefeated (4-0) and on top of the USA Pool by scoring eight unanswered runs to erase a 5-1 lead by the Southwest Region champs. After Texas scored four runs in the third, Iowa scored four runs in the sixth inning and the game remained tied at 5-5 after the regulation seven innings. In the top of the eighth, Iowa erupted for four more runs. Iowa’s Andrew Nord hit a three-run home run to tie up the game in the sixth, doubled in the first and hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth, knocking in four runs in all. Cade Moss went 2-for-3, scored twice and had an RBI. Adam Burns pitched two-hit ball the last 4 2/3 innings to earn the victory. Angel Castellanos had three of Texas’ six hits. The USA Southwest champs finished 0-4 in pool play.

Tai Chung, Chinese Taipei 10, Oakville, Ontario 0: Huang Ching Yo and Gu Lin Ruei Yang combined on a six-inning one-hitter as the Asia-Pacific champions finished 4-0 in the International Pool. Chinese Taipei scored in five of the six innings before the 10-run mercy rule went into effect. Yo went 2-for3, scored two runs and had two RBI. Lee Cheng Ling was 2-for-3, scored once and knocked in a run. Nicolas Jaeggin had the lone hit for the Canadian national champions (0-4), a single in the second inning. No other Ontario player reached base. Chinese Taipei outscored its four opponents 45-7 in pool play.

Caguas, Puerto Rico 10, Brno, Czech Republic 3: The national champions of Puerto Rico earned a spot in the International title game with a seven-run rally in the fifth inning. Puerto Rico had 11 hits. Lead-off hitter Kevin Bermudez went 2-for-3, scored a run and knocked in four runs. Hector Rodriguez went 2-for-3 and scored three runs. Yavier Caraballo went 2-for-2. For the champions of Europe and Africa, Tomas Chadim went 2-for-4 and scored twice and Lukas Hlouch knocked in three runs. Puerto Rico finished 3-1 in pool play. Czech Republic finished 1-3.

Ridgewood, New Jersey 6, vs. Frederick County, Virginia 1: David Kleiman had three hits and Kevin Seitter pitched a three-hitter to lead the USA East champions to their second win of the World Series. New Jersey never trailed, taking a 1-0 lead in the second inning, adding two runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings and closing it out with a run in the sixth. Both teams finished pool play 2-2. Virginia emerged from a three-way tie (with New Jersey and Pearl City, Hawaii) to finish runner-up in the USA Pool after the World Series tie-breaking system was applied.

NOTEBOOK

Home Run Derby

The annual Home Run Derby is scheduled for noon Saturday on the Senior Field at Heritage Park. Players compete by hitting baseballs off a tee. The players who hit the most home runs win prizes. All players in the World Series are allowed to enter.

Sponsorships Available

The World Series operates on the generosity of sponsors, fundraising efforts and other donations, along with an all-volunteer staff. To make a tax-deductible donation or to become a series volunteer, contact Greg Bzura at (734) 306-3113 or bgregbz@att.net.

For More Information

For more information about the Junior League World Series, visit the website www.cityoftaylor.com/worldseries. Also, follow the World Series all year long on Facebook at www.facebook.com/juniorleagueworldseries and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jlwstaylor. The official Instagram account of the World Series is @jlws_Taylor.