'Hong Ji-hwan 4⅔ innings, seven strikeouts' Korean U-12 Little League representative team advances to World Series for the first time in seven years after defeating rival Taiwan

*This content was translated by AI.

The Republic of Korea Little League Major (U-12) representative team, powered by ace pitcher Hong Ji-hwan (Incheon Namdong-gu), has advanced to the Little League World Series for the first time in seven years.

On the 3rd, the Korean representative team defeated Taiwan 3-1 in the finals of the 2026 Little League Asia-Pacific & Middle East Regional Tournament Major held at Hwaseong Dream Park in Gyeonggi Province.

After defeating the Philippines 10-0 via a five-inning cold game victory in the semifinals held on the previous day (the 2nd), Korea faced Taiwan, which had crushed New Zealand 13-2, in the finals. Korea held Taiwan scoreless in the first and second innings. In the bottom of the third, Gilio (Incheon Namdong-gu) reached base with an infield hit, creating a scoring opportunity, and Jeong Gi-hyeon (Incheon Cheongna) followed with a double to left-center field for the lead run.

Taiwan's counterattack was fierce. In the top of the third, Taiwan drew a walk from the leadoff batter, added a single to left-center field, and reached base on a pitcher's infield hit, creating a bases-loaded, one-out opportunity. At that moment, Taiwan's number-one hitter Lin Shao hit a sacrifice fly to center field for an RBI, tying the game 1-1. However, in the top of the fifth, a triple by Maeng Jae-hyeon (Yeonsu-gu Cheong) and an error by the opposing team allowed Korea to take the lead. In the top of the sixth, Park Seo-jun (Incheon Namdong-gu) reached base on a hit-by-pitch, followed by another error from the opponent, extending Korea's lead by one more run.

Ace Hong Ji-hwan delivered an overwhelming performance with 4⅔ innings pitched, allowing only one run and recording seven strikeouts before being removed after reaching the 85th-pitch limit. Maeng Jae-hyeon (Yeonsu-gu Cheong), who entered the game afterward, finished the match with 1⅓ innings pitched and one strikeout.

With this victory, the Major representative team has achieved advancement to the World Series for the first time in seven years. Additionally, the Intermediate (U-13) representative team also advanced smoothly through the Asia-Pacific qualifiers by winning all their preliminary matches against Taiwan, securing back-to-back World Series berths for 11 consecutive years. Simultaneous qualification across both divisions is a significant achievement, marking the first time this has occurred in 11 years.

An official from the Korea Little League Association stated, "Despite the hot weather, the players and coaching staff worked hard to combine training with games and achieved advancement to the World Series. The journey toward the World Series begins anew. We hope they can prepare well for the World Series without any injuries during the training period."

Head coach Kim Hong-jip (Bupyeong-gu) declared, "We have successfully passed the first hurdle. I want to express my sincere gratitude to the players and will ensure they are fully prepared for the World Series so they can achieve excellent results in the United States as well."

The 2026 Little League Baseball World Series is scheduled to take place over 12 days from August 19 to August 30 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, USA.

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*This content was translated by AI.