By: Sports Contributor
Curacao advances to its first LLWS title since 2005. They held on to beat Japan 5-4 to win the International Championship of the Little League World Series.
In the bottom of the sixth, a wild pitch created an exciting finish; two outs were scored and two Japanese runs were had. Suddenly, the game was on the line and Japan had more hope. However, a flyout to left field on the next pitch stopped a comeback for Japan.
Curley Martha, Curaçao’s top player gave his all both on the mound and the plate. His two-run homer in the fifth opened up a three-run lead for Curaçao. In the final three innings, Martha was on a roll. He mowed through Japanese batters prior to the wild pitch at the end.
Sunday when Curaçao face Louisisana, Martha won’t be available to pitch as he exceeded the 20-pitch threshold.
Their appearance in Sunday’s championship is the first time since 2009 that the international representative isn’t from Japan or South Korea.
