Sixteen teams of 10-, 11- and 12-year-olds — eight from the United States and eight from other countries — are competing in the 73rd Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, but few have impressed like Loudoun South.
The team from South Riding, Virginia, advanced from the traditionally competitive Southeast Region, getting past teams from Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. They won their first two games in Williamsport without allowing a hit, which makes them only the second team from the United States to pitch back-to-back no-hitters in the Little League World Series.
Next up, Loudoun South plays Wailuku, Hawaii (not to be confused with the team from Honolulu that won the championship last year), at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN.
If Loudoun South wins, they advance to the U.S. Final, Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
If Loudoun South loses, they move to the loser’s bracket and play again Thursday at 7 p.m. If they then win that game, they would also advance to the U.S. Final on Saturday.
A win either Wednesday or Thursday guarantees them not just a place in the U.S. Final but one additional game Sunday, either in the Consolation (10 a.m.) or International Final (3 p.m.).
A team from the United States has won the LLWS 35 times, but no team from Maryland or Virginia (which compete in the Mid-Atlantic Region) has ever won. The only time a team from Virginia has made it to the International Final was in 1968, when Tuckahoe Little League, from Richmond, fell to Japan.
