2017 Little League World Series Explained

Dates:	August 17–August 27
Num Teams:	16
Champion Other:	Tokyo Kitasuna Little League Tokyo, Japan
Second Other:	Lufkin Little League Lufkin, Texas

The 2017 Little League World Series was held from August 17 to 27. Eight teams from the United States and eight teams from around the world competed in the 71st edition of the tournament.^[1] Tokyo Kitasuna Little League of Tokyo, Japan, defeated Lufkin Little League of Lufkin, Texas, in the championship game by a 12–2 score. It was the 11th time that a team from Japan won the tournament. Tokyo Kitasuna became the first league to win the tournament four times.

Teams

See main article: 2017 Little League World Series qualification. Regional qualifying tournaments were held between June and August 2017.

United States	International
Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan Great Lakes Region Grosse Pointe Woods-Shores Little League	Seoul, South Korea Asia-Pacific and Middle East Region West Seoul Little League
Jackson, New Jersey Mid-Atlantic Region Holbrook Little League	Sydney, New South Wales Australia Region Hills Little League
Sioux Falls, South Dakota Midwest Region Sioux Falls Little League	White Rock, British Columbia Canada Region White Rock South Surrey Little League
Fairfield, Connecticut New England Region Fairfield American Little League	Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic Caribbean Region Los Bravos de Pontezuela Little League
Walla Walla, Washington Northwest Region Walla Walla Valley Little League	Emilia, Italy Europe and Africa Region Emilia Little League
Greenville, North Carolina Southeast Region North State Little League	Tokyo Japan Region Tokyo Kitasuna Little League
Lufkin, Texas (The Thundering 13) Southwest Region Lufkin Little League	Maracaibo, Venezuela Latin America Region Luz Maracaibo Little League
Rancho Santa Margarita, California West Region Santa Margarita National Little League	Reynosa, Tamaulipas Mexico Region Guadalupe Treviño Kelly Little League

Results

The draw to determine the opening round pairings took place on June 15, 2017.^[2]

Crossover games

Teams that lost their first two games played a crossover game against a team from the other side of the bracket that also lost its first two games. These games were labeled Game A and Game B. This provided teams who were already eliminated the opportunity to play a third game.

Third place game

This consolation game is played between the loser of the United States championship and the loser of the International championship.

World Championship

Champions path

The Kitasuna LL reached the LLWS with a record of nine wins and only one loss.^[3] In total, their record was 14–1.

Round	Opposition	Result
All-Tokyo Tournament
Opening Round	Chofu LL	17–2
Quarterfinals	Fuji LL	14–1
Semifinals	Inagi LL	11–0 (F/5)
Winners Bracket Final	Nakano LL	5–6
All-Tokyo Round Robin Playoff
Game 1	Chofu LL	9–7
Game 2	Hachioji LL	13–0 (F/4)
Japan Regional Tournament
Opening Round	Hiroshima Nishi LL	12–1 (F/4)
Quarterfinals	Gifu Tohno LL	16–2 (F/6)
Semifinals	Osaka Namihaya LL	4–1
Finals	Chiba City LL	17–0 (F/4)

Notable players

• Ryuto Konno (Japan) - professional baseball pitcher^[4]

MLB Little League Classic

On March 9, 2017, Major League Baseball (MLB) and Lycoming County officials announced that Williamsport would host a regular season MLB game during the LLWS, branded as the MLB Little League Classic. The game took place on August 20, 2017, at BB&T Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field and was attended by the Little Leaguers and their families, along with select Lycoming County residents. The game featured the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates, and was televised on ESPN (as part of Sunday Night Baseball), ESPN Deportes, and MLB Network.^[5] The Pirates won, 6–3.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Dates Announced for the 2017 Little League World Series Tournaments. November 11, 2016. littleleague.org. March 30, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170331205414/http://www.littleleague.org/media/llnewsarchive/2016/September-December/Dates-Announced-for-the-2017-Little-League-World-Series-Tournaments.htm. March 31, 2017. dead.
2. Web site: 2017 Little League Baseball® World Series Schedule Announced. llbws.org. Little League Baseball. June 15, 2017.
3. Web site: Japan Tournament Results. Unpage.com. September 2, 2017.
4. Web site: Organization . Nippon Professional Baseball . Konno,Ryuto（YOKOHAMA DeNA BAYSTARS） Players . 2024-04-25 . Nippon Professional Baseball Organization . ja.
5. Web site: http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2017/03/espn-exclusively-televise-mlb-little-league-classic-sunday-night-baseball/ . ESPN to broadcast MLB Little League Classic in Williamsport PA . espn media . March 11, 2017 . August 15, 2017.
6. Web site: Pittsburgh Pirates 6, St. Louis Cardinals 3 . . August 20, 2017 . August 18, 2019.