Louisiana locked up the U.S. Little League Championship after a wild finish against Hawaii. The game was deadlocked at 0-0 through four innings, but Louisiana broke it open with a leadoff double in the fifth. A pinch runner scored off a single, giving them a 1-0 lead. That opened the floodgates. A bases-loaded blast off the wall stretched the lead, and Reese Russo, one of the top players in the tournament, delivered again. By the end of the inning, Louisiana was up 9-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth.
Hawaii wasn’t done. They started chipping away with some bloopers, walks, and defensive miscues. One ball bounced off the pitcher’s foot. A walk brought in a run. Another walk made it 9-3. A grounder to short turned into a two-run error. Suddenly, a home run could tie the game. But Louisiana’s shortstop, who had just made the error, redeemed himself with a game-ending line-drive double play. Final score: 9-5. Louisiana clinched the title of best Little League team in the U.S. and moved on to face Curaçao in the World Championship.