Who won the 2022 Little League World Series? A look at last year’s winning team
With the reigning champions Hawai’i failing to qualify for the 2023 Little League World Series, we take a look back at their dominant run in 2022.
As the 2023 Little League World Series gets underway, one thing is certain. There will be a new champion crowned this year. Last year’s winners, Hawai’i failed to qualify, meaning that even if one of the ten US teams should win, it will be one from a different state.
But 2022 was a dominant run for the Honolulu team, where they outscored their opponents by a mind-boggling 60-5 over the course of the tournament. Coming into the 2022 competition, the United States and all other international teams were dead even in the all-time winners list with 37 Little League World Series titles. Hawai’i’s startling run put the US over .500 in the history books.
When they faced the Pabao Little League from Willemstad, Curaçao, Hawai’i managed to get the win via the ten-run rule, stopping the Caribbean champions 13-3 in the fourth inning. This is the fourth win via the ten-run rule in the six games that the Honolulu Little League team have played in the World Series.
Curaçao has played five must-win games since losing their second game to Panama and have played near-perfect baseball in a series of close games, winning by one run against Italy, Mexico, and Taiwan. In the final, however, they could not seem to find the strike zone, hitting or walking batters against a Hawai’i team that is too strong offensively to have that happen.
This is the fourth Little League World Series title for a team from Hawai’i, and the second title for this particular Little League within the last four competitions. Kama Angell was one of Hawai’i’s biggest producers, going 4 for 4 and knocking a home run in the final.
For Curaçao, there was a concerning moment when pitcher Qshondrickson Doran went down on the mound, holding his elbow. He was taken out of the game and attended to, but thankfully word came back later in the game that it was not a serious injury.
With Hawai’i up 12-1 at the end of three, Curaçao showed some spirit, knocking in two runs in the fourth to stay alive, but ultimately the offensive prowess of Honolulu was just too much to keep contained.
With Hawai’i out of the 2023 LLWS, there will be a new champion crowned this year. With the overall history of the competition standing at 38-37 in favor of the United States, the international bracket will be looking to even the books.