The stage for the Little League World Series championship game is now set.
Chicago’s Jackie Robinson West defeated Las Vegas Mountain Ridge 7-5 in a thrilling U.S. championship game on Saturday afternoon to advance to the last game of the tournament.
The win came after the Great Lakes champions blew the lead late in the game. Pitcher Joshua Houston served up a two-run home run, which gave Las Vegas a 5-4 lead in the top of the fifth.
“After that home run, I got scared. Very scared,” Houston said, via ESPN. “I thought we were just going to give them the lead. But I thought at some point we were going to get something going.”
Houston’s words rang true, and in the next half of the inning, Jackie Robinson West took the lead. His single tied the score up, and a few batters later, the team grabbed the advantage for good.
Ed Howard came in to pitch the final inning and induced a double play to end the game. The win makes it the first time since 1967 a team from Chicago has reached the championship game. Fans watching at Wrigley Field reveled in the win.
“We saw people dancing in the streets,” said player Trey Hondras of the reaction in Chicago. “I swear it looked like Michael (Jordan) was still playing back there.”
The U.S. champion will face off with South Korea on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET in the title game. South Korea won its game against Japan with a score of 12-3 on Saturday.
Thumbnail Photo via Evan Habeeb/USA TODAY Sports Images
