Louisville wins Little League
By Dan Lewerenz
Associated Press
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Aaron Alvey knew he had a home run when he saw the first pitch coming in the first inning.
Associated Press
The 12-year-old pitcher didn't seem as confident when he got the last out to win the Little League World Series, letting out a huge sigh of relief.
Louisville's Aaron Alvey is congratulated by Sendai, Japan's Yoshinori Satoh, left, and Yasushi Kuboki after his three-hit, 11-strikeout performance.
Alvey hit a 250-foot shot in the first inning and set two pitching records and tied a third as Louisville, Ky., beat Sendai, Japan, 1-0, yesterday for the championship.
"It was 68 mph down the middle," Alvey said. "It was belt-high, so it was going to get crushed."
Then, with two outs in the sixth inning, a clearly nervous Alvey walked Yoosuke Katoh, bringing up Tatsuhiko Numakura, who had three home runs in the series. But Numakura's line drive was caught by first baseman Casey Jordan to end the game.
"I was like, 'Have I got it? Have I got it?"' Jordan said. "I just had to pull it down, see it first."
Alvey struck out 11 on his way to setting World Series records for strikeouts (44) and scoreless innings (21) and tying the mark for consecutive no-hit innings (12).
Alvey, a right-hander, experienced shoulder pain midway through the game, and received heat treatments in the dugout.
"My shoulder started hurting a little bit ... then it started feeling good," he said. "I went back out there to do my thing."
Louisville is the first U.S. team to win the title since Toms River, N.J., beat Kashima, Japan, 12-9 in 1998.
In the third-place game, Willemstad, Curacao, Neth-erlands Antilles beat Worcester, Mass., 9-1.
