Taiwan’s Little League Baseball Dream Falls Just Short in World Series
Lyon Chiang, New York
On August 26th, Taiwan’s Guishan Elementary School (龜山國小) baseball team faced Florida, representing the U.S., in the championship of the 2024 Little League World Series held in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Taiwan took an early lead by scoring a run in the first inning, but the U.S. team equalized in the bottom of the sixth, pushing the game into extra innings.
In the eighth inning, a bunt from the U.S. side led to a critical error by Taiwan, allowing the U.S. to win 2-1, leaving Taiwan as the runner-up.
Led by head coach Lee Cheng-ta (李政達), Guishan Elementary had an impressive run through the Asia-Pacific region, defeating Venezuela 4-1 to claim the international title and earn a spot in the final against the U.S. This was Taiwan’s first championship appearance in 15 years.
During the game, Taiwan scored first thanks to Hu Yan-chun (胡諺鈞) in the opening inning, while starting pitcher Qiu Zhi-kai (邱治愷) kept the U.S. team scoreless for four innings. Qiu Wei-zhe ( 邱唯喆) continued strong pitching until the bottom of the sixth when a controversial U.S. play tied the game. Taiwan’s protest was overruled by the umpire, and the game went into extra innings after the U.S. tied it up with a hit to center field.
Neither team scored in the seventh inning. In the eighth, Taiwan couldn’t capitalize, and the U.S. executed a bunt that, combined with a throwing error and missed coverage at first base, allowed them to score the winning run, ending the game 2-1.
Taiwan has won the Little League World Series 17 times, with the last championship in 1996 by Kaohsiung Fuxing Elementary (高雄復興國小). After a six-year hiatus, Taiwan returned to the competition in 2003. Their last appearance in the final was in 2009, also represented by Guishan Elementary (龜山國小). This year, they came close to reclaiming the title but fell just short by one run, leaving the young Taiwanese players in tears at the end of the game.
Taiwan English News is an independent publication with no corporate funding. If you found this article informative, and would like to support my work, please buy me a coffee or support me on Patreon. Subscribe to Taiwan English News for free to receive the latest news via email. Advertising queries are welcome. Share, like, comment below.