Pa.’s South Williamsport.Taiwan defeated Aruba 1-0 in their Little League World Series international quarterfinal on Saturday thanks to a 5 1/3-inning pitch from Liu Wei-Heng, giving Taiwan a chance to win its first LLWS championship since 1996.
The victor of Connecticut vs. Nevada in the U.S. semifinal will face the Taiwanese.
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Chen Shi-Hong started the third inning with a full-count walk in a defense-heavy contest. He scored on a misdirected throw from third baseman Liam Pe a Caraballo to first after advancing on a passed ball and a single.
Aruba pitcher Jayderick Wederfoor escaped the jam to limit the damage despite facing runners on second and third with no one out.
Taiwan is the nation with the most Little League World Series victories (17), including five consecutive from 1977 to 1981. Aruba was attempting to make its maiden participation in a championship.
Liu led his Taipei team to its third shutout in four tournament games with four hits and seven strikeouts.
Emerson Mercado advanced on a passed ball and hit a leadoff single in Aruba’s final at-bat, posing a danger. The runners proceeded on a sacrifice bunt after Liam earned a one-out walk. However, the game was over when Prinze Kingsale was struck out by Chen Qi-Sheng.
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Amanda Vogt and Alexandra Wenskoski are Penn State students enrolled in the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism.
