Little League World Series officials are expecting a record-setting crowd as Pennsylvania takes on Japan in the championship game of the 2015 tournament. (Getty)
You get a walk-off. And you get a walk-off. And then both of you get berths to the 2015 Little League World Series Championship.
Red Lands Little League, the hometown squad out of Pennsylvania, and Kitasuna Little League, the team out of Tokyo, Japan, square off for top-team-status on Sunday afternoon. First pitch for the final is slated for 3 p.m. on ABC.
So, how did these squads get here? As previously mentioned, there were walk-offs involved.
Japan defeated Mexico 1-0 in the seventh inning when Koki Jo grounded into a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded to plate the game-winning run. Japan did not have a hit until the bottom of the seventh inning when Yugo Aoki connected on a shot to shortstop before eventually scoring the game’s only run.
Pennsylvania, meanwhile, continued its dramatic ways with a 3-2 victory over Pearland, Texas in front of a record crowd of just over 45,000 people. Chayton Krauss drove in the run with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning. Braden Kolmansberger scored the game-winning run. “It felt awesome and it was amazing to get that hit and it felt great,” Krauss told ESPN. “I just remember that he had a decent fastball and decent curveball and I got a fastball and just drilled it.”
Even more people are expected for Sunday’s championship game, particularly with Pennsylvania in the matchup. Red Lands Little League is, after all, based out of Lewisberry, PA, a town just over 100 miles away from Williamsport. A Pennsylvania team has not won the Little League World Series since Shippensburg did in 1990.
Don’t have a TV nearby to catch the game? Here’s how to watch online and on mobile:
Watch Team-Team Online
Team Japan did not have a hit until the bottom of the seventh inning, before staging a walk-off victory in the International Championship. (Getty)
If you have the log-in info for a cable subscription with access to Watch ESPN, you can watch the game at WatchESPN.com. You’ll need a cable log-in and password, or the log-in and password of someone you know, to access the stream.
Watch Team-Team on Mobile
Clayton Krauss celebrates after his game-winning RBI for Pennsylvania in the U.S. Championship of the Little League World Series. (Getty)
Mobile and tablet users with access to Watch ESPN can watch the game on the Watch ESPN app. As is the case with desktop, you’ll need the log-in for a cable subscription with access to ESPN. You can download the app for free in the App Store , the Google Play store, the Amazon App store or the Windows Store.
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