Lin Chin-Tse wasn’t quite perfect but he was more than good enough with a dominant one-hit performance on the mound Sunday to lead Chinese Taipei to a 7-0 win over Nevada in the Little League World Series championship game.
The LLWS title is the first for an International team since Japan won in 2017. The title is a record 18th for a team from Chinese Taipei, but its first since 1996.
Advertisement
[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season]
Chinese Taipei advanced to Sunday’s final via dominant pitching in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, paced by Lin’s effort on the mound. The trend continued Sunday against a previously hard-hitting Nevada team that advanced to the final with an 8-2 win over Connecticut on Saturday for the U.S. championship.
Lin was perfect through four innings
Nevada’s bats were no match for Lin on Sunday. Lin was perfect through four innings before Nevada secured its first baserunner via a groundball through the infield that allowed Garrett Gallegos to reach first in the fifth. It made no difference on the scoreboard.
By then, Chinese Taipei had secured a 2-0 lead. And a double-play ended the inning without a Nevada run. Chinese Taipei’s bats then exploded to blow the game open in a five-run bottom of the fifth inning.
Advertisement
Chen Qi-Sheng took over to pitch a scoreless top of the sixth to secure the Chinese Taipei victory. Lin pitched five scoreless innings in the victory with four strikeouts while allowing just a single baserunner on Gallegos’ fourth-inning single. He didn’t issue a walk.
Dominance throughout LLWS from Lin
The performance capped an overwhelming LLWS run for Lin, who pitched 11 scoreless innings across four appearances in South Williamsport. In those 11 innings, Lin struck out 20 while allowing two hits.
Lin, 12, previously reached 82 mph with his fastball in LLWS play. Per ESPN, that’s the equivalent for batters of facing a 107 mph pitch from an MLB mound. Lin didn’t need to throw that hard Sunday to repeatedly baffle Nevada batters and secure Chinese Taipei’s first LLWS title in 29 years.
Advertisement
“I’m very happy,” Lin told ESPN through an interpreter after the game. “It’s been 29 years of drought. And finally, we’ve got a championship.”
The shutout victory in Sunday’s final marked the fourth in five LLWS games for Chinese Taipei, tying a tournament record.
Busy day for Chinese Taipei bats
After a scoreless first inning, Chinese Taipei broke through on the scoreboard Sunday on a wild pitch from Nevada starter Luke D’Ambrosio that allowed Jian Zih-De to score from third base.
That turned out to be the only run that Chinese Taipei needed, but it added plenty of insurance before the game was over. In the end, Chinese Taipei reached base 14 times via seven hits and seven walks in six innings.
Advertisement
Lin was also his team’s most productive hitter as he secured three RBI on a 1-for-3 day at the plate as the leadoff hitter.