Georgia Wins Second Straight LLWS

My 1st post since last week is definitely an exciting one. Japan and Georgia were playing in the final of the Little League World Series.

The game was very exciting the entire way through. The Japanese got got 2 quick runs during the 1st 2 innings, but Georgia came back getting a 2-run double courtesy of Keaton Allen. From then on, the pitchers took over. Not a run was scored for the rest of regulation, so the game had to go into extra innings.

The 1st 2 1/2 innings of extras were also scoreless, until Georgia's Dalton Carriker came up to the plate in the bottom of the 8th. . The slugger, hitting .769 entering Sunday's game, was 0-for-2 with a walk when he came up in the eighth.

He said a little prayer before settling himself in the batter's box. "God, please give me the strength to get a hit and help my team out," Carriker said in recounting his prayer. He did more than just get a little single or double though. He blasted a pitch to right field that easily cleared the 225 foot fences. As he was rounding the bases, Carriker said he couldn't feel his legs. "I felt like I was flying, like Peter Pan," Carriker said. "I didn't know what I was doing."

It was a bitter end for the Japanese team though, who had ironacly gotten to the big game off a walk-off home run yesterday againstCuracao. Japan manager Youichi Kubo, who managed Japan to the 2001 Little League crown, tried to console his pitcher afterward.

"I told Junsho that when you are a reliever these things can happen," Kubo said through a translator. "I told him that he has a bright future and not to let this homer affect that."

Well no matter how any of this will affect these little leaguers careers, both teams can hold their heads high. Playing in the LLWS Championship Game is a huge accomplishment.