Lake Mary has earned a spot in the U.S. semi-finals of the Little League World Series, which is being held in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
The Little League World Series is an 11-day, double-elimination tournament featuring 20 Little League baseball teams: 10 regional champions in the U.S. and 10 international champions from around the world.
In addition to Lake Mary, which represents the Southeast on the bracket, the U.S. teams include: Hinsdale, Illinois (Great Lakes); Staten Island, New York (Metro); Newtown, Pennsylvania (Mid-Atlantic); Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Midwest); Henderson, Nevada (Mountain); Salem, New Hampshire (New England); Puyallup, Washington (Northwest); Boerne, Texas (Southwest); and Wailuku, Hawaii (West).
The international teams include: Taoyuan City, Chinese Taipei (Asia-Pacific); Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales (Australia); Surrey, British Columbia (Canada); Santa Cruz, Aruba (Caribbean); Villa Clara, Cuba (Cuba); Brno, Czech Republic (Europe-Africa); Tokyo, Japan (Japan); Barquisimeto, Venezuela (Latin America); Tamaulipas, Mexico (Mexico); and Guayama, Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico).
Lake Mary’s journey in the Little League World Series began with a 2-1 victory over South Dakota on Wednesday, August 14. Two days later, Lake Mary defeated Puyallup, Washington 6-1.
On Monday, August 19, Lake Mary experienced its only loss of the tournament, falling 4-1 to Boerne, Texas. However, since it takes two losses for a team to be eliminated from the Little League World Series, Lake Mary remained in contention for a championship.
Lake Mary bounced back on Tuesday, August 20, with a 6-1 win against Staten Island, New York. The following day, Lake Mary edged out Wailuku, Hawaii by a score of 4-3, earning a spot in the U.S. semi-finals.
On Thursday, August 22, at 7 p.m., Lake Mary will take on Henderson, Nevada. The winner of that game will face Boerne, Texas at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 24, with the U.S. Championship at stake.
Also on Thursday, Tokyo, Japan will play Barquisimeto, Venezuela at 3 p.m. in the International semi-finals, with the winner facing Taoyuan City, Chinese Taipei in the International Championship game at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The winners of the U.S. and International brackets will then go head-to-head at 3 p.m. on Sunday, August 25, and the team that emerges victorious will be crowned this year’s Little League World Series champion.
The 2024 Little League World Series games will be broadcast across ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC.