The Little League World Series final is set. It will be U.S. champion Hawaii taking on international champion Curacao for the honor of being crowned the 75th winner of the tournament.
Since arriving in Williamsport, Hawaii has been on a dominant run to the title game. The Honolulu squad began its tour de force by routing Washington 11-1, then running away from New York 12-0, beating Texas 6-0, mercy-ruling Tennessee 13-0 and beating Tennessee again by a more modest 5-1.
It has not been nearly as easy a road for Curacao. After beating Nicaragua 2-0 in its first game, it fell to Panama 9-3. It worked back through the elimination bracket with wins over Italy (1-0), Canada (4-2), Nicaragua (7-2), Mexico (2-1) and then Taiwan (1-0) in the international championship to reach the final.
Hawaii has had a team win the Little League World Series three times, tied for the fifth-most of any U.S. state behind California (seven), Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania (four). It won most recently in 2018, with its two other wins coming in 2005 and 2008. Curacao won in 2004.
MORE: Watch the Little League World Series live with fuboTV (free trial)
The Sporting News is tracking live scores and highlights from Sunday’s championship game. Follow along for complete updates from the 2022 Little League World Series final between Hawaii and Curacao.
Little League World Series live updates, highlights from Hawaii vs. Curacao
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curacao | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Hawaii | 2 |
Second inning
4:01 p.m.: Kaeo Nouchi is hit by a pitch to load the bases. Payanal is coming up to bat. He led off the bottom of the first with an LLWS-best fourth home run. Curacao is bringing in a new arm to face him.
4 p.m.: Isaiah Wong is hit by a pitch on a 3-1 count to put runners on the corners with no one out for Hawaii.
3:58 p.m.: Wild pitch goes over the glove of the catcher, and Noda alertly goes from first to third as the catcher was slow to field the ball.
3:56 p.m.: Mikah Noda leads off Hawaii’s bottom of the second with a walk on four pitches.
3:51 p.m. End Top Second: Lancaster catches Alexander Provacia looking at a fastball down and away to retire the side.
3:50 p.m.: Emperador strikes out swinging for the second out.
3:48 p.m.: Shemar Jacobus sends a roller down the third base line that stays fair, but Watson is able to field it and make the throw for the out. Acosta advances to second.
3:47 p.m.: Joshua Acosta walks to leadoff the top of the second for Curacao.
First inning
3:41 p.m. End of First: Brennan Tomas strikes out swinging at a high fastball to end the first. But Hawaii struck back quickly with a pair of homers to take a 2-1 lead in the frame.
3:39 p.m.: Cohen Sakamoto strikes out swinging, but he beats the throw to first on a dropped third strike. Hawaii still batting in the bottom of the first.
3:37 p.m.: Daly Watson lifts a high fly ball into left field, but Jaythan Cordilia makes the catch for the second out.
3:36 p.m.: Lancaster hits a slow roller to shortstop, but Wiel makes the throw on to first to pick up the first out.
3:32 p.m.: Curacao is making a pitching change after the back-to-back homers. Left-hander Jaylliard Emperador is the new pitcher in the game.
3:30 p.m. Hawaii scoring play: Make it back-to-back blasts. Kama Angell hits a homer to right field to put Hawaii in front. Hawaii takes a 2-0 lead.
3:29 p.m. Hawaii scoring play: That deficit did not last long. Keko Payanal hits a no-doubt home run to left field to tie the game at one. Hawaii ties the game at 1-1.
3:22 p.m. End Top First: Lancaster catches Kyshore Hinkel looking for the third out of the frame.
3:21 p.m.: Jaron Lancaster picks up his first strikeout of the game as he gets Jay-Dlynn Wiel to strike out swinging on a slider.
3:18 p.m. Curacao scoring play: Wild pitch, and Rijke is able to score. Curacao takes a 1-0 lead.
Curacao strikes first in the #LLWS75 Championship Game off aggressive base running and a wild pitch #LLWS pic.twitter.com/eIXFCX1ERC
— Little League (@LittleLeague) August 28, 2022
3:17 p.m.: Emery Hansen lays down a sacrifice bunt to move Rijke over to third.
3:16 p.m.: Davey-Jay Rijke leads off the game with a hustle double on a line drive that just got over the head of the shortstop.
3:15 p.m.: The first pitch of the game is taken for a strike, and the Little League World Series championship is underway.
Little League World Series start time today
ESPN/ABC wraps up its coverage of the Little League World Series with the championship game on ABC. Karl Ravech will handle the play-by-play, with Kyle Peterson and Jessica Mendoza providing analysis. Julie Foudy and Sebastian Salazar will be the dugout reporters for the game.
For those hoping to stream the matchup, it can be found on ESPN+ or fuboTV, which offers a free trial.
Little League World Series rosters
Here are the rosters for Hawaii and Curacao:
Hawaii
| Number | Player | Pos. | B/T |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Kobe Hino | IF | L/R |
| 5 | Luke Hiromoto | IF/P | R/R |
| 8 | Ruston Hiyoto | OF/P | R/R |
| 9 | Mikah Noda | IF/P | R/R |
| 10 | Kaeo Nouchi | C | L/R |
| 12 | Daly Watson | IF/P | R/R |
| 13 | Jaron Lancaster | IF/P | R/R |
| 14 | Kama Angell | OF | L/L |
| 15 | Keko Payanal | IF | R/R |
| 16 | Cohen Sakamoto | OF/P | R/R |
| 17 | Jonnovyn Sniffen | OF/P | L/L |
| 18 | Tau Purcell | OD | R/R |
| 19 | Brennan Tomas | OF | R/R |
| 20 | Isaiah Wong | IF | R/R |
Coaching staff: Gerald Oda (manager), Keith Oda, Willis Kato
Curacao
| Number | Player | Pos. | B/T |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jaythan Cordilia | OF/P | R/R |
| 2 | Alexander Provacia | 2B | R/R |
| 4 | Jaylliard Emperador | 1B/OF/P | L/L |
| 5 | Joshua Acosta | OF/P | S/R |
| 6 | D’Shaw Winklaar | OF/C | R/R |
| 7 | Jay-Dlynn Wiel | 3B/SS/P | R/R |
| 8 | Davey-Jay Rijke | P/SS | R/R |
| 9 | Shemar Jacobus | OF/3B | R/R |
| 10 | Emery Hansen | C/OF | R/R |
| 12 | Jaydion Louisa | OF | L/R |
| 14 | Reangelo Decaster | P/OF | R/R |
| 15 | Qshondrickson Doran | P/OF | R/R |
| 17 | Deshawn Bonafasia | 1B/DH | R/R |
| 19 | Kyshore Hinkel | 1B | R/R |
Coaching staff: Zaino Everett (manager), Ildion Martina, Ringemar Raap
