2001 Little League World Series

The 2001 Little League World Series was the first to played under an expanded 16 team format. The tournament was won by the Japanese entry for the second time in three years. The Kitasuna team from Tokyo didn't come by it easily, though, trailing Apopka, FL 1-0 in the 6th and final inning. Before a record attendance of 44,800 (including George W. Bush), Japan rallied. With one out, Nobuhisa Baba singled over the glove of SS Stuart Tapley to drive in two runs and give Japan the slight victory.

Japan had also rallied to win the semifinal, another 2-1 game. Down 1-0 in the bottom of the 6th, Atsushi Mochizuki launched a 2-run homer to decide the contest. Apopka had routed the Bronx, NY 8-2 in the other semifinal.

The big story of the event, though, was Danny Almonte of the Bronx. He struck out 16 in a perfect game against Apopka. He then fanned 16 in a one-hitter against Oceanside, CA. In the 3rd/4th place game, Almonte fanned 14 in a 9-1 win over Curacao. When it was revealed that Almonte was 14 (and thus two years too old to be playing), the Bronx lost their medals, which went to Curacao instead. Another Bronx player was Francisco Peña, son of Tony Peña.

Future major leaguer Rubén Tejada played for Panama.

Source: 2002 Baseball Almanac

Participants

United States Teams				International Teams
Region	City	League		Region	City	League
Great Lakes	Brownsburg, IN	Brownsburg Little League		Asia	Tokyo	Kitasuna Little League
Gulf States	Lake Charles, LA	South Lake Charles Little League		Canada	Calgary, AB	Calgary West Little League
Mid-Atlantic	Bronx, NY	Bronx Little League		Caribbean	Willemstad	Pariba Little League
Midwest	Davenport, IA	Davenport East Little League		Europe-Africa	Moscow	Khovrino Little League
New England	Lincoln, RI	Lincoln Little League		Latin America	Santiago de Veraguas	Santiago de Veraguas Little League
Northwest	Bainbridge Island, WA	Bainbridge Island Little League		Mexico	Matamoros	Matamoros Little League
Southeast	Apopka, FL	Apopka National Little League		Pacific	Hagåtña	Guam Little League
West	Oceanside, CA	Oceanside American Little League		Transatlantic	Dhahran	Arabian American Little League

Results

Game Results

Pool Play

August 17

• Oceanside, CA 8, Lincoln, RI 0
• Tokyo 4, Dhahran 2
• Brownsburg, IN 2, Lake Charles, LA 0

August 18

• Hagåtña 6, Matamoros 5
• Bronx, NY 5, Apopka, FL 0 *
• Willemstad 3, Santiago de Veraguas 2
• Bainbridge Island, WA 4, Davenport, IA 3 (7 inn.)
• Calgary, AB 5, Moscow 1
• Brownsburg, IN 5, Lincoln, RI 1

August 19

• Apopka, FL 2, Bainbridge Island, WA 0
• Oceanside, CA 5, Lake Charles, LA 2
• Willemstad 10, Dhahran 3

August 20

• Bronx, NY 7, Davenport, IA 4 *
• Matamoros 6, Calgary, AB 5
• Lake Charles, LA 5, Lincoln, RI 2
• Hagåtña 5, Moscow 0
• Brownsburg, IN 2, Oceanside, CA 1
• Santiago de Veraguas 6, Tokyo 1

August 21

• Hagåtña 6, Calgary, AB 5
• Matamoros 2, Moscow 0
• Bronx, NY 5, Bainbridge Island, WA 0 *
• Tokyo 4, Willemstad 2
• Dhahran 11, Santiago de Veraguas 0
• Apopka, FL 10, Davenport, IA 3

Finals

August 22

• Tokyo 15, Matamoros 5
• Apopka, FL 6, Brownsburg, IN 1

August 23

• Willemstad 4, Hagåtña 3
• Bronx, NY 1, Oceanside, CA 0 *

August 25

• Apopka, FL 6, Bronx, NY 0
• Tokyo 2, Willemstad 1

August 26

• Bronx, NY 9, Willemstad 1 (Consolation game) *
• Tokyo 2, Apopka, FL 1 (Championship game)

Bracket

	Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Finals
		Tokyo	15
		Matamoros	5
							Tokyo	2
							Willemstad	1
		Willemstad	4
		Hagåtña	3
												Tokyo	2
												Apopka, FL	1
		Apopka, FL	6
		Brownsburg, IN	1
							Apopka, FL	6
							Bronx, NY	0
		Bronx, NY *	1
		Oceanside, CA	0

* All wins by Bronx later forfeited, now recorded as 6-0 losses