Florida's Lake Mary All-Stars are moving on to the Little League World Series Championship, but it wasn't easy.
Florida got out to a slow start in the LLWS U.S. final when Texas' Boerne All-Stars starting pitcher Julian Hurst had a no-hitter through the first three innings.
Texas jumped out to an early 4-1 lead but chaos ensued from there. Florida came marching back with a four-run fifth inning, capped off by Teraj Alexander stealing home to give his team the first lead of the game. Texas came right back with three more runs to take a 7-5 lead going into the top of the sixth, but Florida's bats were too hot.
Florida ripped off another five runs to take a 10-7 lead, then pitcher Luis Calo shut the door on Texas' comeback hopes.
Florida will take on Chinese Taipei in a Little League World Series Championship showdown between the Southeast and Asia-Pacific regions.
If you missed any of the action from a thrilling U.S. final, The Sporting News had you covered with live updates, highlights, and more below.
MORE: Chinese Taipei pitcher strikes out 12 in international final win over Venezuela
Little League World Series final score: Florida vs. Texas
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | F | |
Florida | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
Texas | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
Little League World Series live updates, highlights from Florida vs. Texas
Final: Florida 10, Texas 7
6:35 p.m.: Bottom 6th — Florida's Luis Calo got an out to start the inning, then a single gave Texas a little life. The moment was brief, as the next batter grounded into a double play to end the game. Florida wins an instant classic, 10-7.
6:35 p.m.: Bottom 6th — Luis Calo remains on the mound for Florida to try and close this one out with a three-run lead.
6:32 p.m.: Top 6th — Florida leads 10-7 going into the bottom of the 6th after Liam Morrisey took third and home as a pinch runner. Teraj Alexander was thrown out trying to steal third.
6:29 p.m.: Top 6th — Florida retakes the lead, 9-7! Luis Calo found a gap in right-center to score both runners with a clutch double.
6:25 p.m.: Top 6th — Florida ties the game, 7-7, in the top of the 6th! Liam Morrisey hits a sacrifice fly to right field to score the runner from third. Runners advanced on a long throw home, giving Florida runners on second and third with two outs.
6:22 p.m.: Top 6th — Florida cuts the deficit to one! Texas nearly turned a double play on a lineout to first but had to settle for one out. Florida's Jacob Bibaud laced one up the middle to knock in the runner from third on the next at-bat. Florida still has the bases loaded with just one out.
6:17 p.m.: Top 6th — Florida's JJ Feliciano walked to start the inning and then Garrett Rohozen missed a home run by a few feet. Landon Bono also walked to load the bases with no outs.
6:12 p.m.: Top 6th — RHP Caleb Khrist is serving as Texas' closer in the top of the sixth.
End of 5th inning: Texas 7, Florida 5
6:06 p.m.: Bottom 5th — Texas extends its lead to 7-5. Cooper Hastings swung and missed at strike three but the catcher couldn't corral the pitch. Hastings took the open first base and the runner from third scored. The next batter grounded out to short to end the inning.
6:04 p.m.: Bottom 5th — A wild pitch scores a run and Texas takes a 6-5 lead! There are runners on second and third with two outs.
6:03 p.m.: Bottom 5th — And now Texas ties the game! With the bases loaded, Gray Collins ripped a line drive up the middle to knock in the tying run. The bases are still loaded with two outs.
5:54 p.m.: Bottom 5th — Texas' bats are fighting back. Gage Steubing led off the inning with a single and after an out, Dylan Burke delivered another base knock. Texas has runners on first and second with one out. Florida is making another pitching change, with Luis Calo replacing Landon Bono.
5:47 p.m.: Top 5th — Teraj Alexander steals home! He caught Texas pitcher Kole Newsome sleeping after a strikeout and stole home to give Florida its first lead of the game, 5-4. Newsome got out of the jam after that to end the inning.
HE STOLE HOME! 😱
— Little League (@LittleLeague) August 24, 2024
Florida takes the lead on this play by Teraj Alexander #LLWS pic.twitter.com/q2stWPPpq1
5:44 p.m.: Top 5th — Kole Newson will replace injured Doc Mogford on the mound for Texas. Starting pitcher Julian Hurst has also come out of the game with an elbow injury. Texas is down two of its best players in the field and Florida still has runners on the corners with one out and the game tied 4-4.
5:41 p.m.: Top 5th — Florida ties the game! Christopher Chikodroff ripped one back up the middle and it ricocheted off Texas pitcher Doc Mogford. The runner scored from third to tie the game. Mogford went down after getting hit with the comebacker but walked to the dugout. The kid is tough as nails for trying to field the ball after being clipped by the line drive.
5:38 p.m.: Top 5th — Teraj Alexander cashes in for Florida and we have a 4-3 game! He ripped a double to left-center to score the runner from third. Florida has runners on second and third with one out.
5:34 p.m.: Top 5th — Florida knocks in a run to make it 4-2! Florida has taken Texas ace Julian Hurst out of the game with one out and runners on the corners following a walk. RHP Doc Mogford is taking over on the hill for Texas. We have a battle on our hands in Williamsport.
End of 4th inning: Texas 4, Florida 1
5:28 p.m.: Bottom 4th — Landon Bono replaced JJ Feliciano on the mound and recorded three straight outs to get Florida back to the plate with bats that are heating up.
5:18 p.m.: Top 4th — Florida is on the board! It appears Texas pitcher Julian Hurst is human. After recording nine straight outs, Florida finally got its first hit of the game on an infield single. He recorded a strikeout but a wild pitch advanced the runner to second. Hurst struck out another batter but back-to-back singles knocked in a run. He recorded one more strikeout to end the inning.
End of 3rd inning: Texas 4, Florida 0
5:01 p.m.: Botton 3rd — Texas' lead balloons to 4-0 after some two-out magic. JJ Feliciano struck out the first batter of the inning but allowed a single and walk before recording a second out. With two runners on, Texas' Doc Mogford cashed in with a two-run double. Feliciano got out of the inning by striking out the last batter.
A double to double the score ✌️
— Little League (@LittleLeague) August 24, 2024
Texas is up 4-1 in the US Championship Game #LLWS pic.twitter.com/T9BgWZ37jc
4:45 p.m.: Top 3rd — Julian Hurst is in a major groove on the mound for Texas, striking out the side in the top of the third. He has recorded four consecutive K's while retiring nine straight batters.
End of 2nd inning: Texas 2, Florida 0
4:41 p.m.: Bottom 2nd — JJ Feliciano gets a much-needed strikeout to end the inning and leave a runner stranded on third. He limited the damage to just two runs.
4:39 p.m.: Bottom 2nd — Caleb Khrist grounds out to first but knocks in the runner from third on a fielder's choice as Texas takes a 2-0 lead. There are two outs with a runner on third.
Jett speed on the base paths 💨
— Little League (@LittleLeague) August 24, 2024
Texas capitalizes to score the first run and now lead 2-0 into the bottom of the third #LLWS pic.twitter.com/zwEC4PjlsT
4:37 p.m.: Bottom 2nd — Another wild pitch and Texas takes a 1-0 lead! Texas strikes first with JJ Feliciano unable to find the strike zone. There are runners on second and third with one out.
4:36 p.m.: Bottom 2nd — JJ Feliciano has walked the bases loaded with one out. Texas' Caleb Khrist comes to the plate to try and make the Florida pitcher pay.
4:31 p.m.: Bottom 2nd — JJ Feliciano is in trouble again. He struck out the first batter of the inning ensued with a walk, a passed ball and another walk to give Texas runners on first and second with one out.
4:25 p.m.: Top 2nd — Julian Hurst is starting to lock in on the mound for Texas. He forced two groundouts and picked up his first strikeout of the game for a quick and easy 1-2-3 inning.
End of 1st inning: Florida 0, Texas 0
4:15 p.m.: Bottom 1st — JJ Feliciano avoids some serious trouble! He allowed one hit and a walk, then a passed ball advanced the baserunners to second and third. He proceeded to strike out the next two batters, recording three Ks in the first inning but needed 30 pitches to get out of the jam.
4:05 p.m.: Bottom 1st — RHP JJ Feliciano is the starting pitcher for Florida. Texas pitcher Julian Hurst recorded the first hit of the game with a single.
3:56 p.m.: Top 1st — RHP Julian Hurst is on the hill for Texas to start the game. He avoided the danger of a lead-off walk after Florida's No. 2 hitter grounded into a 6-4-3 double play and retired the No. 3 hitter with a flyout to centerfield.
Pregame
3:00 p.m.: Chinese Taipei defeated Venezuela 4-1 to clinch a spot in the Little League World Series Championship! Star pitcher Lai Cheng-Xi was lights out, racking up 12 strikeouts with just one earned run over 5.2 innings.
Chinese Taipei now awaits the winner of Florida vs. Texas.
What channel is the Little League World Series on today?
- Matchup: Florida vs. Texas
- Time (ET): 3:30 p.m.
- TV channel: ESPN
- Live stream: Fubo
ESPN will broadcast Saturday's action from Williamsport. Viewers can also stream all of the games on Fubo, which offers a free trial. That way, you can try the streaming service before you purchase a plan.
Little League World Series rosters
Here are the rosters for Florida and Texas, who will face off for a spot in the Little League World Series championship final.
Florida
Number | Name | Position |
7 | Chase Anderson | SS/2B/CF |
8 | Christopher Chikodroff | P/OF |
9 | Lathan Norton | OF/P/3B |
10 | Hunter Alexander | 2B/3B |
12 | Jacob Bibaud | OF/P |
14 | JJ Feliciano | SS/3B/P |
15 | Liam Morrisey | CF/P |
18 | Luis Calo | P/OF |
19 | Landon Bono | C/P/3B |
22 | Garrett Rohozen | UTIL |
25 | DeMarcos Mieses | 1B |
26 | Teraj Alexander | 1B/C/P |
Texas
Number | Name | Position |
4 | Caleb Khrist | P/C/OF |
5 | Jett Matthews | P/SS/OF |
7 | Doc Mogford | P/C/CF |
8 | Gray Collins | P/C/OF |
9 | Dylan Burke | P/2B/3B/SS/OF |
10 | Aiden Munoz | P/2B |
12 | Gage Steubing | P/1B/OF |
13 | Kole Newson | P/1B/3B/SS/OF |
15 | Julian Hurst | P/C/1B |
16 | Ben Burkhart | P/LF |
17 | Cooper Hastings | P/1B/3B/OF |
19 | Caden Guffey | P/C |
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