By BRETT R. CROSSLEY
WILLIAMSPORT–South Korea avenged its only loss at the Little League World Series with a 7-2 win over Latin America to claim the International Championship at Lamade.
Seum Kwon, Jaekyeong Kim, and Wontae Cho all hit home runs as the Asia-Pacific jumped on Latin America early, scoring all seven of their runs over the first three inning.
The bats were working for Asia-Pacific as Kwon and Kim each hit a two-run home run in the second inning.
In the first, Asia-Pacific scored when a double play was overturned after a replay. Kwon immediately made Latin America pay as he scored on a passed ball for a quick 1-0 lead.
The pair of two-run home runs gave Asia-Paicfic a 6-1 lead heading into the third inning.
Wontae Cho hit a home run in the third to give the Asia-Pacific a 7-1 lead.
Latin American scored when Carlos Gonzalez doubled and moved around the bases on a wild pitch and passed ball.
After giving up seven runs over the first three innings, Latin America put Asia-Pacific down in order through the fifth and sixth innings.
Latin America finished with six hits in the game, with three belonging to Carlos Gonzalez, who hit a double in the first inning to score a run.
Asia-Pacific 7, Latin America 2
AP 151 000-7 11 0
LA 100 010-2 6 0
Youbin Choi and Junseo Cho. Joaquin Tejada, Esmith Pineda (2), Edwar Bethancourth (3), and Leonardo Bernal.
WP: Choi. LP: Tejada.
Top Asia-Pacific hitters: Seum Kwon 1-4, HR, 2 runs, 2 RBI; Jaekyeong Kim 1-3, HR, run, 2 RBI; Wontae Cho 1-3, HR, RBI. Top Latin America hitters: Carlos Gonzalez 3-3, 2B, run.
Records: Asia-Pacific Latin America
