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Lake Mary defeats Chinese Taipei to win Florida's first Little League World Series championship

Lake Mary defeats Chinese Taipei to win Florida's first Little League World Series championship

The boys from Lake Mary, Florida, defeated Chinese Taipei in extra innings to win the Little League World Series, 2-1, in thrilling fashion on Sunday night.

A Florida team had an 0-8 record in all-time LLWS title games, but Lake Mary had been fighting tooth and nail during this series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, facing four elimination games only to reach the finals against a team from Taoyuan, Taiwan, a team that had not lost any of the five games it had played since arriving in the United States.

After Lathan Norton ended his 3.2 innings with a scare, when Taoyuan's Hu Yen-Chun flew out to the warning track in the top of the eighth inning, he went to second base to start the bottom of the eighth in a 1-1 game.

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The Southeast Region celebrates after the match against the Asia-Pacific Region at Lamade Stadium. (Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports)

The last batter in Lake Mary's lineup, Hunter Alexander, came up in a clear bunt scenario, where he was only thinking about moving Norton to third base.

But Taoyuan, perhaps the team with the best fundamentals in the tournament, had no one covering first base when Alexander delivered his bunt to the right side.

The ball was thrown out and Lake Mary immediately celebrated as Norton reached third base to score the winning run.

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Southeast Region pitcher Jacob Bibaud (12) reacts with infielder DeMarcos Mieses (25) against the Asia-Pacific Region in the first inning at Lamade Stadium. (Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports)

However, despite winning it all, the Lake Mary team was seen giving hugs and pats on the back to their Taoyuan opponents, who were distraught at how it all ended. It was the definition of sportsmanship before it came time to lift the trophy.

What made this Lake Mary win more impressive was the bottom of the sixth inning, where they were down 1-0 despite having numerous runners on base throughout the game.

DJ Mieses hit an RBI double and Chase Anderson ran around the bases to score, forcing extra innings. Mieses' reaction said it all, as he lit up his dugout and the crowd.

Lake Mary faced elimination twice in Saturday night's semifinal against Southwest Regional representatives from Boerne, Texas, but its fourth and final elimination game ended in a 10-7 victory.