How hard-throwing little league pitchers can avoid injury
The Little League World Series has featured some hard throwing pitchers, but Steve Borelli explains why they should follow some steps in avoiding injury.
Sports Pulse
An international team is once again on top of the Little League baseball world.
Chinese Taipei, the Asia-Pacific region champion, coasted to the 2025 Little League World Series title behind its ace pitcher, Lin Chin-Tse.
Chin-Tse’s pitching line was simply dominant – 5 innings, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 walks, 4 strikeouts – and he also had the most important hit (a bases clearing triple) in the game during his team’s five-run bottom of the fifth inning.
On the strength of Chin-Tse’s arm and the stellar defense behind him, Chinese Taipei defeated Nevada, 7-0, to win its first Little League World Series title since 1996, snapping a 29-year drought for the country.
To help its championship effort, Chinese Taipei turned three double plays on Sunday and recorded the team’s fourth shoutout during the 12-day LLWS in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It was the 18th LLWS title for Chinese Taipei overall, the second most behind the 40 combined titles won from United States teams.
Nevada was aiming to win the state’s first LLWS title and continue the United States’ streak of six LLWS championships in a row dating back to 2018.
According to ESPN, he hasn’t pitched in two weeks. He struck out the first batter he faced on five pitches. He then walked three consecutive batters to load the bases. Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chin-Tse hit a scorching liner down the line in left field that cleared the bases and the lead grew to 5-0 Chinese Taipei after that play. Chinese Taipei’s Tsai Yu-Ge hits a ground ball and the play went to home to prevent a run from scoring. However, the errant throw from the catcher past third base and into left field allowed the baserunner and the batter to score. After five innings, Chinese Taipei led 7-0.
According to Little League, the attendance number for the 2025 LLBWS championship game was 25,812.
Chinese Taipei had its no-hitter by Lin Chin-Tse broken up by Nevada’s Garrett Gallegos, who had a single go through the hole between the shortstop and third baseman. However, Nevada can’t add on to that hit as a double play ended the inning. Chinese Taipei still leads 2-0 after the top of the fifth inning.
According to ESPN, that was in 1979.
D’Ambrosio threw his 85th pitch to get the final out of the bottom of the fourth inning. We’ll see a new pitcher next inning but for now, Chinese Taipei has a 2-0 lead.
Chin-Tse picked up his second strikeout of the top of the fourth innning and his fourth of the game. Through four innings, he hasn’t allowed a hit while throwing 49 pitches (36 for strikes).
D’Ambrosio gave up an infield single to Chen Shi-Rong, who later took second on a wild pitch and eventually scored when D’Ambrosio made a throwing error on a throw to first base from a bunt attempt. D’Ambrosio, who’s up to 69 pitches now, limited any more damage with a strikeout to end the bottom of the third inning. We have completed three innings, Chinese Taipei leads 2-0.
Chin-Tse has faced the minimum number of batters (9) through three innings and has only throw 37 pitches (28 for strikes) and the perfect game is still alive.
Teams from the United States have won every Little League World Series championship game since 2018. The international teams to win the LLWS was a team from Tokyo, Japan in 2017.
Jian Zih-De walked to start the bottom of the second inning. Zih-De took second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on a groundout. With Ho Fu-Yi at the plate and facing a 3-1 count, Luke D’Ambrosio threw ball four. The ball trickled away from catcher and Zih-De scampered home and beats the tag. Chinese Taipei leads 1-0 over Nevada after two innings.
Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chin-Tse has a perfect game with one strikeout through two innings against Nevada. We are still scoreless.
According to the Reno Gazette-Journal, Saturday’s U.S. championship by Nevada’s Summerlin South Little League was only the second U.S. Little League title for the state of Nevada. But now, Nevada aims for an even larger goal: the state’s first LLWS title.
D’Ambrosio gave up a single with one out, hit a batter with two outs and allowed a single to load the bases with two outs before Chinese Taipei’s Lai Yu-Han came to the plate. However, D’Ambrosio got a fly out to escape this jam. After one inning, we are scoreless.
Chinese Taipei has outscored opponents, 15-3, in four games so far and that includes three shutouts.
Chin-Tse got a groundout, a fly out and a strikeout to compete the top of the first inning.
Nevada has produced 52 hits, 15 extra-base hits, four home runs and 38 runs overall. All categories lead the LLWS entering Sunday’s LLWS championship game.
Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chin-Tse takes the mound for the Asia-Pacific region champion while Nevada’s Luke D’Ambrosio will be the starter for the Mountain Region champion.
Yes. If the score is still tied after six complete innings, then the two teams will go into extra innings starting with the seventh inning. The difference with the seventh inning and every inning needed after that, is that a runner starts the seventh inning (and beyond) on second base. That runner, according to Little League, “is scheduled to bat last in that respective half inning.”— Sherlon Christie
Little League Baseball doesn’t have a strict per-game pitching innings limit. However, Little League does monitor how many pitches a player can throw in a game and there are corresponding days of rest tied to how many pitches a player throws in each game. The maximum number of pitches a player can throw in a Little League World Series game is 85 pitches. However, a pitcher can go over the 85-pitch threshold to finish an at-bat that started under 85 pitches, but that batter would be the last one before the pitcher must be removed from the mound.— Sherlon Christie
Under normal circumstances, a complete Little League World Series game is played over six innings. If the home team is winning the game entering the top of the sixth inning and gets three outs against the visiting team, then the game will end with five and a half innings played as the home team will not bat in the bottom of the sixth inning. — Sherlon Christie
The 2025 Little League World Series will be broadcast on ESPN platforms, with the championship game airing on ABC. Games will also be available to stream on ESPN+.
Date: Sunday, Aug. 24Times: Consolation at 10 a.m. ET; Championship at 3 p.m. ET.TV: ABC (championship game); ESPN2 (consolation game)Stream: FuboLocation: South Williamsport, Pennsylvania
The Little League World Series championship game will be played in Howard J. Lamade Stadium at the Little League World Series Complex in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
All times Eastern. For a full list of results, click here.
Saturday, Aug 23
International bracket championship
Chinese Taipei (Asia-Pacific) 1, Aruba (Caribbean) 0
United States bracket championship
Connecticut (Metro) 2, Nevada (Mountain) 8Sunday, Aug. 24
Third-place game
Aruba (Caribbean) vs. Connecticut (Metro), 10 a.m. | ESPN2
Championship game
Chinese Taipei (Asia-Pacific) vs. Nevada (Mountain), 3 p.m. | ABC
Stream the Little League World Series on Fubo
Sunday’s action in the Little League World Series begins at 10 a.m. ET with the third-place game. That game will be followed by the championship game between Chinese Taipei and Nevada at 3 p.m. ET.
The Las Vegas area was a hot spot for Little League baseball talent and Summerlin South Little League (Las Vegas) was just the latest example. Summerlin South LL defeated Lone Peak Little League (Alpine, Utah), 6-3, in the Mountain championship game to earn a spot this year in the Little League World Series. According to Fox 5 Las Vegas, Summerlin South was the third straight team from Southern Nevada to represent the region at the LLWS. If Summerlin South can win the 2025 Little League World Series title, it will be the first team from Nevada to do it. — Sherlon Christie
Tung-Yuan LL (Taipei, Chinese Taipei) cruised to a 6-1 record in the Asia-Pacific tournament to get to Williamsport this year. According to Little League, “this will be the fourth-straight trip for Chinese Taipei as the representative for the Asia-Pacific region, starting with Fu-Lin Little League (Taipei, Chinese Taipei) earning the bid in 2022.” Chinese Taipei has a rich history in the LLWS with 33 appearances, including this year. Tung-Yuan Little League made its last, and only other, trip to Williamsport back in 2015, finishing the tournament with a 2-2 record, Little League said. If it seems like Chinese Taipei is one of the international teams to watch every year, that’s because Chinese Taipei is the country with the most Little League World Series titles (17), outside of the United States, with the country’s last championship coming in 1996 from Kaohsiung Little League. — Sherlon Christie
The 2024 LLWS finished with a thriller, as Florida claimed a 2-1 extra-innings victory over Taiwan.
The Lake Mary Little League team made history beyond lifting the Little League World Series trophy. In winning the game, they became the first Florida-based team to ever win the tournament, ending a run that saw eight previous LLWS finalists lose in the title game. — Sherlon Christie
Here is a list of the most recent champions of the event.
2024: Lake Mary, Florida2023: El Segundo, California2022: Honolulu, Hawaii2021: Taylor, Michigan2019: River Ridge, Louisiana2018: Honolulu, Hawaii2017: Tokyo, Japan2016: Endwell, New York2015: Tokyo, Japan2014: Seoul, South Korea2013: Tokyo, Japan2012: Tokyo, Japan2011: Huntington Beach, California2010: Tokyo, Japan