Little League World Series 2015: Bats Explode As Pennsylvania Battles Japan

For weeks, Red Land Little League has been playing like a team of destiny.

And indeed, the U.S. Champions were just that. They had to look for a team on the other side of the Pacific that could beat them.

The legendary team from Lewisberry, Pennsylvania finally lost, 18-11, to Japan on Sunday.

It ends a jaw-dropping undefeated tournament run for Red Land, during which time they went 20-0 and outscored their opponents by an absurd margin.

After days of closely fought, low-scoring games, the bats were alive during the international championship Little League World Series game.

The day after defeating Pearland, Texas for the American title, the team from York County, Pennsylvania faced, yet again, its toughest matchup to date.

From the start, things were booming: Red Land leapt out to a 10-2 lead after the first inning, led by home runs from Jaden Henline and a grand slam from Dylan Rodenhaber.

But Japan powered back with three home runs in the top of the third, placing them right back into the thick of things. After the damage was done, the score read 10-9.

Japan’s offensive pressure was unrelenting. They tacked on two more home runs and four runs in the top of the third to go on top 13-10. Through four innings of play, they’d knocked sixteen hits off the ace Red Land staff.

Red Land’s offense, meanwhile, had scant chances the rest of the game.

They squeezed out one more run in the bottom of the third, and after a scoreless fourth and fifth, they headed to the sixth still trailing 13-11.

Japan did their most brutal damage in the top of the sixth, however, tacking on five more runs. Red Land prayed for a miracle heading into the last inning, trailing 18-11, but could not muster a final rally.

Shippensburg was the last Pennsylvania team to make it this far, 25 years ago. They won the U.S. championship but lost the international title in 1990.