TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan clinched its first Little League World Series title in 29 years on Sunday after shutting out the US 7-0 with near-perfect pitching. 

The Little League World Series championship was held in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, with Taiwan, the International bracket winner, facing Las Vegas, Nevada, the US bracket winner, for the second straight year, per CNA. Taiwan’s team consisted of players from Taipei Dong Yuan Elementary School, who went undefeated (4–0) in group play.

In the top of the first, starting pitcher Lin Chin-tse (林晉擇) quickly retired three batters. In the bottom of the inning, hits by Tsai Yu-ge (蔡瑀格) and Chang Chun-po (張淳博), along with a wild pitch that put Liu Wei-hung (劉韋亨) on base, loaded the bases, but Taiwan was unable to score.

In the second, the US was unable to get on base. In the bottom of the inning, US pitcher Luke D’Ambrosio struggled with control and threw consecutive wild pitches, allowing Chien Tzu-te (簡子淂) to advance home for Taiwan’s first run.

In the third, American batters still could not overcome Lin’s fastball and Taiwan’s strong defense. At bat, Chen Shih-jung (陳世榮) scored after a single, a wild pitch, and a throwing error, extending Taiwan’s lead to 2–0.

In the fourth, Lai Yu-han (賴昱翰) reached third base, but Taiwan failed to add a run.

In the top of the fifth, the US got a runner on base but could not score. Lin hit a three-run triple, and a US fielding error allowed Taiwan to score two more runs, stretching the lead to 7–0. 

In the sixth, reliever Chen Chi-sheng (陳啟盛) took the mound and closed out the game. 

This was Taiwan's first world championship since 1996. Taiwan now holds 18 LLWS titles, second only to the US, which has 40. In the late 1970s, Taiwan dominated the tournament, capturing five titles from 1977 to 1981, per ESPN.