Powerful Osaka leads Japan to LLWS title

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Arms outstretched in the air with a smile from ear-to-ear, Noriatsu Osaka couldn’t contain his glee.

Neither could his teammates from Tokyo after Osaka’s third home run of the game put an exclamation point on Japan’s 12-2 victory over Tennessee in five innings in the Little League World Series title game Sunday.

The 12-year-old Osaka added a triple for good measure, too, to top off his 4-for-4 afternoon. In a symbolic gesture, Japan’s players jogged the traditional postgame victory lap carrying the flags for both their home country and the United States.

“We had such a great time in Pennsylvania and we really played a good game today. It was kind of a, ‘thanks,’ ” Osaka said through an interpreter.

Starter Kotaro Kiyomiya struck out eight in four innings and added an RBI single for Japan. The game ended in the fifth after Osaka’s third homer made it a 10-run game.

“We thought we played the best in the tournament so far, especially to win by the 10-run rule in the finals,” said 12-year-old Rintaro Hirano, who homered in the fourth to make it 10-1.

A day after pounding out a 24-16 win over California in the U.S. title game, the Goodlettsville, Tenn., sluggers could only muster two hits – solo home runs by Brock Myers and Lorenzo Butler.

California 12, Panama 4

Bradley Smith had two doubles and three RBIs, and Logan Douglas struck out six in five innings of relief to lift Petaluma, Calif., past Aguadulce, Panama in the third-place game.

Douglas added two hits for a California team that rebounded nicely after losing a 24-16 thriller to Tennessee in the U.S. championship game.