WILLIAMSPORT, PA. – In capping off the perfect 24-0 season, Maine-Endwell little league shattered the final glass ceiling Sunday afternoon in the Little League World Series championship game by beating South Korea 2-1, earning the title of world champs.
Playing a South Korea team who had the most home runs of any team in the tournament on top of arguably some of the best pitching to boot, M-E stood poised and unwavering from the very start of the matchup.
The game was neck-and-neck until the final out, but M-E was able to answer every challenge that South Korea put in front of them. From James Fellows’ home-run saving catch over the wall in the second inning to keep the game tied at zero, to Conner Rush’s RBI bloop single to put the game’s first run on the board, it was apparent that M-E was on a mission to maintain an unblemished record and to do so on the biggest stage possible.
M-E’s Ryan Harlost pitched a masterpiece of a complete game, allowing five hits and striking out eight in the outing to keep the game in reach until M-E was able to score their first and only two runs in the fourth inning.
M-E had yet to get a hit or reach base until the fourth when Jude Abbadessa laced a line drive to center field. Harlost followed his lead with a single to right-center in the next at-bat, moving Abbadessa to third and racing to second himself.
South Korea then moved their infield in to try to defend any runs from scoring on any infield hits, but Conner Rush was able to place a bloop single just over the glove of the South Korean shortstop Jungtaek Ru to get Abbadessa in for M-E’s first run of the game.
Harlost would then score what would be the game’s winning run off of a stolen base on a passed ball to give M-E a 2-0 lead.
The three hits in the fourth inning were M-E’s only of the game as South Korea’s Junho Jeong had an impressive day himself, striking out nine in four innings.
In the top of the fifth however, Yoomin Lee had an answer for South Korea sending a hanging-curveball well over the wall in center field to deplete M-E’s lead to just a run.
But it was all M-E from there on as they locked in defensively behind Harlost’s pitching to get the remaining six outs to achieve the title of the greatest little league team in the world.
Sen. Schumer said of the victory, “The boys of summer from Maine-Endwell show us yet again, when it comes to baseball: if you dream it, it can happen. The entire team, coaching staff and parents of these very talented athletes should be proud.”
This is the first time a New York team has won the title since 1964, and only the third time ever.
Chenango county resident A. Wesley Jones was in Williamsport for the game, and he said, “It was an incredible experience. My son Tyler and I were actually planning to go to the State Fair, but Tyler made the choice to go see M-E play. The talent level is amazing; you forget sometimes they are 12-year-old kids. I’ve seen a lot of kids play Little League and you’ll see one here or there at that level, but M-E had incredible talent up and down the lineup.”
It was a fairytale ending for M-E little league, but one thing is for sure: They earned it.
The Town of Union will hold a parade in M-E’s honor on Monday, August 29. The parade will take place at 11:15 a.m. and will go from Hooper Road, to Farm to Market Road, and end at Struble Road.

Photo by A. Wesley Jones