LAKE MARY, Fla. – For the first time, a team from Florida has won the Little League World Series.
Lake Mary won the title in the eighth inning during their eighth game at Howard J. Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
In a wild finish, the Lake Mary All-Stars team beat Chinese Taipei with a historic play, a game-winning bunt by Hunter Alexander.
It was Lake Mary’s moment, but the team says, “it’s our summer.” It’s a motto they’ve lived up to as they’ve worked for this historic win.
[MEET THE TEAM: Lake Mary All-Stars]
Twenty four teams from Florida have been to the Little League World Series, but only eight have made it all the way through the bracket to reach the championship game.
- 1948: St. Petersburg, Florida finished runner-up in the LLWS, losing to Lock Haven, Pennsylvania
- 1949: Pensacola, Florida finished runner-up in the LLWS, losing to Hammonton, New Jersey
- 1975: Belmont Heights, Tampa, Florida finished runner-up in the LLWS, losing to Lakewood, New Jersey
- 1980: Belmont Heights, Tampa, Florida finished runner-up in the LLWS, losing to Long Kuong, Chinese Taipei
- 1981: Belmont Heights, Tampa, Florida finished runner-up in the LLWS, losing to Tai-Ping, Chinese Taipei
- 1984: Altamonte Springs, Florida finished runner-up in the LLWS, losing to Seoul, South Korea
- 2001: Apopka, Florida finished runner-up in the LLWS, losing to Kitasuna, Tokyo, Japan
- 2003: Boynton Beach, Florida finished runner-up in the LLWS, losing to Musashi-Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan
Last year, the Lake Mary team just missed a trip to Williamsport in the last inning of their last game.
“We ran miles. We did boot camps,” JJ Feliciano said when asked about the hard work to make it back to the tournament in 2024.
“We weren’t going to let no team take our summer away,” Landon Bono said.
Coach Kyle Bono, Landon’s father, told News 6 anchor Justin Warmoth that this year felt special.
“Every kid on this team had a moment that saved this run from districts to states, making a catch,” Bono said. “It’s magical.”
During Lake Mary’s first game against Boerne, Texas they lost 4 to 1. The boys battled their way back from the loser’s bracket and ended up beating the Texas team in the U.S. final to become the best in the nation.
“We knew we had the depth to get through the loser’s bracket,” said Coach Paul Bibaud.
During the championship game Sunday, Garrett Rohozen said he never gave up hope.
“We were down two outs in the bottom of the sixth,” Rohozen said. “I still thought we were in it.”
And, after their win in extra innings, they showed empathy for the other team.
“I mean, how could you not?,” said Hunter Alexander. “They’re runner up. They played a great game. We went eight innings.”
“That team was well-coached, great fundamental team that just happened to run into a story that wasn’t going to be stopped,” Coach Jonathan Anderson said.
Anderson told his team “what a story it’s going to be” and “it’s already been written.” On Sunday, they finished what they came to Williamsport to do.
What a moment. What an ending.
“It’s our summer,” they said. And it is.
2024 Team Roster:
- #7 Chase Anderson
- #8 Chris Chikodroff
- #9 Lathan Norton
- #10 Hunter Alexander
- #12 Jacob Bibaud
- #14 James Feliciano
- #15 Liam Morrisey
- #18 Luis Calo
- #19 Landon Bono
- #22 Garrett Rohozen
- #25 DeMarcos Mieses
- #26 Teraj Alexander
- Paul Bibaud, coach
- Kyle Bono, coach
- Jonathan Anderson, manager
Congratulations to the 2024 Little League World Series Champions, the Lake Mary All-Stars. First Florida team in history to win it all in Williamsport! https://t.co/PnoUBN4j3O
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) August 26, 2024
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