2002 Little League World Series

2002 Little League World Series

Tournament details
Dates	August 16–August 25
Teams	16
Final positions
Champions	Valley Sports American Little League Louisville, Kentucky
Runners-up	Sendai Higashi Little League Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
← 2001 2003 →

The 2002 Little League World Series took place between August 16 and August 25 in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The Valley Sports American Little League of Pleasure Ridge Park, a suburb of Louisville, Kentucky, defeated Sendai Higashi Little League of Sendai, Japan, in the championship game of the 56th Little League World Series (LLWS).

Notable players included CBS National baseball writer Julian McWillaims, a member of Harlem, New York Little Leagues representing the Mid-Atlantic region, 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Austin Dillon, a member of the Clemmons, North Carolina, Little League representing the Southeast region.^[1] Current hitting coach for the Colorado Rockies AA affiliate, Hartford Yard Goats, Zach Osborne^[2] was the tournament MVP for the U.S. and World Champion Valley Sports American Little League.

At the beginning of the 2002 tournament the Little League organization retired uniform number 11 for all teams playing in the LLWS from that year forward in honour of Fire Department of New York firefighter Michael Cammarata, a victim of the September 11, 2001 attacks,^[3] who had worn that number during the 1991 LLWS.

Qualification

Main article: 2002 Little League World Series qualification

Between five and twelve teams take part in 16 regional qualification tournaments, which vary in format depending on region. In the United States, the qualification tournaments are in the same format as the Little League World Series itself: a round-robin tournament followed by an elimination round to determine the regional champion.

Pool A	Pool B	Pool C	Pool D
Fort Worth, Texas Southwest Westside Little League	Manhattan, New York Mid-Atlantic Harlem Little League	Valencia, Venezuela Latin America Los Leones Little League	Sendai, Miyagi, Japan Asia Sendai Hagashi Little League
Worcester, Massachusetts New England Jesse Burkett Little League	Louisville, Kentucky Great Lakes Valley Sports American Little League	Regina, Saskatchewan Canada North Regina Little League	Willemstad, Curaçao Caribbean Pariba Little League
Webb City, Missouri Midwest Webb City Little League	Aptos, California West Aptos Little League	Hagåtña, Guam Pacific Central Little League	Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico Mexico Country de Monterrey Little League
Waipio, Hawaii Northwest Waipio Little League	Clemmons, North Carolina Southeast Southwest Forsyth Little League	Dhahran, Saudi Arabia Transatlantic Arabian-American Little League	Moscow, Russia Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Khovrino Little League

• Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States.

Pool play

The top two teams in each pool move on to their respective semifinals. The winners of each met on August 25 to play for the Little League world championship.

Pool A

Region	Record
Southwest	2–1
New England	2–1
Northwest	2–1
Midwest	0–3

Pool B

Region	Record
Great Lakes	3–0
Mid-Atlantic	2–1
West	1–2
Southeast	0–3

August 16

New England	2–3	Northwest
Midwest	0–1	Southwest

August 17

West	1–4	Great Lakes
Mid-Atlantic	9–3	Southeast
New England	2–1	Midwest

August 18

Southeast	8–11	West
West	10–4	Southeast
Northwest	0–8	Southwest
Great Lakes	2–0	Mid-Atlantic

August 19

New England	6–0	Southwest
Midwest	1–2	Northwest

August 20

West	2–5	Mid-Atlantic
Southeast	2–4	Great Lakes

International

Pool C

Region	Record
Latin America	2–1
Pacific	2–1
Transatlantic	2–1
Canada	0–3

Pool D

Region	Record
Asia	3–0
Caribbean	2–1
Mexico	1–2
EMEA	0–3

August 16

Transatlantic

3–2

Canada

August 17

Pacific	1–11	Latin America
Mexico	1–10	Caribbean
EMEA	0–7	Asia

August 18

Transatlantic	6–9	Pacific
Mexico	4–3	EMEA

August 19

EMEA	0–13^† (4 innings)	Caribbean
Asia	11–0^† (4 innings)	Mexico
Canada	3–9	Latin America

August 20

Asia	5–0	Caribbean
Canada	7–12	Pacific
Transatlantic	6–5	Latin America

Elimination rounds

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	August 21 - Lamade (Game ended by mercy rule)
	Sendai, Japan	10
					August 24 - Lamade
	Hagåtña, Guam	0
					Sendai, Japan	4
	August 22 - Lamade
					Willemstad, Curaçao	1
	Valencia, Venezuela	0
									August 25 - Lamade
	Willemstad, Curaçao	3
									Sendai, Japan	0
	August 21 - Lamade (11 innings)
									Louisville, Kentucky	1
	Louisville, Kentucky	2
					August 24 - Lamade
	Fort Worth, Texas	1
					Louisville, Kentucky	4
	August 22 - Lamade
					Worcester, Massachusetts	0			Third place
	Worcester, Massachusetts	5
									August 25 - Volunteer
	New York, New York	2
									Worcester, Massachusetts	1
									Willemstad, Curaçao	9

2002 Little League World Series Champions
Valley Sports American Little League Louisville, Kentucky

Notes

• † Game ended by "mercy rule" (at least a 10-run difference through 5 innings)

Champions path

The Louisville Valley Sports American LL went undefeated on their road to the LLWS, winning all eleven of their matches.^[4][5] In total record was 17–0.

Round	Opposition	Result
Kentucky State Tournament
Group Stage	Clay County LL	7-1
Group Stage	Morehead LL	1-0
Group Stage	Owensboro Southern LL	6-4 (14 inn)
Semifinals	Richmond LL	11-0 (4 inn)
Championship	Owensboro Southern LL	3-0
Great Lakes Regional
Group Stage	Hamilton West Side American LL	5-0
Group Stage	Bradley-Bourbonnais LL	2-1
Group Stage	Merrill LL	4-1
Group Stage	Grosse Pointe Farms-City LL	3-1
Semifinals	Hamilton West Side American LL	2-1
Great Lakes Region Championship	Brownsburg LL	8-1

In popular culture

The U.S. semifinal between Valley Sports American Little League (Louisville, Kentucky) and Westside Little League (Fort Worth, Texas) lasted 11 innings, making it one of the longest games in Little League World Series history. The dramatic finish included back-to-back home runs in the top of the 11th inning, capped by a go-ahead shot from Zach Osborne, who was later named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.^[6] ESPN replayed the matchup as an “instant classic,” and it remains a memorable moment in LLWS history.

In 2024, the game and the Fort Worth team’s emotional journey were dramatized in the feature film You Gotta Believe, starring Luke Wilson and Greg Kinnear. The film highlights the team’s run in honor of a teammate’s father who was terminally ill and portrays the semifinal as a pivotal moment in their path to Williamsport.^[7][8][9]

External links

• Dramatic 11th-inning walk-off home run by Zach Osborne – Valley Sports vs Westside, 2002 LLWS U.S. semifinal
• Official trailer for You Gotta Believe, featuring the 2002 LLWS semifinal

References

1. Pockrass, Bob (August 16, 2013). "Austin Dillon used to pressure after playing in Little League World Series". Sporting News. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
2. "Yard Goats Coaching Staff to Return for 2025 Season". MiLB.com. Retrieved 2025-08-23.
3. "Little League Honors a Hero". WNEP, August 21, 2017.
4. "Great Lakes Region Tournament Historical Results". Unpage.com. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
5. "Great Lakes Region Tournament". Unpage.com. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
6. "Kentucky wins out on longest pitchers' duel in LLWS history". ESPN. August 21, 2002. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
7. "Luke Wilson and Greg Kinnear Lead an Inspiring Youth Baseball Team in "You Gotta Believe" Trailer". People. June 25, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
8. "You Gotta Believe, Inspiring Story of 2002 LLBWS Team from Texas, Set to Hit Theaters on August 30". Little League®. July 11, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
9. "Sandlot star returns to baseball in "You Gotta Believe" trailer". Entertainment Weekly. June 25, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2025.

https://x.com/byjulianmack/status/1953495895372103759?s=46&t=ZTSStysSolSWoIxjtF0RoA

External links

• 2002 official results via Wayback Machine
• Recap of championship game via Wayback Machine