2001 Little League World Series
The 2001 Little League World Series took place between August 17 and August 26 in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The Kitasuna Little League of Tokyo, Japan defeated Apopka National Little League of Apopka, Florida in the championship game of the 55th Little League World Series. This tournament saw the expansion of pool play to 16 teams, eight from the United States, and eight from around the world. Little League Volunteer Stadium was built to accommodate the number of added games that would be played in the pool stage, and it would also host the consolation game.
| 2001 Little League World Series | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dates | August 17–August 26 | |
| Teams participating | 16 | |
| Champion | Kitasuna Little League Tokyo, Japan | |
| Runner-up | National Little League  Apopka, Florida | |
| ||
Following the conclusion of the tournament, Danny Almonte, a pitcher from the team representing the Mid-Atlantic, would be the center of a scandal where it was discovered that Almonte was not eligible to play in the tournament because he was two years over the maximum age limit. Because of this, the Mid-Atlantic team was forced to forfeit every game in the tournament they participated in retroactively.
The 2001 Little League World Series was also the first ever that had a female umpire to call the championship game: Flora Stansbury from Seneca, Missouri. U.S. President George W. Bush, himself a little leaguer as a child, was also in attendance at the championship game.
Nobuhisa Baba's single in the bottom of the sixth drove in the winning run.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 Lincoln, RINew England Lincoln |
 Bronx, NYMid-Atlantic Bronx |
 Santiago de VeraguasLatin America Santiago de Veraguas |
 HagåtñaPacific Guam |
 Oceanside, CAWest American |
 Bainbridge Island, WANorthwest Bainbridge Island |
 .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Willemstad, CuraçaoCaribbean Pariba |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}  CalgaryCanada West |
 Brownsburg, INGreat Lakes Brownsburg |
 Davenport, IAMidwest East |
 DhahranTransatlantic Arabian-American |
 MoscowEurope Khovrino |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Lake Charles, LAGulf States South Lake Charles |
Apopka, FL Southeast National |
Tokyo Asia Kitasuna |
 MatamorosMexico Matamoros |
Pool play
The top two teams in each pool moved on to the elimination round.
| Region | Record |
|---|---|
| Indiana | 3-0 |
| California | 2-1 |
| Louisiana | 1-2 |
| Rhode Island | 0-3 |
| Region | Record |
|---|---|
| Florida | 2-1 |
| Washington | 1-2 |
| Iowa | 0-3 |
| New York | DSQ |
August 17
| Rhode Island |
0-8 | California |
| Indiana |
2-0 |  Louisiana |
August 18
|
New York |
0-6 |
Florida |
| Washington |
4-3 |
Iowa |
|
Rhode Island |
1-5 |
Indiana |
August 19
| Florida | 2-0 | Washington |
| California | 5-2 | Louisiana |
August 20
| Iowa | 6-0 | New York |
| Rhode Island | 2-5 | Louisiana |
| Indiana | 2-1 | California |
August 21
| Washington | 6-0 | New York |
| Florida | 10-3 | Iowa |
International
| Region | Record |
|---|---|
| Curaçao | 2-1 |
| Japan | 2-1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1-2 |
| Panama | 1-2 |
| Region | Record |
|---|---|
| Guam | 3-0 |
| Mexico | 2-1 |
| Canada | 1-2 |
| Russia | 0-3 |
August 17
| Transatlantic | 2-4 | Asia |
August 18
| Mexico | 5-6 | Pacific |
| Caribbean | 3-2 | Latin America |
| Europe | 1-5 | Canada |
August 19
| Transatlantic | 3-10 | Caribbean |
August 20
| Canada | 5-6 | Mexico |
| Europe | 0-5 | Pacific |
| Asia | 1-6 | Latin America |
August 21
| Pacific | 6-5 | Canada |
| Mexico | 2-0 | Europe |
| Asia | 4-2 | Caribbean |
| Transatlantic | 11-0† (5 innings) |
Latin America |
† Game ended by "mercy rule" (at least 10-run difference through 5 innings)
Elimination rounds
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| August 22 - Lamade (Game ended by mercy rule) | ||||||||||
| Tokyo, Japan | 15 | |||||||||
| August 25 - Lamade | ||||||||||
| Matamoros, Mexico | 5 | |||||||||
| Tokyo, Japan | 2 | |||||||||
| August 23 - Lamade | ||||||||||
| Willemstad, Curaçao | 1 | |||||||||
| Hagåtňa, Guam | 3 | |||||||||
| August 26 - Lamade | ||||||||||
| Willemstad, Curaçao | 4 | |||||||||
| Tokyo, Japan | 2 | |||||||||
| August 22 - Lamade | ||||||||||
| Apopka, Florida | 1 | |||||||||
| Brownsburg, Indiana | 1 | |||||||||
| August 25 - Lamade Forfeit: Mid-Atlantic used ineligible player | ||||||||||
| Apopka, Florida | 6 | |||||||||
| Apopka, Florida | 8 | |||||||||
| August 23 - Lamade
Forfeit: Mid-Atlantic used ineligible player | ||||||||||
|
Bronx, New York | 0 | Third place | ||||||||
|
Bronx, New York | 0 | |||||||||
| August 26 - Volunteer Forfeit: Mid-Atlantic used ineligible player | ||||||||||
| Oceanside, California | 6 | |||||||||
|
Bronx, New York | 0 | |||||||||
| Willemstad, Curaçao | 6 | |||||||||
| 2001 Little League World Series Champions |
|---|
Kitasuna Little League Tokyo, Japan |
Champions path
The Kitasuna LL reached the LLWS with an undefeated record of four wins and no losses.[1] In total, their record was 9–1, their only loss coming in the LLWS qualifying round against Santiago de Veraguas LL of Panama.
| Round | Opposition | Result |
|---|---|---|
| All-Tokyo Tournament | ||
| Opening Round | Ryuugasaki LL | 11-4 |
| Quarterfinals | Suzaka LL | 6-1 |
| Semifinals | Matsusaka LL | 12-8 |
| Japan Championship | Nagoya Kita LL | 5-4 |
Notable players
- Danny Almonte
- Francisco Peña (Bronx, New York) Baltimore Orioles catcher. Son of Tony Peña
- Ruben Tejada (Santiago de Veraguas, Panama) Baltimore Orioles infielder
References
- "Japan Tournament Results". Unpage.com. Retrieved September 28, 2010.