Junior League World Series opens 42nd year in Taylor

TAYLOR, Mich (FOX 2) –
The Junior League Baseball World Series has long become a staple of August in Taylor’s Heritage Park. Now in its 42nd season, the JLWS will begin earlier (opening ceremonies on Saturday, August 3) but will have a long way to go to beat last year’s tournament when it comes to excitement and attendance.

The Junior League World Series is a week-long international tournament for the best teams of 13 and 14-year-old baseball players from around the world. Founded in 1981, the Junior League World Series is the “older brother” of the Little League World Series held annually in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for the best teams of 12-year-olds.

Like the Little League World Series, the Junior League World Series has a storied history. It began as a tournament for the best teams of 13-year-old players. It blossomed to include 14-year-olds and now attracts teams from around the globe: Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific region, Canada and, of course, the United States.

The format hasn’t changed significantly since a year ago. A dozen elite baseball teams will descend on Taylor to battle through the modified 12-team, two-loss-elimination bracket, all with the collective focus on taking home the world championship. Six teams from regions in the United States play-off for the right to meet the champion of the International bracket in the title game.

The USA Bracket will be made up of teams representing USA West, USA Southwest, USA East, USA Southeast, USA Central and the host team, representing Michigan’s District 5. The International Bracket will be made up of teams representing the following regions: Asia-Pacific, Mexico, Latin America, Europe-Africa, Australia and Canada. All games will be played at Junior League World Series Field in Heritage Park. 

Opening ceremonies, including speeches and presentations, the teams parading into the stadium and fireworks, will start at approximately 8 p.m. on Saturday, August 3. 

The tournament will begin on Sunday, August 4, with games at 11 a.m. (US Southeast v. US East) and 2 (Canada v. Australia), 5 (host Taylor North v. US West) and 8 p.m. (Europe-Africa v. Latin America).

In the International Bracket, Asia-Pacific and Mexico drew byes and will not play until the second round on Monday. Mexico plays the Canada-Australia winner and Asia-Pacific faces the Europe-Africa winner.

The US Central and US Southeastern regions also drew byes. US Southwest awaits the US Southeast-US East winner and US Central will play the Taylor North-US West winner.

Games will continue at the same times on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, August 5, 6 and 7. Thursday, August 8 will feature two games at 5 and 9 p.m. Friday, August 9, is an off day.

The tournament will come to a climax on Saturday and Sunday, August 10 and 11. The International Bracket Championship Game will begin at 3 p.m. August 10, with the US Bracket Championship Game afterward at 6 p.m. The JLWS Championship Game between the International and USA winners will be held at noon on August 11. All games will be shown on ESPN Plus.

All games will be played at JLWS Field in the southeast corner of the park. You can enter Heritage Park via Pardee or Northline roads. Tickets and parking cost $5 per vehicle per game.

Taylor North plays host for third straight season

Taylor North qualified as the host team for the third straight season after rolling through the Michigan District 5 tournament unbeaten. The tournament field was altered several years ago to allow for a host team, which qualifies out of District 5, the local Little League affiliate. 

Managed by Rob Dotson and assistant coaches Bob Shufeldt and Ryan Doute, the team is made up of Jaxon Shufelt, Kole Boike, Lucas Doute, Chase Omodio, Lucas Brewer, Cruz Rodriquez, Richard Loruiaux, Griffin Krakow, Alex Miller, Brodii Hollibough, Tristan Spencer and Mino Koski.

This team is not without experience: The majority of the same team qualified for the age-bracket world series in California last summer. Jaxon Shufeldt was the youngest member of the 2021 Little League World Series champions and played in the JLWS last year for Taylor. Boike also pitched and played outfield for Taylor in last year’s JLWS.

A look back: Chinese Taipei rolls, yet again

Last year, Chinese Taipei, representing the Asia-Pacific Region, captured its ninth title since 2010 with a 6-0 shutout of the District 5 hosts, Taylor North, in the finals. Powerful, deep teams from Taiwan have won the last two JLWS titles (2022-23) while racking up other championships starting in 2010 and including a run of six straight from 2013-18.

Taiwan’s nine overall titles nearly double their next-closest challengers. Teams from Puerto Rico (last title in 1999), Florida (last in 2012) and Southern California (last in 2019) have each captured five titles. Other squads to claim multiple JLWS titles include Hawaii (four), Texas (3) and Arizona (2). The first JLWS championship was won by a team from Boardman, Ohio in 1981. Boardman, representing the USA Central Region, beat a team from Richmond, Virginia, 4-0.

Despite Taiwan’s dominance, it lost its opening game last year. Puerto Rico walked off the Asia-Pacific Region champs, 2-1, on a perfectly executed squeeze bunt play. After that loss, Taiwan rolled through the tournament by a combined score of 40-3. But as good as the Asia-Pacific champions were, the real story of last year’s tournament was occurring in the USA Bracket.

The hosts from District 5 make things interesting

Taylor North romped through the District 5 tournament in 2023 and gained a first-round bye in the JLWS to set up a run all the way to the JLWS finals. Ten of the 11 players that led Taylor North to the Little League World Series title in 2021 were on the roster: Chauncey Adkins, Noah Boren, Lucas Farner, Jacob Furkas, Max Laforest, Jaxon Shufeldt, Jackson Surma, Cameron Thorning, Gavin Ulin and Ethan VanBelle. Only Kole Boike was new to the team. 

Known as a powerful offensive squad, the team did not hit well during last summer’s JLWS tournament. Taylor North still managed three straight wins after its bye, beating Honolulu, Hawaii (West Region Champions); Hillsdale, New Jersey (East Regional); and Irmo, South Carolina (Southeast Regional).

In the US Bracket Championship Game against Irma, South Carolina, upwards of 5,000 fans descended to the field. It was noted as the largest crowd in JLWS history. Tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Max Laforest’s sacrifice fly ball drove home Jackson Surma with the winning run for a 3-2 victory and a spot in the finals opposite Chinese Taipei. 

Asia-Pacific, behind starter and winner Chih-Hsu Huang, beat Taylor North 6-0 in the title game. He threw 75 pitches in the complete game effort for the victory in front of another huge crowd. As we move toward the 2024 JLWS Tournament, until another team proves otherwise, consider Chinese Taipei the team to beat.

 Host team draws more spectators

Despite the fact that the host team has never won the JLWS title, the addition of a host qualifying team made a considerable difference in the tournament. The host qualifier was added in 2018 and the following summer, the Taylor Combined All-Stars, made up of players from the old Taylor Northwest, Taylor North Central and Taylor Northeast leagues made an appearance.

Having a Taylor-based team in the field brought overflow crowds. Buoyed by the opportunity and the home crowd, the local team made a great run after losing their opener to Oklahoma. They reeled off wins against Iowa and Maryland to qualify for the US Semifinals. Late in that game, they stood just outs away from a berth in the US title game, only to lose a slugfest, 13-9.

Two summers ago, it was Taylor North that qualified to host the tournament. Many players on that team won the Little League World Series Championship in 2021. That championship marked the first time a Michigan team had won a Little League World Series title since Hamtramck in 1959. They went 1-2, but again their games were packed with hometown fans.