Cameron Thorning set the tone early with his bat, then followed with his arm Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the Little World Series.
Now, Michigan’s Taylor North is in the LLWS championship game after knocking off Hawaii (Honolulu), 2-1, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in the championship game of the Hank Aaron bracket. Taylor North will face Ohio (Hamilton), winners of the Tom Seaver bracket, for the title on Sunday (3 p.m., ABC). Only one Michigan team has won the Little League World Series: Hamtramck in 1959.
Michigan, 4-1 in Williamsport, crushed Ohio two weeks ago in the Great Lakes Regional final, 9-1, though both already had clinched a spot in the LLWS.
Thorning, a towering left-handed hitter, ripped a two-run home run in the first inning, then took the mound and held off Hawaii with his right arm for 3⅓ innings with one unearned run and seven strikeouts, before his arm tightened up after 53 pitches. Jakob Furkas got the final eight outs.
SEMIFINALS: Ohio reaches LLWS final after handing South Dakota its first loss
Taylor North’s manager, Rick Thorning, had acted like nothing in the world was wrong after his team fell, 2-0, to Hawaii on Wednesday.
That night, several questions from the media centered around his unusual calmness during a losing press conference. The reason for the calmness was on full display Saturday.
Hawaii gave Michigan its only loss of the tournament Wednesday, 2-0.
Now, the team has returned the favor, giving Hawaii its first loss of the tournament and sending it to Sunday’s third-place game vs. South Dakota.
Taylor North is 14-1 in its past 15 games.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: LLWS: Michigan beats Hawaii to reach Little League World Series final