SAN ANTONIO — The U.S. champion will be decided Saturday afternoon at the Little League World Series.
The all-star team from Boerne were first to clinch a spot in the title game when they defeated Nevada on Wednesday. They also won a few days of rest while they waited to see who their opponent would be.
On Thursday evening they got their answer, and it's a familiar foe: Florida, which also held off Nevada for a 6-3 victory.
Boerne, which is 3-0 and has outscored opponents 18-3 in their still-perfect tournament run, beat Florida on Monday, knocking the state's Lake Mary Little League club down into the elimination stages of the double-elimination tournament.
Florida has since found some magic of their own, defeating New York, Hawai'i and Nevada in consecutive days for another shot at Boerne—and at Little League World Series glory.
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Florida has outscored opponents 24-9 in its five games, and will have the advantage of momentum. Boerne will have had three days of rest when they take the diamond Saturday, but the team's manager says they've continued to practice and prepare every day.
"They don't take anything for granted and we don't let them," Manager Justin Newson said Thursday. "We're gonna practice (Friday) morning, we'll talk about the things they'll face in the game (against Florida). We don't stop. We'll try our best to win that game."
First pitch is set for 2:30 p.m. CDT in Williamsport, Pa., and the winner will go on to face either Chinese Taipei or Venezuela on Sunday in the Little League World Series championship game. The losing team will play in the Third Place Game on Sunday at 9 a.m. CDT.
A Texas team hasn't been to the final since Lufkin went all the way in 2017. The Sunshine State has waited even longer; they were last represented in 2003, when East Boynton Beach lost 10-1 to Japan.
Florida has never won the Little League World Series in eight trips to the title game. Texas teams are 2-6, the last victory coming via Houston Little League in 1966.