The crack of the bat, the gasp from the crowd, a fist pump on the trip around the bases and then a happy hop to waiting teammates at home plate.
Japan went through the routine three times in the fourth inning of the Little League World Series championship Sunday as Daisuke Hashimoto, Keitaro Miyahara and Natsuki Yajima homered, turning a tight game with Lufkin, Texas, into a 12-2 rout in Williamsport, Pa.
Tsubasa Tomii buckled down after allowing two first-inning homers, finishing with nine strikeouts in a game that was stopped in the fifth inning after Japan went ahead by 10.
The title marks the 11th time a team from Japan has won the Little League World Series, five in the past eight years. Tokyo Kitasuna, the club representing Japan this season, has won three of the past six.
AUTO RACING
Hamilton wins, cuts into Vettel's lead
Lewis Hamilton won the Belgian Grand Prix, trimming Formula One championship leader Sebastian Vettel's lead to seven points.
Hamilton, who on Saturday tied Michael Schumacher's record with his 68th pole, clinched his fifth victory of the season and 58th overall. Vettel finished second, about 2 seconds behind Hamilton.
"Sebastian was very, very close. He was very consistent throughout," said Hamilton, after his 200th GP.
• Jeremy Clements battled Matt Tifft down the stretch at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., before pulling away after the two leaders spun out in the second-to-last lap, claiming his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory.
