An impressive no-hit performance by Oscar Hyde and an explosive offense earned Gold Coast Little League from Queensland, Australia, the first ticket to the Little League World Series with an 11-0 win over Adelaide Seahawks LL in the 2018 Little League Australia Region Championship.
The Gold Coast LL offense got out to the early lead, posting up four runs in the first and another in the second before exploding out to an 11-0 run in the third behind a three-run home run by William Baker.
Hyde was able to strike out nine batters in his four innings of no-hit work to secure the shutout and send Gold Coast LL to South Williamsport.
With the win, Gold Coast LL becomes the first team from Queensland to represent Australia at the Little League Baseball World Series and the sixth ever team from Australia to make the trip to the World Series.
This year marks the sixth year that the Australia Region Champion receives an automatic berth in the Little League World Series. With direct entry into the Little League Intermediate Division World Series starting in 2018, Australia now earns direct entry into all four baseball tournaments. Cronulla Little League and Hills Little League will be the 2018 Australia Region representatives in the Senior and Junior League tournaments, respectively, while Northern Metros Little League will be the representative at the Little League Intermediate Division World Series.
The first-round pairings for the 2018 Little League Baseball World Series will be announced on Thursday at the Little League World Series luncheon.
Spanning the course of 10 days, 32 games will be played in the 2018 Little League World Series, with the championship game scheduled for 3 p.m. on Sunday, August 26.
