Three Chinese Taipei pitchers combined to throw an ideal game during a 6-0 win over Canada on the Little League World Series on Thursday, however it was the flame-throwing Fan Chen-Jun who stole the show.Â
The 12-year-old right-hander began the sport for Chinese Taipei, throwing 3 2/3 innings and striking out nine of the 11 batters he faced while allowing just two balls in play.
Chen-Jun’s fastball was clocked at a blazing 80 mph with a slider that hit a minimum of 70 mph.Â
He garnered swings-and-misses on nearly half of his pitches — 16 of 35 — thrown.
Within the third, Chen-Jun tossed an immaculate inning — striking out all three hitters on nine total pitches.Â
Chen-Jun dominated on the mound, but he also showed he’s a formidable force with the bat as well.
He capped off a three-run rally by Chinese Taipei in the highest of the third inning when he smacked a two-run homer to left.Â
Chiu Tse-Wei and Cai Yuan-Hao combined to pitch the ultimate 2 1/3 innings, striking out five of the last seven hitters after Chen-Jun departed.
In total, Chinese Taipei struck out 14 of 18 Canadian hitters in the sport.Â
With just 35 pitches thrown, Chen-Jun will likely be available to pitch in Chinese Taipei’s next contest.Â
It was the primary perfect game within the Little League World Series since 2017 and just the eighth in tournament history.Â
Chinese Taipei holds the LLWS record with 17 championships.
