Japan tops Hawaii to win the Little League World Series

In case you missed it on Sunday, here’s how it went down:

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Japan has ended the United States’ five-year reign as Little League World Series champions.

The team from Tokyo limited Waipahu, Hawaii, to four singles in a 4-1 win in the title game Sunday.

Japan won thanks to excellent pitching and defense, plus a homer and three RBIs from Konan Tomori.

The last international team to win the World Series was Curacao in 2004. The last time a team from Japan won was 2003.

Hawaii cut the lead to 2-1 in the fourth after a throwing error, but lefty reliever Ichiro Ogasawara got a strikeout and bouncer to end the threat. The 12-year-old Tomori added two insurance runs with his sixth-inning homer.

Starter Cody Maltezo allowed four hits and struck out four to lead Hawaii.

The Little League World Series is a unique event, because it allows us to see youngsters truly playing a sport for the love of the game. Congratulations to Japan and the Tokyo Little League!

Also: During the tournament, we spotted the team from Connecticut wearing Rawlings’ Pro Flare Insert Baseball Pants and Rawlings’ Vapor Batting Helmets. Both are exclusive to Baseball Express.

Related: See our entire selection of youth baseball pants.

Baseball training: How the Vanderbilt baseball team builds mental toughness

We’ve been posting training videos for the past few weeks, and this week’s tips video is one for the whole team.

It’s a trimmed-down version of Vanderbilt’s “Mental toughness” conditioning workout. Players are divided into teams, and they race around the field, where they have to complete various exercises and obstacles before moving on.

The winner gets — well — let’s just say the winner doesn’t have to do it anymore.

Anyone out there do something similar with their team?

Related: Browse our selection of baseball equipment, training gear and apparel.

Footwear Friday: Get a pair of Reebok High ‘N’ Tight Mid Metal Baseball Cleats for $41.24

Thru Sept. 4, you can get a pair of High ‘N’ Tights for good ‘n’ cheap.

Reebok’s High ‘N’ Tight Mid Metal Baseball Cleats are lightweight at 16.4 oz, designed to give you more speed on the basepath. The soft synthetic performance leather and the moisture management channels keep you dry, comfortable and at the top of your game.

These baseball cleats usually retail for $89.99. But you can get them for $41.28 at Baseball Express. Just drop the cleats into your cart and enter the promo code JGFBHW9 at checkout.

Again, this offer is good through Sept. 4.

Related: Shop our selection of baseball footwear.

Baseball Express: New look, same great service

If you haven’t seen it yet, we invite you to give our website a look.

You’ll probably notice that we spruced up a few things, including our logo.

While the style has changed, you can expect the same quality customer service and top-of-the-line baseball equipment we’ve brought you for the last 20 years.

Now that you’ve seen it, give us your thoughts. Do you like the new look, or do you prefer the old design better?

Also, feel free to join us on Facebook and Twitter. Today is Trivia Thursday.

Related: Browse our selection of baseball bats.