Canada's miracle run at the Little League World Series is over.
The Little Mountain LL team from Vancouver was eliminated with a 7-3 loss to Japan on Wednesday, falling one step short of the quarterfinals.
Canada trailed Japan 7-0 after three innings but clawed back from there. The Canadians got on the board in the fourth when second baseman Connor Ross scored on a steal of home. The Canadians added two more runs in the fifth on an RBI single from Lucas Izen and a fielder's choice groundout from Jean Ramos.
Felix Hoyano started the game for Canada while Cruz Krpan and Sha Hassko each pitched two innings of relief.
Despite the loss, the Little Mountain team put up Canada's best showing at the tournament since 2017. After an opening loss to South Korea, the Canadians then won three games in a row. That streak included wins over Australia, Panama and the same Korean team that they lost to in the opener.
"Being with your best friends and playing at the Little League World Series (is awesome). Getting to know other countries and states, it's just fun learning with how it is on TV and doing all these interviews," Ross said after Monday's win over Panama, per the Sun-Gazette.
"We're just here to have fun and we're here to win games," added Canada's Jacob Massel. "What's more fun than getting to play baseball with all your best buds? That's really what helps us on the field."
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