(August 15, 2006) -- Forty-two years after their championship run in the Little League World Series, Staten Island's Mid-Island Little League is returning to South Williamsport. The New York champions showed a flair for the dramatic, winning both their semifinal and championship games at the Mid-Atlantic Region tournament on walk-off solo home runs. Two members of Mid-Island's 1964 Little League World Series championship team were in attendance at Breen Field in Bristol, Connecticut, Monday night as the New Yorkers edged Livingston American (New Jersey) Little League, 2-1, to win the region championship.

It's also time for our annual walk-off, as the Mid-Atlantic title game brings our coverage of the 2006 international tournament to a close. We'll be back this off-season with summaries and wrap-ups from this year's state, provincial, and region tournaments.

Thanks to everyone who supported our efforts this year, and congratulations to all of this year's tournament winners. Special congratulations to Whalley Little League's Greg Finley, who along with his father Stu becomes part of the fourth-ever father/son combination to play in the Little League World Series. Stu Finley was a member of Whalley's 1973 Canadian Region championship team.

(August 13, 2006) -- Murrayhill Little League's season has ended in the Northwest Region semifinals in each of the last three summers, but this year, it will end in South Williamsport. The Oregon state champions edged Alaska's Dimond-West Little League, 5-4 in seven innings, to win their first-ever region championship in the major baseball division this evening at Al Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino, California. Murrayhill pushed across the go-ahead run on a bases-loaded walk in the top of the seventh, then sealed the win in the bottom of the inning when their first baseman turned a line drive into a game-ending unassisted double play. Murrayhill reached a region championship game for the first time in its nine state championship seasons since 1993, while Dimond-West became the first Alaska league ever to reach a region championship game in the major baseball division.

Murrayhill will help open this year's Little League World Series, as they face New England Region champion Portsmouth (New Hampshire) Little League in the series' first game. Portsmouth rode a thirteen strikeout, three-hit shutout to a 3-0 victory over Glastonbury American (Connecticut) Little League in the New England Region championship game this afternoon. The two teams will be joined in their pool by Midwest Region champion Daniel Boone National Little League from Columbia, Missouri, and by Southwestern Region winner South Lake Charles (Louisiana) Little League.

(August 11, 2006) -- Louisiana's South Lake Charles Little League is headed to the Little League World Series for the second time in five years. The Louisiana champions survived a pair of close calls this evening, including a tough challenge from Mississippi's D'Iberville Little League in a 1-0 decision at the Southwestern Region championship game in Waco. South Lake Charles scored the game's only run on a third inning home run, and used a rally-killing double play to escape a two-on, none-out threat in the fourth. SLC's second close call was with the tournament's mandatory minimum play rule: three of the Louisiana champions' five reserves had not batted entering the bottom of the fifth, but the Louisiana team tempted fate by not leading off the inning with the three players. The potential crisis was averted when two batters reached base in the inning before SLC's last substitute stepped to the plate as the team's final batter before Louisiana's pitcher went on to close out the win in the sixth.

The same mandatory play rule played a prime role in the New England Region semifinals this afternoon in Bristol, Connecticut. New Hampshire's Portsmouth Little League advanced into the region championship game via a forfeit victory after Colchester (Vermont) Little League failed to meet the minimum playing time requirements for one of its players. Colchester led 9-8 and was an out away from victory in the top of the sixth when the game spiraled into a controversial finish: the Vermonters hoped to intentionally allow a run to tie the game so their final substitute would be able to bat in the bottom of the inning, but Portsmouth realized the situation and kept its baserunners from advancing beyond third base on intentional overthrows before bringing the game to a close with an intentional game-ending strikeout. Tournament officials later upheld Portsmouth's protest of the mandatory play violation, and the New Hampshire champions now face Glastonbury American (Connecticut) Little League in the region championship game on Sunday.

(August 10, 2006) -- Georgia's Columbus Northern Little League couldn't have asked for a better start when they batted in the top of the first inning in the opening game of the Southeastern Region tournament last weekend: Northern's first three batters all homered and the Georgia champions opened up a 10-0 lead before Bridgeport (West Virginia) came to the plate in the bottom of the inning. Friday evening, Columbus Northern hopes for an equally memorable finish, as they take on Greater Dunedin (Florida) Little League in the region championship game at Arnold S. White Stadium in Gulfport, Florida. It's Northern's second trip to the Southeastern Region championship game in three years, and the Columbus crew hopes to improve upon their runner-up finish in 2004. Greater Dunedin, meanwhile, is the first Pinellas County league to reach the region championship game since its predecessor, Dunedin National Little League, won the Southern Region title on the same field in 1991. Game time is 7:00 p.m. local time on ESPN.

Louisiana's South Lake Charles Little League and Mississippi champion D'Iberville Little League also have dreams of South Williamsport, and square off at 8:00 p.m. local time Friday in Waco in the Southwestern Region championship game. D'Iberville used a seven run second inning rally to dispatch Mountain Home (Arkansas) in semifinal round action on Wednesday, while South Lake Charles eliminated Texas West champion Lubbock Western Little League by a 9-2 score in the other semifinal this morning.

(August 8, 2006) -- The host league has won the Canadian Region tournament on only two occasions in the 35 years that the locals have received an automatic berth in the Canadian championship tournament, but Whalley Little League is no ordinary host. The longtime British Columbia District 3 power won last year's Canadian crown to advance to the Little League World Series for the fourth time in the league's history, and aims for a fifth title this year. Whalley is off to a strong start, defeating Saskatoon Riverside Kiwanis Little League from Saskatchewan 11-3 tonight for their fourth consecutive victory and clinching first place in the tournament's round-robin phase. Nova Scotia's Glace Bay Little League and two other contenders will join Whalley in elimination round play later this week.

Things are beginning to sort themselves out in the Mid-Atlantic Region tournament, as well, where three teams have sewn up semifinal round berths. Staten Island's Mid-Island Little League was idle today after winning on each of the tourney's first three days, but New Jersey's Livingston American Little League and Maryland's South Caroline Little League each won today to earn passes to the second round. One berth remains to be filled, and the teams will continue jockeying for seeding positions for two more days before semifinal round action unfolds Friday at Leon J. Breen Field in Bristol. The New England Region standings are a bit more jumbled: Portsmouth (New Hampshire) tops the table with a 2-0 record, while the other five participants remain in the hunt with one or two losses apiece. The New England tournament also has two more days of pool competition before the field is cut to four teams for the semifinal round on Friday.

(August 6, 2006) -- A pair of blue chip programs from the Great Lakes Region met this afternoon in Indianapolis, when Kentucky's Owensboro Southern Little League squared off with Ohio state champion Hamilton West Side (Ohio) Little League. Southern is a regular at Stokley Field, having won the last two Great Lakes region titles and six of the last seven Kentucky crowns. West Side, which recently consolidated its American and National League charters, also has a pair of region titles and has won the District 9 championship in every year since first entering the international tournament in 1985. West Side had its chances today, but stranded thirteen baserunners as Owensboro used a two-run homer in the fifth to earn a 4-2 victory. In an earlier Midwest Region game at the same field, Missouri champion Daniel Boone National from Columbia felt the pain, but also the gain, as six batters were hit by pitches in a 13-2 victory over Galena (Kansas) Little League. Four of the hit batsmen came in the second inning, when the Show Me State team broke the game open with a seven run rally.

Elsewhere, Portsmouth (New Hampshire) rode an sterling eighteen strikeout one-hitter to a 1-0 victory over Colchester (Vermont) Little League in New England Region tournament action, while Louisiana's South Lake Charles Little League was the first to cross the two-win post in the Southwestern Region tournament in Waco following a 12-4 victory over Mountain Home (Arkansas) Little League today. The latter portion of today's slate in Waco was postponed due to weather, causing a ripple of changes through the remaining pool schedule. All leagues with two or more wins in pool competition will move on to the Southwestern tournament's second stage.

Further afield, the EMEA Region tournament in Poland is aided each summer by a cadre of volunteer umpires who pay their way from the U.S. and Canada to work the tourney's games. California District 57's Jeff Chapman is one of this year's volunteer umpires in Kutno, and is blogging the experience.

(August 5, 2006) -- Columbus Northern Little League from Georgia couldn't have asked for a better start at the Southeastern Region tournament in Gulfport, Florida, yesterday. Batting in the top of the first inning of the tournament's first game at Arnold S. White Stadium, Northern sent thirteen batters to the plate, smashed five home runs, including two by one player, and opened up a 10-0 lead before Bridgeport (West Virginia) first came to bat. Columbus Northern added two more home runs later in the game and cruised to a 16-0 victory in four innings.

Hawaii's Waipio Little League preferred a strong finish, scoring five times in the top of the sixth inning to topple Southern California champion Northridge City Little League, 6-5, before 9,500 onlookers in West Region tournament action in San Bernardino, California. Hawaii capitalized on four walks in the sixth, and scored the tying and winning runs on a double down the right field line. Both clubs remain in the hunt for semifinal round berths with 1-1 records; Waipio takes today off before tangling with Utah's Snow Canyon Little League on Monday, while Northridge City is idle for two days before entertaining Ahwatukee American (Arizona) Little League Tuesday evening.

(August 4, 2006) -- Iowa state champion Davis County Little League won their way to Indianapolis by toppling the Midwest Region's 800 pound gorilla in the state championship game, and the Ottumwa area league continued its winning ways this afternoon with a 2-0 victory over South Dakota's Harney Little League on the opening day of pool competition at Stokley Field. Davis County's pitcher helped ensure his team's strong start by striking out 17 of the 20 batters he faced, allowing just two hits, and driving in the game's only runs with a home run in the third inning. Davis County had earlier defeated Davenport Southeast Little League, 5-2, in the Iowa state championship game. Iowa's District 2, which covers Davenport and other areas along the Mississippi River, has produced five Little League World Series qualifiers in the past six years. Davis County is back in action against Coon Rapids National (Minnesota) Little League on Saturday, while Harney tries to get back on track against Nebraska champion Grand Island National on Sunday.

(August 3, 2006) -- Tournament action was limited to just one location worldwide today, but we nonetheless passed a milestone of sorts. When Baden-Wuerttemberg Little League from Mannheim, Germany, defeated Kirovograd-Center from the Ukraine by a 3-0 score this afternoon at the EMEA Region tournament in Poland, the total number of games remaining through the Little League World Series championship game fell below 200. By the end of the day, there were just 196 games remaining in the 2006 international tournament.

Think about that for a moment: we started with over 7,000 teams and have seen in excess of 15,000 games played. (We brought you results from 1,640 games in California alone this year -- 705 in the North and 935 in the South.) After little more than a month of non-stop action, 99% of the games have been played, and 99% of the leagues that looked toward South Williamsport as the tournament began have been eliminated. And the drama has only begun.

One other note: we didn't cover those 1,640 games in California, or even the ten played in the District of Columbia, without a tremendous amount of assistance from our visitors and supporters. So our heartfelt thanks go out to everyone who kept us up-to-date by forwarding results from tournaments near and far. We could not do this without your help.

The curtain rises on region tournament action in the U.S. on Friday ... for those who are anxiously counting the days until ESPN flips the switch on this year's television coverage later this month, this blast from the past may help tide you over.

(August 2, 2006) -- Northridge City Little League needed two tries, but moves on to the West Region tournament in San Bernardino following their five inning, 11-1 victory over Canyon Springs Little League in the Southern California championship game this evening. Canyon Springs, which won five consecutive games following an opening round loss in the divisional tournament, extended the tournament to a final game by outlasting Northridge 7-6 in twelve innings in the completion of last night's suspended game before the District 40 champions won the nightcap. Northridge City is the 52nd and final U.S. league to earn a region tournament berth this year, and they open play at Al Houghton Stadium Friday afternoon against the team that was the first to qualify, Utah's Snow Canyon Little League.

Earlier this evening, Staten Island's Mid-Island Little League also moved on to region tournament play, riding pair of home runs to a 4-0 victory over Merrick-North Merrick Little League in the New York state championship game in Haverstraw. Mid-Island, which last won the New York state title in the major baseball division in 1997, heads for Bristol, where the District 24 champions tangle with 2003 Little League World Series qualifier Naamans Little League (Wilmington, Delaware) in the Mid-Atlantic Region tournament on Saturday.

(August 1, 2006) -- We're on hold for a day in Southern California, where darkness rather than a victory forced the divisional tournament to a final day. A Northridge City batter drew a bases-loaded, full count walk in the bottom of the seventh inning to help his team draw even at 6-6 with once-beaten Canyon Springs Little League before officials called it a night at West Garden Grove Little League's field. The two teams will pick things up tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.; a Northridge City win ends the tournament, while a Canyon Springs victory forces a rematch shortly thereafter. The winner moves on to the West Region tournament in San Bernardino beginning Friday.

River Park Little League will join the Southland's winner in the six-team West Region field, as the Fresno-based league used a fifth inning home run by its ninth place hitter to edge Woodcreek Little League, 1-0 in the Northern California championship game at Joe Wagner Field in Corte Madera. Other state championship game winners tonight include Livingston American in New Jersey, Butler Township in Pennsylvania, and Colchester in Vermont. Merrick-North Merrick staved off elimination in New York, forcing the Empire State's tournament to a final game with a 9-3 victory over Staten Island's Mid-Island Little League at Haverstraw's Leo Laders Memorial Field. The same two teams meet for all the marbles tomorrow evening.

(July 30, 2006) -- Monday is a civic holiday in Canada, and five leagues from around the nation celebrated early by winning their way to the Canadian Region tournament in Surrey, British Columbia. First-time qualifier Saskatoon Riverside Kiwanis Little League was the first to clinch, winning twice over Alberta's Medicine Hat Little League to claim the Prairie Provinces championship. They'll be joined in Surrey by each of the last three Canadian champions. 2005 winner Whalley Little League qualified as the tournament host, and 2004 winner East Nepean Little League slammed five home runs today to down Windsor South Canadian Little League in the Ontario championship game.

Elsewhere, 2003 Canadian winner Glace Bay (Nova Scotia) returns to the Canadian championships after besting New Brunswick winner Saint John North in the Maritime Provinces championship series, while Coquitlam blanked West Vancouver 7-0 in the British Columbia title game. Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grāce Little League hopes to improve upon its runner-up finish at the 2004 Canadian championships after edging Valleyfield this afternoon in the Quebec championship game. Region tournament action begins Saturday at Whalley Athletic Park when East Nepean entertains Coquitlam at noon local time.

(July 28, 2006) -- As dawn broke on Monday morning this week, 23 of the 24 pool games at the Virginia state tournament were in the books and District 5 champion Tuckahoe National Little League was winless. When the tournament ended this morning, the Richmond-based league was the last team standing. Tuckahoe won its final pool game to claim the second quarterfinal round berth allotted to its pool, then swept four more games in three days to win their second state championship in three years. Tuckahoe National sealed the win with a sweep of SYA West Little League, 13-12 and 5-1, in a best-of-three championship series, and now gets ready for the Southeastern Region tournament in Gulfport, Florida. The Virginia champions open against South Carolina's TCFM Yellow Jackets Little League on August 5.

Louisiana's South Lake Charles Little League is also headed to the region tournament following a seven inning, 7-5 victory over Lafayette Little League at Magnolia Field in Baker Wednesday evening. SLC won the game, which matched the last two Louisiana champions, on a walk-off home run over the center field fence with one out in the seventh inning. South Lake Charles meets the New Mexico state champion -- either Carlsbad Shorthorn or Albuquerque's Mile High Little League -- in the Southwestern Region tournament on August 5.

(July 27, 2006) -- We've got plenty of action on tap tonight as state tournament play opens in several states. There's a mix of the familiar and the new in Pennsylvania, where District 5 champion State College National kicks things off against first-time qualifier Lower Gwynedd Little League. It's the fifth time in eight years that a State College league has reached the state tournament, but Lower Gwynedd is the first league from District 22 to win a sectional title since Plymouth Township Little League in 1977. Plymouth is in the mix again this year, serving as the host for the six-team tournament. Greencastle faces Bethlehem's Lehigh Little League in tonight's second game.

State tournament action also gets underway today in both Northern and Southern California, as well as in Illinois, Indiana, and Massachusetts.

(July 26, 2006) -- One year ago, Laredo's Del Mar Little League came out of the bottom bracket in the Texas West championship tournament, sweeping a doubleheader from a Lubbock-based league to claim the title. This morning, Lubbock Western returned the favor. Western swept a pair of games at Marvin Norcross stadium in Waco, defeating Del Mar 5-2 and 15-3 to claim the Texas West championship and advance to the Southwestern Region tournament for the first time in the major baseball division. Western is the first Lubbock-based league to reach the region tournament since Dixie Little League in 1968, and the Texas West champions open pool competition on August 5 against another first-time regional qualifier, Texas East champion Groves National Little League.

While Texas produced a pair of new champions this year, the District of Columbia will be sending a familiar face to the Mid-Atlantic Region tournament in Bristol. Capitol City Little League claimed its eighteenth consecutive D.C. championship tonight, scoring in every inning of a 10-0 victory over Capital Little League. The perennial D.C. champions also open region tournament play on August 5, when they entertain Maryland's state champion at Leon Breen Field in Bristol.

(July 25, 2006) -- An extraordinary game in the Northern California Section 3 tournament over the weekend, where the Palo Alto National and Danville Little League all-star teams reprised the final score from one of major league baseball's most famous games. The last time we saw a 23-22 final score was May 17, 1979: the wind was blowing out at Wrigley Field, neither starting pitcher lasted more than one-third of an inning, and the Chicago Cubs found yet another way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in their game against the Philadelphia Phillies. This time, Palo Alto trailed 17-7 and was one out away from defeat in the fourth inning before ultimately winning in what eventually became an eleven inning marathon played in 100+ degree heat. We can't do justice to the detail of the game in this short space, but you can read about it here.

The two teams met again last night, and Palo Alto closed out the tournament with a 10-8 victory to move into the Northern California divisional tournament later this week in Corte Madera. Santa Clara's Briarwood-El Camino Little League will join Palo Alto at Joe Wagner Field after last night's 5-2 victory over Ferrasci Park gave the District 44 champions the Section 5 title in Santa Cruz.

Elsewhere in Northern California yesterday, San Francisco American forced a deciding game in Section 1 with a 5-2 win over Petaluma Valley, while El Rancho Chico did the same in Section 2 by knocking off Susanville, 12-4. River Park avenged a twelve inning defeat at the hands of Visalia American earlier in the Section 6 tournament, beating the same team 13-3 last night to set up a winner-take-all matchup tonight. And Land Park Pacific moved into the title game of Section 4, where they need a pair of wins to keep Woodcreek from successfully defending their section title.

(July 22, 2006) -- Television broadcasts of this year's tournament won't hit the airwaves for another few weeks, but you can still listen in on some of the early action via the web. Atlanta's Buckhead Little League hopes for a return visit to the Southeastern Region tournament in Gulfport next month, but first must navigate their way through the Georgia state tournament, which opens today at the Masters City Little League complex in Augusta. You can catch all of Buckhead's tournament games live via webcast on the league's website -- the first game is today at noon Eastern time against District 10 champion Oconee County American. The Georgia championship tournament runs through Thursday.

(July 21, 2006) -- Maui's Upcountry region sits near the base of Haleakala, the volcano that covers much of East Maui. While locals and tourists regularly travel through the area en route to lookout points at the volcano's higher elevations, the region will serve as a staging area for a different summit beginning today, when six teams begin the climb to the pinnacle of the Hawaii state tournament at Eddie Tam Stadium in Makawao. 2002 Little League World Series qualifier Waipio opens the tournament in a matchup against the District 6 champions, while a pair of Oahu-based leagues, Makakilo-Kapolei-Honokai Hale and Kainalu, face off in today's other game. No local team made the tournament, as Molokai Little League claimed top honors in a District 3 tournament that encompassed leagues from Lanai, Maui, and Molokai.

The locals will be part of the field in Oregon, where state tournament action opens today in Ashland. The hosts topped Klamath Basin in the District 6 finals, and are one of eight teams aiming to keep Murrayhill Little League from winning an unprecedented fourth consecutive Beaver State title. Murrayhill's opening round opponent is Portland's Rose City Little League, and Rose City's Rick Wise-led squad earned in 1958 what Murrayhill and the rest of the field wants this year: a trip to the Little League World Series.

(July 16, 2006) -- There's much drama to come as this year's international tournament crashes toward its endgame, but an opportunity to relive last year's Little League World Series arrives in local bookstores this week with the release of Charles Euchner's new book, Little League, Big Dreams. After writing extensively on both baseball and public policy in the past, Mr. Euchner spent last summer following the international tournament, including a stay in South Williamsport from before the Little League World Series' first pitch to its walk-off home run ending. He emerged with a first-hand account of a topic that is near-and-dear to the hearts of many visitors to this site. Mr. Euchner will be blogging regularly throughout the remainder of this year's tournament (presumably, he will find more interesting subjects than those he started with).

(July 16, 2006) -- Championship weekend in New Jersey, where nearly half of the state's district winners were determined over the past 72 hours. Madison emerged from the bottom bracket in District 1, stopping Randolph West 5-1 and 10-2 to win its first major baseball district title since 1959. Piscataway American claimed its first flag since 1980 in District 17, edging North Hunterdon National 2-1 less than 24 hours after North Hunterdon forced an 'if' game with a wild 14-10 victory. West Milford National, South Vineland, and West Windsor were also pressed to deciding games before claiming their own district titles, including the first for West Windsor since 1991. And Bergenfield survived the marathon double round-robin schedule in District 4 with eleven wins in twelve games to wear that district's crown for the first time since 1990. Sectional play is already underway in South Jersey, where Cherry Hill Atlantic opened with an 11-1 win over Oak Valley.

(July 14, 2006) -- One year ago, Northern California's Woodcreek Little League dropped its opening round game in the District 54 tournament, then reeled off eight consecutive wins to claim the district championship. The Roseville-based league didn't quite go to those extremes this year, but after a third round loss, Woodcreek needed five consecutive wins to capture their third consecutive district championship. Mission accomplished: Woodcreek defeated El Dorado Hills South for the second time in as many nights on Thursday, and the 5-1 win moves the two-time defending Section 4 champions back into the tournament's second level of play.

A couple of leagues elsewhere emulated Woodcreek's prior approach, and ran the table following their own curtain-raising missteps. Southern California's Cypress Federal clinched the District 29 championship with its seventh consecutive win out of the bottom bracket, a 10-3 victory over Buena Park American on Thursday. Indiana American did the same in Pennsylvania District 7, rebounding from an 11-1 opening round loss to Indiana American with seven wins. A 9-6 decision over Ford City in the tournament's deciding game lifts Indiana American into a date with Butler Township in the Section 2 tournament on Monday.

(July 13, 2006) -- Pecos and Lubbock Western came up winners last night as the tournament began moving into its second stage with opening round play in the Texas West Section 1 tournament at Jim Parker Park in Midland. Pecos edged District 4 winner San Angelo Northern 8-7 in the evening's first game, and in the nightcap Lubbock Western outlasted both a one hour weather delay and a tenacious Midland Northern team to pocket a 6-5 win in eight innings. Lubbock Western led 5-0 in the third inning when wind and lightning caused the delay, and Midland rallied to force extra innings after play resumed. Both winners are back at it again tonight, when Pecos faces Borger and Lubbock Western entertains El Paso's Frank Manning Little League.

The first Southern California district winners have emerged, with West Garden Grove and Robinwood both advancing to the Section 5 tournament next week. District action continues elsewhere throughout the Southland, including in District 23, where Chino American and Ontario Western hooked up in a pitcher's duel on Tuesday. Ontario's starter allowed only two hits, but Chino's allowed none and faced just nineteen batters to lead his team to a 2-0 victory. The win kept the Americans alive one more night, but Upland Foothill ended Chino American's tournament run with a 4-0 victory on Wednesday. Upland Foothill meets Chino Hills tonight, with the winner moving on to face Upland American for the district championship.

(July 11, 2006) -- A dramatic finish in Vermont District 2 last night, as Connecticut Valley South and Randolph traded leads into the ninth inning. Connecticut Valley South carried a 5-3 lead into the sixth, when Randolph forced extra innings with a two-out, two-run single. Randolph moved in front with a tally in the top of the ninth, but Connecticut Valley South trumped the down-to-our-last-out heroics with a down-to-our-last-strike rally. After fouling off four 2-2 pitches with two outs, a Connecticut Valley South batter drove the ball over the right field fence for a walkoff 7-6 victory. CVS moves into the North Area championship game, where they need a pair of wins over homestanding Rutland to move on to the district finals.

Elsewhere in New England last night, the Northerners won the battle of Westfield, as Westfield North topped Westfield South 10-0 in a mercy rule-shortened winner's bracket battle in Massachusetts District 2. Westfield North is now idle until the district championship game, where they will host the elimination bracket survivor next Monday night. Meanwhile, Middleboro rode the ferry over to Martha's Vineyard on Sunday, and came away with a 4-1 victory in a District 7 winner's bracket contest. Middleboro's fourth consecutive win moves the orange-and-black squad into a winner's bracket finals meeting with Barnstable National on Wednesday.

(July 9, 2006) -- Pennsylvania is moving into the latter stages of its district tournaments, with several leagues a game away from claiming district championships. Greenville gets the first of two potential cracks at the District 2 championship on Tuesday, when they face either Grove City or West Middlesex, while MYAA American is idle until Wednesday as three other league sort things out in the bottom bracket of District 3. Exeter Township, meanwhile, can wrap things up in District 8 on Monday.

Across the Pacific, they've crowned a champion in Japan, where Kawaguchi Little League won its first Japanese championship with four consecutive victories at the national tournament in Edogawa. Kawaguchi capped their title run with an 18-0 semifinal round win over Aichi Kinuura Little League and a 19-11 decision over Musashi Fuchu in the championship game. Musashi Fuchu struck for eight runs in the fourth inning of the title game, their third 7+ run rally in the tournament. But Kawaguchi had amassed a 14-0 lead in the game's early innings, and sealed the win with five runs in the fifth. Kawaguchi moves on to the Asia Region tournament in Hong Kong later this month.

(July 6, 2006) -- District tournament action is in full-swing in Southern California, and this year's tournament is particularly wide-open. The eight leagues that reached the divisional tournament in the 11-year-old division last year were all fresh faces, as none of the sectional champions from the 9-10 year old division in 2004 repeated in the older bracket the next year. Toss in the collection of players who found the fountain of youth, and are enjoying a second season as twelve-year-olds thanks to this year's change in league age determination, and it's all up for grabs. The 38 Southern California districts are scheduled to determine their champion on August 1st or 2nd at West Garden Grove Little League's Field.

On the other coast, a couple of familiar faces are on a collision course in Rhode Island District 2. Portsmouth had its string of four consecutive district titles snapped by Barrington last year, and both leagues have won their first three games this year to set up a date in the winner's bracket final this coming Tuesday evening. Barrington has yet to allow a run in the tournament, while Portsmouth has outscored its three opponents by a 31-1 margin. Game time is set for 5:45 p.m. at Barrington's field.

(July 4, 2006) -- Baseball and the Fourth of July have a long history together, and Northern California's District 26 did its part to honor this tradition with a tripleheader of games at Arcata Little League's field. Fortuna blanked Klamath-Trinity Little League, 4-0, in an elimination game, while Arcata stayed alive by pushing across three runs in the bottom of the sixth to overtake Redwood Empire, 3-2. In the winner's bracket final, McKinleyville needed seven innings to top Crescent City, 8-5. McKinleyville can claim its first district title since 1997 with a win in the championship game Friday evening.

Tuesday also saw a full slate of holiday games in Pennsylvania District 12, which encompasses Williamsport and the surrounding areas. Defending champion Keystone Little League defeated Newberry to secure one of the three Pool 'A' berths in the district finals. Montoursville also reserved a spot, cruising past Muncy 21-8 for its fifth straight victory. Pool 'B' wrapped up its schedule, with Jersey Shore/GSV and Loyalsock topping the table and Montgomery edging out two other teams on a tiebreaker to claim the last final round berth. Pool competion ends on Wednesday with a trio of Pool 'A' games.

(July 3, 2006) -- While a number of districts wait until after the Fourth of July holiday to kickoff tournament play, several Lone Star state districts are well-underway. Lubbock Western Little League took command in Texas West District 2 with a 13-0 victory over O'Donnell Monday evening in the winner's bracket final. The win was Western's fifth straight, and the Lubbock league can clinch its second district championship in three years with a win Thursday night. O'Donnell and Post have other ideas, and meet Wednesday for the right to face Western in the final series.

Wichita Falls finished third in last year's Texas West championship tournament, and the District 6 power can clinch another district title on Thursday. A pair of victories have advanced Wichita Falls into the finals of the District 6 tournament, where the team will host the winner of tonight's Graham-Burkburnett game for the right to advance to the Section 2 tournament in Fort Worth.

(July 2, 2006) -- A pair of extra inning wins highlighted the second day of action in Northern California's District 54. Pony Express galloped past Sierra View by scoring the game's only runs in the seventh inning of their 3-0 victory, while Roseville's Woodcreek Little League edged Roseville East, 4-2, in another seven inning contest occurring simultaneously on an adjacent field. A bit further south, Fresno's River Park Little League banged away for their second consecutive win, a 12-3 victory over Yosemite in District 10.

Meanwhile, Trumbull National is in the hunt at the top of the Red Pool in Connecticut District 2, thanks in part to an eighteen strikeout perfect game in a 4-0 victory over Black Rock late last week.

(June 28, 2006) -- District 1 has long been one of the larger and more competitive districts in New Jersey, and Millburn-Short Hills Little League has sustained an impressive level of success in recent years, with four state championship game appearances in the last twelve years. Millburn joins District 1 for the first time this year thanks to the dissolution of District 9, and the two-time state champions passed their first test Tuesday evening with a 7-2 win over Par Troy West Little League in Pool 'C' action. District 1 has born the brunt of the bad weather moving across the East Coast, but each of the Pool 'D' participants has a game under their belts, with Florham Park, Randolph West, and Tri-Town all winning their openers over the past 48 hours.

They're working overtime in Connecticut's District 5, where one opening night pool game lasted ten innings and another extended for eleven. Meriden's Jack Barry Little League edged Yalesville 3-2 in ten innings in the Southington South pool, while Plainville pushed across the game's only run in the eleventh inning of their win over Walicki A.W. Stanley in the Farmington pool. Three of the other four opening round games were decided by a run, including 2005 state champion Farmington's 7-6 win over Southington Western.

(June 26, 2006) -- Rain along the Eastern seaboard again washed out many of the games scheduled for Monday evening, but a few districts were able to squeeze in at least part of their schedule. South Jersey districts had better luck than their Northern New Jersey counterparts, as Districts 3 and 16 collectively completed all but one of their games. Last year's winners had mixed results: defending District 3 champion South Vineland opened with a 5-1 win over West Cumberland, but Upper Township downed defending champion Ventnor in one of seven opening round games played in District 16.

Elsewhere, two-time Little League World Series qualifier Lincoln won big over Glocester, and Cumberland American edged Bernon as pool action opened in Rhode Island's District 4.

(June 25, 2006) -- The 2006 international tournament is underway, with action getting started yesterday in Maine, Texas West, and a few points in between. Defending champion Saco and 2004 state champion East Biddeford were among the winners in Maine's District 4, while University and the Fort Worth West Side Lions opened with wins in Texas District 7. Several districts open play today in New Jersey, including District 5, which saw its opening round of pool games washed out yesterday.

While action is just beginning in the U.S., district tournament play finally wrapped up in Japan, where 2003 Little League World Series champion Musashi Fuchu Little League claimed the final spot in the Japanese national tournament with a pair of wins Saturday at Chofu Little League's field. Japanese district tournaments are traditionally played exclusively on weekends and holidays, and two consecutive Sunday rainstorms meant that Musashi Fuchu endured a 20-day layoff since their last game before closing out the tournament. Musashi Fuchu claimed a pair of wins, including an 8-1 decision over Hachioji Little League that reversed an 11-0 loss earlier in the tournament, to win a three-team playoff for the second Tokyo berth in the national tournament. Musashi Fuchu is the only returnee from the 2005 tournament, and will join fifteen other leagues in the Japanese national tournament near Tokyo early next month.

(June 11, 2006) -- With June 15 just days away, we've begun our coverage of Little League Baseball's 2006 international tournament. For the eleventh consecutive year, we will be bringing you results from tournaments around the U.S. and Canada, beginning with early round district games and culminating in the final steps on the road to Williamsport. As always, we rely on our visitors to help us stay up-to-date, so if you can provide results or pairings that are not listed on this site, please contact the Unpage.

You'll see several changes in this year's tournament, the most important of which is the new age determination date adopted by Little League Baseball beginning with this year's tournament. Previously, a player's 'league age' was determined by their age on July 31 of a calendar year; now that age is determined by their age on April 30. As a result, many of last year's twelve-year-olds are back again this year ... and are twelve again.

District tournament action commences in late June, and the Little League World Series begins on Friday, August 18.

(May 30, 2006) -- We have added summaries of the 2005 Canadian, Great Lakes, and Southwestern Region tournaments.

(April 29, 2006) -- June 15 marks the traditional start of the international tournament in the U.S. and Canada. That's still a few weeks away, but 2006 district tournament action is getting underway in Japan, where some 300 leagues are competing for the sixteen berths in the national tournament. Most district winners will be decided in May, and the national tournament is set to be held near Tokyo on July 8 and 9.

(April 20, 2006) -- We have added more details from 2005 tournament action, including summaries of state and provincial tournaments in Hawaii, New Jersey, Ontario, Pennsylvania, and Southern California, as well as the Japanese national tournament.