Pool 'A' Standings |
W |
L |
Runs
Allowed |
| Niceville Valparaiso |
2 |
1 |
7 |
| Sarasota American |
2 |
1 |
22 |
| Merritt Island |
2 |
1 |
24 |
| Eau Gallie Gold |
0 |
3 |
30 |
|
Pool 'B' Standings |
W |
L |
Runs
Allowed |
| Kendall |
3 |
0 |
9 |
| New Tampa |
2 |
1 |
20 |
| Maitland |
1 |
2 |
29 |
| Palma Ceia |
0 |
3 |
30 |
The top two teams in each pool advance to the semifinal round.
Ties are broken based on records in head-to-head competition among tied teams. If a clear winner cannot be determined from head-to-head results, the tie is broken by calculating the ratio of runs allowed to defensive innings played for all teams involved in the tie. The team with the lowest runs-per-defensive-inning ratio advances.
In the event of a tie involving three or more teams, once the initial tie is broken, the remaining tied teams are again compared on head-to-head record to determine if a clear winner can be identified. If no clear winner can be identified from head-to-head results among the remaining tied teams, the runs-per-defensive-inning ratio is again used. This process is repeated until all ties have been broken.
Semifinal Round (Sunday, July 31)
New Tampa 5, Niceville Valparaiso 1
Kendall 15, Sarasota American 5 (5 innings)
Florida State Championship Game (Monday, August 1)
New Tampa 6, Kendall 1 (TITLE)
Summary:
When financial organizations advertise their products and services, they typically include a disclaimer toward the end of the spot reminding viewers that past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.
In the 2011 Florida state tournament, the New Tampa Little League all-star team embraced a similar model. Their returns were through the roof.
New Tampa scraped through pool competition with a pair of victories, but sandwiched between the wins was a mercy rule-shortened blowout loss to a powerful Kendall Little League all-star team in their second contest. When the two teams met again to decide the state championship, New Tampa took the field averaging a modest four-plus runs per game, while Kendall's powerful offense had tallied 53 runs and 14 home runs over the course of four victories.
But the earlier results were irrelevant when the two teams took the field at North Community Park in Coral Springs, and pitcher Conor Grady ensured that New Tampa had a bright future.
Grady held Kendall's potent offense to just a pair of singles and struck out eleven batters as New Tampa topped Kendall, 5-1, to win the Florida state championship. New Tampa advanced to the Southeastern Region tournament, where they finished as the region runner-up.
"Saturday we lost to the Kendall-Miami team 11-1," said New Tampa manager Ed Thinger of the team's earlier loss, which came in the first of two pool competition rounds that were played on the tournament's second day. "But we knew that we wanted to hold our good pitching for the afternoon game."
New Tampa won that second game, and then surrendered just one run in each of its semifinal and championship round victories.
Ethan Thomas and Khalil Almutasim combined on a four-hitter in a win over Niceville Valparaiso Little League in the semifinal round, then Grady's complete game effort lifted New Tampa to its first-ever state championship in the major baseball division.
"Playing the top seven teams in the state of Florida over a weekend is tough," said Thinger after the tournament. "You think you have a pretty good team and then you show up down there and you have kids hitting home runs left and right and kids throwing 70 miles per hour. But these boys have just jelled together and just made this so easy for the coaching staff."
Aaron Guiang and Almutasim paced New Tampa's offense with solo home runs in the title game win over Kendall. Guiang opened the scoring with a line drive that cleared the left field fence, and Almtasim followed suit later in the inning to spark a three-run first inning rally that gave New Tampa a lead it never relinquished. Guiang hit .411 and cleared the fences four times in the state tournament.
Bryce Martin later celebrated his thirteenth birthday with a three-run single that stretched New Tampa's lead.
In the semifinal round, Guiang delivered a two-run shot and Thomas added a solo home run to lead New Tampa past Niceville Valparaiso. Thomas also pitched deep into the game, surrendering just four hits over 4-2/3 innings before Almutasim recorded the final four outs via strikeout.
In sharp contrast to its offensive challenges in the title game, Kendall scored in every inning and had nine different players collect hits in its 15-5 semifinal round victory over Sarasota American Little League. Kendall sent twelve batters to the plate in the first inning, and took control of the game with six runs. Javier Valdes opened the inning with a home run, and three batters later Eddie Arteaga drilled a two-run homer over the left field fence. Valdes drove in a pair of runs with a double to left when he batted a second time later in the inning, and he later launched a three-run homer in the fifth which pushed Kendall's lead to double-digits and invoked the mercy rule. Ray Gil added a pair of hits and three runs batted in for Kendall.
New Tampa reached the semifinal round by downing Palma Ceia Little League, 10-4, in their initial pool contest, then fell to Kendall before bouncing back for a 6-5 decision over Maitland Little League in their final pool contest. New Tampa and Maitland both came into the game with 1-1 records and were essentially playing for a semifinal round berth.
Kendall homered eight times in a 23-3 win over Maitland in their opener, and edged Palma Ceia in a meaningless third-round pool contest. The Miami area team became the first District 8 league to reach the state championship game in the major baseball division since Homestead Little League was the runner-up to Dunedin American Little League in 1990.
New Tampa won its first four games at the Southeastern Region tournament before dropping a 4-2 decision against Warner Robins American East (Georgia) Little League in the championship game.
Follow New Tampa at the Southeastern Region Tournament -- Click here to view results.
2011 Florida District Champions and Sectional Tournament Results:
| District Champions in Section 1 |
District Champions in Section 2 |
D1 - Niceville Valparaiso
D20 - Chaires-Capitola (Tallahassee)
Section 1 Tournament
Host - Woodville (Tallahassee) (District 20)
Tournament Results:
1 - Niceville Valparaiso 5, Chaires-Capitola 0
2 - Niceville Valparaiso 12, Chaires-Capitola 2 (TITLE)
|
D2 - Eau Gallie Gold (Melbourne)
D7 - North Palm Beach
D17 - Southwestern Port St. Lucie
Section 2 Tournament
Host - West Boynton Beach (District 7)
The Section 2 tournament is using a round-robin format.
Tournament Schedule/Results:
1 - North Palm Beach 22, Southwestern Port St. Lucie 0 (4 innings)
2 - Eau Gallie Gold 18, Southwestern Port St. Lucie 0 (4 innings)
3 - Eau Gallie Gold 10, North Palm Beach 9
Standings |
W |
L |
| Eau Gallie Gold |
2 |
0 |
| North Palm Beach |
1 |
1 |
| Southwestern Port St. Lucie |
0 |
2 |
Eau Gallie Gold advances to the state tournament as the round-robin champion. |
| District Champions in Section 3 |
District Champions in Section 4 |
D11 - Oakleaf (Orange Park)
D19 - Deland
D22 - Merritt Island
Section 3 Tournament
Host - San Mateo (Jacksonville) (District 11)
Tournament Schedule/Results:
The Section 3 tournament is using a round-robin format.
Tournament Schedule/Results:
1 - Oak Leaf 7, DeLand 6
2 - Merritt Island 15, DeLand 5
3 - Merritt Island 13, Oakleaf 6
Standings |
W |
L |
| Merritt Island |
2 |
0 |
| Oakleaf |
1 |
1 |
| DeLand |
0 |
2 |
Merritt Island advances to the state tournament as the round-robin champion. |
D4 - Plant City
D13 - Bloomingdale National
D25 - New Tampa (Tampa)
D26 - Lakewood Ranch (Bradenton)
Section 4 Tournament
Host - Haines City (District 4)
At Larry Parrish Baseball Complex
The Section 4 tournament is using a round-robin format.
Tournament Results:
1 - Plant City 10, Bloomingdale National 5 (7 innings)
2 - New Tampe 12, Lakewood Ranch 2 (6 innings)
3 - New Tampa 14, Bloomingdale National 0 (4 innings)
4 - Plant City 14, Lakewood Ranch 5
5 - Bloomingdale National 14, Lakewood Ranch 2 (4 innings)
6 - New Tampa 13, Plant City 4
Standings |
W |
L |
| New Tampa |
3 |
0 |
| Plant City |
2 |
1 |
| Bloomingdale National |
1 |
2 |
| Lakewood Ranch |
0 |
3 |
New Tampa advances to the state tournament as the round-robin champion. |
| District Champions in Section 5 |
District Champions in Section 6 |
D3 - St. Cloud National
D14 - Dr. Phillips (Orlando)
D23 - Maitland
D24 - East Orange National
Section 5 Tournament
Host - South Orange (Orlando) (District 3)
The Section 5 tournament is using a round-robin format.
Tournament Results:
1 - Maitland 4, Dr. Phillips 3
2 - East Orange National 11, St. Cloud National 3
3 - Maitland 3, St. Cloud National 2
4 - East Orange National 11, Dr. Phillips 9
5 - Dr. Phillips 10, St. Cloud 2
6 - Maitland 7, East Orange National 1
Standings |
W |
L |
| Maitland |
3 |
0 |
| East Orange National |
2 |
1 |
| Dr. Phillips |
1 |
2 |
| St. Cloud National |
0 |
3 |
Maitland advances to the state tournament as the round robin champion. |
D9 - South Fort Myers
D16 - Sarasota American
D18 - San Carlos
D27 - Greater Naples
Section 6 Tournament
Host - North Port Area (District 16)
At Atwater Park
The Section 6 tournament is using a round-robin format.
Tournament Results:
1 - Sarasota American 4, San Carlos 3
2 - Greater Naples 5, South Fort Myers 3
3 - Sarasota American 12, South Fort Myers 9
4 - Greater Naples 14, San Carlos 1 (4 innings)
5 - Sarasota American 12, Greater Naples 7
6 - South Fort Myers 8, San Carlos 3
Standings |
W |
L |
| Sarasota American |
3 |
0 |
| Greater Naples |
2 |
1 |
| South Fort Myers |
1 |
2 |
| San Carlos |
0 |
3 |
Sarasota American advances to the state tournament as the round-robin champion. |
| District Champions in Section 7 |
District Champions in Section 8 |
D5 - Northeast (St. Petersburg)
D6 - Palma Ceia (Tampa)
D12 - East Lake (Tarpon Springs)
D15 - Crystal River
Section 7 Tournament
Host - Greater Holiday (District 12)
The Section 7 tournament is using a round-robin format.
Tournament Schedule/Results:
1 - Palma Ceia 10, East Lake 7
2 - Crystal River 14, Northeast 3
3 - East Lake 21, Northeast 4
4 - Palma Ceia 11, Crystal River 1
5 - East Lake d. Crystal River
6 - Pama Ceia 11, Northeast 1
Standings |
W |
L |
| Palma Ceia |
3 |
0 |
| East Lake |
2 |
1 |
| Crystal River |
1 |
2 |
| Northeast |
0 |
3 |
Palma Ceia advances to the state tournament as the round-robin champion. |
D8 - Kendall (Miami)
D10 - North Springs (Coral Springs)
D21 - Plantation Athletic American
Section 8 Tournament
Host - Tamarac (District 10)
At Tamarac Sports Complex
The Section 8 tournament is using a round-robin format.
Tournament Schedule/Results:
1 - North Springs 12, Plantation Athletic American 0 (4 innings)
2 - Kendall 14, Plantation Athletic American 4
3 - Kendall 10, North Springs 2
Standings |
W |
L |
| Kendall |
2 |
0 |
| North Springs |
1 |
1 |
| Plantation Athletic American |
0 |
2 |
Kendall advances to the state tournament as the round-robin champion. |
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Last revision: 06/10/2012
