Few towns can match the richness and depth of the baseball tradition in Bellaire, Texas. Bellaire High School has won seven Texas Class 5A (large school) state championships, and was ranked as the top school in the nation by USA Today in 1999. Three Bellaire graduates have reached the major leagues, twenty-two have played professionally, and twenty-three received Division I scholarships over the past ten years.

Surprisingly, Bellaire's success is not a by-product of a powerful dynasty. While Bellaire's Little League does send most of its graduates to Bellaire High School, the youth league's tradition could be summed up in a single statement: Never Won Anything. Entering the 2000 International Tournament, Bellaire had never won a district championship, let along sectional or state crowns.

In eight memorable weeks, that all changed.

Bellaire met the team's original goal -- winning the District 16 tournament against other Houston-area leagues -- and cleaned up from there. Bellaire didn't stop playing until it had won the United States championship with an 8-0 victory over Davenport East (Iowa) in the semifinal round of the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Bellaire's luck finally ran out in the World Series championship game, where the Texans fell 3-2 to Latin American champion Sierra Maestra (Venezuela).

For Bellaire to reach the World Series, the District 16 champions had to first win the Texas State Tournament. After struggling to a split in its first two games, Bellaire hit its stride. The eventual U.S. champions reeled off three consecutive wins to pocket the tournament championship and continue along the run that would culminate in their trip to the World Series.

Bellaire looked like anything but an eventual World Series qualifier in their initial games at the Texas State Tournament. The Section 6 champions, who drew their all-star roster from a pool of just 42 eligible players, had to rally to force extra innings against Boerne before eventually winning in nine innings 5-4. The next day, a three run double by Keith Wenske helped Victoria Northeast overcome a 4-2 deficit and defeat Bellaire 5-4. The win was Victoria's second in as many games, and secured a berth in the semifinals for the District 27 champions. Bellaire and Weatherford each sported 1-1 records, and their third-round meeting would determine the other semifinalist from Pool A.

In Pool B, there was less at stake by the tournament's third day, as Waco Midway and Spring's Northwest 45 LL each clinched semifinal round berths by winning their first two games. Midway advanced with a 3-0 win over Midland Northern and a 4-1 decision over Laredo American. Kyle Boudousquie and Wesley Sauls combined to two-hit Midland in the opener, and Ryan Tatum held the border team to just three hits over five innings before Brandan Depree completed the four-hitter in Midway's second round win. Spring defeated the same two teams. Matt Kershaw pitched a one-hitter in his club's 8-1 opening round win over Laredo, and Northwest 45 then breezed past Midland 7-0 on the tournament's second day.

Waco then beat Spring in a meaningless third round game -- the two teams would meet again the next day in the semifinals, and used their first encounter to set their pitching rotations -- while Bellaire blasted Weatherford 13-1 in a four-inning route. The first-time District 16 titlists held Weatherford to just one hit, and exploded for eleven runs in the second inning to put the game out of reach early.

Bellaire used the one-hitter/big offense combination again in the semifinal round. Drew Zizinia struck out 13 and held Victoria Northeast to only one hit, while a pair of homers keyed the offense as Bellaire breezed into the championship game with a 7-0 victory.

Bellaire opened the scoring on Silberman's sacrifice fly in the first inning. While Zizinia held the Northeast offense in check -- he did not walk a batter -- the Bellaire offense slowly gained momentum. Silberman extended the lead with a two-run homer in the third, and Zizinia helped his cause with a two-run double in the fourth. Alex Atherton capped the scoring with a two-run homer of his own in the fifth. Bellaire's defense also looked sharp, as second baseman Mitchell Malone made a diving grab of a line drive in the second, and shortstop Zack Jamail later leaped to stab a liner headed for left field. Brandon Friedel's fourth inning double was Victoria's only hit.

In the nightcap, Midway's sizeable following was working their way through a few initial choruses of "Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye" as the Waco club inched to within one out of a 5-4 win over Northwest 45. Spring's Justin Holub had other ideas, however, and stunned the Midway faithful with a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the sixth inning that gave his team new life. After Holub's blow pushed Spring into the lead, Kershaw came in to pitch the bottom of the inning and struck out the side to preserve Spring's 6-5 victory.

Northwest 45's victory set up a championship game between the upstart Bellaire team and a Spring team that won Texas titles and reached the World Series in 1988 and 1995. Spring's formidable tradition did not matter to Atherton. The tall right-hander homered twice, and pitched out of numerous jams as Bellaire defeated Spring 9-4 to win the state championship.

Bellaire raced to a 5-0 lead after the first half-inning of play, but Spring answered with four of their own in the bottom of the inning. Cody Morrison homered during the Spring rally. Atherton then held Northwest 45's offense at bay for the remainder of the game, despite allowing six hits, walking eight, and hitting two batters. Bellaire was also held in check by Kershaw until they scratched for a run in the fifth and then broke the game open with a three-run sixth inning rally. Bellaire took advantage of ten walks, and got power support from Atherton and Silberman, who also homered.

For the Bellaire all-star team, the state title and subsequent World Series appearance carried an added bonus: the players missed the start of the school year because they were still playing baseball. It was a memorable summer of firsts, and an impressive new chapter to the rich tradition of Bellaire baseball.