Play ball! Yes, it’s that time of the year again … Little League Baseball’s tournament season.
The marquee event remains the 12U division finals in South Williamsport, Pa., scheduled to be played Aug. 13-24. The event will showcase 10 United States regional champions and 10 international teams.
Closer to home, the Intermediate (50/70) World Series is scheduled July 27 to Aug. 3 in Livermore. Qualifying for this division, along with the Junior Division World Series (Aug. 3-10 in Taylor Mich.) and Senior Division World Series (July 26 to Aug. 2 in Easley, S.C.), has already begun at the local level.
Besides the iconic 12U division, Little League International also offers state championships in the 11U and 10U divisions.
The race for those championship banners has also begun.
California District 41 Little League serves East County. Local leagues include Alpine American, El Cajon National, El Cajon Western, Fletcher Hills, Jamul, Julian, Lakeside American, Lakeside National, Mountain Empire, Rancho De Oro, Rios Canyon, Santee National, Singing Hills and West Hills.
Rancho De Oro defeated Singing Hills, 10-0, to win the district Intermediate championship while Alpine and Rancho De Oro qualified for this year’s district best-of-three Junior League championship series.
California District 66 Little League has served San Diego, Spring Valley, Lemon Grove and National City since 2000. Lemon Grove Little League will represent the district in Junior League all-star play this summer while Spring Valley Little League will represent the district at the Senior Division level.
Sweetwater Valley Little League captured California District 42 championship banners last weekend in both the Intermediate and Senior divisions. District 42 serves Chula Vista, Eastlake and Imperial Beach.
Qualifying continues beyond the local level, leading teams to sectional and regional events.
There are six U.S. regional divisions for the Intermediate Division World Series: California D57, Central, East, Southeast, Southwest and West.
There are six U.S. regional divisions for the Senior Division World Series: Central, East, South Carolina D1, Southeast, Southwest and West.
There are six International region tournaments for the Intermediate, Junior and Senior divisions. They include Asia-Pacific, Australia, Canada, Caribbean, Europe-Africa and Latin America in both the Intermediate and Senior divisions and Asia-Pacific, Australia, Canada, Europe-Africa, Latin America and Puerto Rico for the Junior League World Series.
