THE NETHERLANDS – L&D Amsterdam opened the game with six consecutive hits in a four-run first, and then broke open a tied game with nine unanswered scores to whip Mr.Cocker HCAW 13-4 Thursday night in Dutch League action at Amsterdam.

The Pirates jumped all over HCAW starter Kyle Ward in the opening frame. Wesley Connor singled to start the merry-go-round, and Maikel Benner and Vince Rooi hit back-to-back RBI doubles for a quick 2-0 lead. But, the reigning league champion was just getting warmed up.

SCOREBOARD
L&D Amsterdam 13 – Mr.Cocker HCAW 4
DOOR Neptunus 6 – MediaMonks RCH 0
Corendon Kinheim 4 – Konica Minolta Pioniers 3
Sparta/Feyenoord 4 – ADO 3

Bas de Jong followed with the fourth straight hit of the inning – an RBI single – and Cuban slugger Fausto Alvarez Rizo put runners on the corners with another base hit. The Dutch League batting race leader, Kenny Berkenbosch, padded the lead with a run-scoring single to give the Pirates an early 4-0 advantage.

HCAW tagged Amsterdam starter Adam Blackley for a run in the fourth, and came along side the home team with a three-run fourth highlighted by a solo bomb by Jason Rees and a two-run single off the bat of Joep van Els.

Amsterdam used three doubles in the fifth to go back on top, 6-4, before putting the game out of reach with five runs in the seventh. Berkenbosch delivered the big blow, a two-run shot, as the Pirates took a commanding 11-4 lead en route to the easy win.

Blackley fanned seven while giving up four runs and six hits to pick up the win.

Ward was dealt the setback after getting roughed up for six hits and 12 runs in five innings.

DOOR NEPTUNUS 6 – MEDIAMONKS RCH 0

Diegomar Markwell combined with three relievers on a seven-hit shutout and DOOR Neptunus clinched the Dutch League regular season crown with a 6-0 road win against MediaMonks RCH Thursday night at Heemstede.

Markwell and RCH starter Joran Klarenbeek matched goose eggs until the fifth when Neptunus crossed the plate twice. Sharnol Adriana singled home Eugène Kingsale with the first run, and Railey Legito scored later on an error by RCH shortstop Jaïr Roseburg to make the score 2-0.

The Rotterdam club increased the lead to 5-0 with three runs in the seventh highlighted by Benjamin Dille’s two-run base hit, and added a run in the ninth on an RBI single by Shaldimar Daantji.

Markwell, who allowed seven hits and walked three, was the winner while Klarenbeek was pinned with the loss after giving up six hits and two runs along with six walks.

CORENDON KINHEIM 4 – KONICA MINOLTA 3

Corendon Kinheim scored four runs in the first inning and then held on to claim a 4-3 victory over the Konica Minolta Pioniers Thursday night at Haarlem to clinch the final playoff berth.

The Pioniers grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Norbert Lokhorst, Mark Duursma and Ryan Murphy hit back-to-back-to-back singles to load the bases. Kinheim starter Duko Jansen allowed Lokhorst to score on a wild pitch before retiring the next two batters to end the inning.

Kinheim opened the bottom of the inning with five consecutive hits to take a 4-1 lead. Josh Renick followed a leadoff single by Danny Rombley with an RBI two-base hit to ignite the rally, and both Dirk van ‘t Klooster and Rafael Jozefa singled added run-scoring hits to give the Haarlem club the lead for good.

Konica Minolta cut the lead to 4-2 in the fifth on a RBI single by Lokhorst, and inched closer in the seventh when Lokhorst drilled a double that scored Mervin Gario to make the score 4-3. However, relievers Nick Veltkamp and Michiel van Kampen blanked the Pioniers the final 2 1/3 innings to seal the win.

Lockhurst had four hits and two RBIs for the Pioniers in a losing effort.

Duko Jansen worked 6 2/3 effective innings with three runs and seven hits to earn the win, while van Kampen recorded the last four outs to pick up the save.

Murphy, who tossed six shutout innings after a disastrous start, was charged with the loss.

SPARTA/FEYENOORD 4 – ADO 3

Berry van Donselaar came out of the bullpen to throw four scoreless innings and Sparta/Feyenoord nipped ADO 4-3 Thursday night in Rotterdam.

ADO drew first blood with a run in the opening frame. Niels Weis reached on a one-out walk and sprinted home on an RBI double by Aeden McQueary to give the visitors a short-lived advantage.
Sparta/Feyenoord answered back with a pair of scores in the bottom of the same inning. Eugene Henson drew a leadoff walk, swiped second base, and moved to third on a single by Rodney Michel. Percy Isenia followed with a two-run double to make the score 2-1.

The Rotterdam club stretched the lead to 3-1 with a run in the third before ADO pulled even two innings later on RBI hits by McQueary and Ludwin Obispo. The score stayed unchanged until the eight when Henson scored his third run of the game to seal a hard-fought win.

van Donselaar allowed three hits while walking two and striking out three to earn the win in relief of starter Tim Roodenburg.

McQueary, who went 4-for-4 with a walk, clubbed a pair of doubles and drove in two runs for ADO.

Photo courtesy of Henk Seppen/L&D Amsterdam Pirates

GERMANY – The Buchbinder Legionaere will begin their quest to win back-to-back German League titles when the Regensburg club will go on the road to meet the Mannheim Tornados in a playoff doubleheader on Saturday at Roberto Clemente Field. The Heidenheim Heidekoepfe will host the Solingen Alligators in the other best-of-five semi-final series.

REGENSBURG LEGIONAERE (24-3)

MANAGER: Martin Helmig

TOP HITTERS: Ludwig Glaser .378; Cedric Bassel .367; Rodney Gessmann .339; Matt Vance .337; Michael Weigl .317.

TOP PITCHERS: Eddie Aucoin 7-1, 0.99 ERA; Martin Almstetter 4-1, 4.19 ERA; Benedikt Antwi 4-0, 2.43 ERA; Philipp Hoffschild 3-1, 2 SV, 3.22 ERA; Rodney Gessmann 2-0, 3 SV, 0.86 ERA.

The Legionaere are gunning for their fourth straight trip to the German championship series and have all the ingredients to win the second league crown in club history. The league’s deepest pitching corps, led by American right-hander Eddie Aucoin, should pose serious problems for opposing lineups.

Former U.S. minor leaguer Ludwig Glaser headlines an offense that has underachieved much of the season but possesses a wealth of talent. Recent international free agent signee Max Kepler-Rozycki hit .400 (8-for-20) in limited action.

MANNHEIM TORNADOS (18-10)

MANAGER: Georg Bull

TOP HITTERS: Marvin Appiah .411; Jens Heymer .372; Chris Falls .341; Billy Hess .337; Craig Pycock .306; Sascha Lutz .299.

TOP PITCHERS: René Franke 7-2, 1.51 ERA; Philipp Höhlein 3-1, 2.22 ERA; Michael Otto 1-2, 2.84 ERA; Martin Dewald 1-0, 2 SV, 2.30 ERA; Jan Rüssel 2-0, 1 SV, 4.15 ERA.

The loss of Aucoin, who led the Tornados to the brink of a championship a year ago, was a major blow that the Tornados survived with flying colors. René Franke has developed into the ace of a patchwork staff, and the addition of outfielder Sascha Lutz has improved a once anemic offense.

Mannheim struggled to score runs in three of their four losses to Regensburg during the regular season. However, the pitching staff kept the team close in three of those setbacks against the Legionaere.

SOLINGEN ALLIGATORS (23-4)

MANAGER: Andy Fleischacker

TOP HITTERS: Chris Beck .415; Matthew Pali .389; Moritz Buttgereit .366; Christian Nsien .349; Dominik Wulf .341; Dustin Hughes .333.

TOP PITCHERS: Enorbel Marquez-Ramirez 9-1, 0.91 ERA; Jens Cornelsen 6-2, 3.33 ERA; Robin Drache 2-0, 2.53 ERA; Dominik Wulf 2-1, 1.93 ERA.

The Alligators are hungry for a return to the finals and a high-octane offense is reason for optimism in Solingen. Australian slugging shortstop Chris Beck enjoyed another stellar season with the lumber while national team ace Enorbel Marquez-Ramirez spun together another dominant campaign on the hill.

The North Division champion has had few road blocks on their journey towards a possible finals showdown against South Division king Regensburg, and a short-handed Heidenheim squad is the last obstacle for first-year skipper Andy Fleischacker’s troops.

HEIDENHEIM HEIDEKOEPFE (21-6)

MANAGER: Mike Hartley

TOP HITTERS: *Simon Gühring .449; Ray Stokes .375; Ryan Lilly .368; Robert Gruber .337; Andreas Janzen .301.

TOP PITCHERS: Dusty Bergman 8-0, 1.96 ERA; Markus Winkler 8-2, 2.92 ERA; Peter Dankerl 0-2, 5 SV, 3.51 ERA.

The championship hopes of the Heidekoepfe suffered a major blow recently when all-everything stud catcher Simon Guehring suffered a broken heel in a collision at home plate at the World Baseball Challenge in British Columbia. Americans Ryan Lilly and Ray Stokes must elevate their game if Heidenheim is to knock off Solingen.

The good news for the Heidekoepfe is that the 1-2 pitching tandem of Dusty Bergman and Markus Winkler did not allow an earned run in a first round sweep over the Dortmund Wanderers. Bergman has been magnificent all season and should provide a short-handed Heidenheim club with enough confidence to stand toe-to-toe with the Alligators.

*Injured.

Photo courtesy of the Solingen Alligators

SWITZERLAND – The top two squads in Switzerland will battle for the regular season title when the Bern Cardinals host the Therwil Flyers on Sunday.

The Cardinals are the four-time defending league champion but have struggled mightily after winning their second consecutive European Cup Qualifier this summer.

Another interesting matchup has the Zürich Challengers visiting Lausanne to clash with the Indians. The Challengers have recovered from a poor 6-8 start to win eight straight while the Indians are riding a six-game winning streak.

Upcoming Games:

Sunday, August 2
Therwil Flyers at Bern Cardinals
Lausanne Indians at Zürich Challengers
Zürich Barracudas at Reussbühl Eagles

STANDINGS

AUSTRIA

The top two teams in the Austrian Baseball League will collide this weekend when the red-hot MOSQUITO Athletics meet the SUPERFUND Wanderers in Attnang-Puchheim. The reigning league champion, which split a twinbill with the Wanderers earlier this season, have won 12 straight games.

Upcoming Games:

Saturday, August 1
SUPERFUND Wanderers at MOSQUITO Athletics (DH)
Dornbirn Indians at Schwechat Blue Bats

Sunday, August 2
PapaJoe’s Eglo Tigers at Union Kufstein Vikings
Wiener Neustadt Diving Ducks at Vienna Metrostars

STANDINGS

BELGIUM

Two of the top teams in the Belgian League will butt heads on the final weekend of the regular season when the Hoboken Pioneers host the Namur Angels on Saturday. The two squads will clash again on Sunday in Namur.

The league-leading Pioneers, which lost to reigning champion Port of Antwerp Greys in last year’s finals, leads both the Greys and Angels by a single game. The trio along with the Brasschaat Braves have all wrapped up playoff berths.

Upcoming Games:

Saturday, August 1
Namur Angels at Hoboken Pioneers
Port of Antwerp Greys at The Merchtem Cats
Brasschaat Braves at Mortsel Stars
Borgerhout Squirrels at Brussels Kangaroos

Sunday, August 2
The Merchtem Cats at Port of Antwerp Greys
Mortsel Stars at Brasschaat Braves
Hoboken Pioneers at Namur Angels
Brussels Kangaroos at Borgerhout Squirrels

STANDINGS

CZECH REPUBLIC

First place AVG Draci Brno defeated MZLU Express 11-6 this past Monday to move two games ahead of Technika Brno. The reigning league champion, which will meet MZLU Express again on Saturday, has won 24 of 30 games thus far this season.

Upcoming Games:

Saturday, August 1
MZLU Express at AVG Draci Brno
Praha Eagles at Technika Brno
Skokani Olomouc at Liberec Patriots
Tempo Titans at AVG Draci Brno
Ostrava Arrows at MZLU Express

Sunday, August 2
Liberec Patriots at Ostrava Arrows
AVG Draci Brno at Eagles Praha
Tempo Titans at Technika Brno
Skokani Olomouc at MZLU Express

STANDINGS

SWEDEN

Top-ranked Tranås will be looking to increase their slim lead in the Swedish League when they travel to Sundbyberg on Saturday to battle the third place Heat. The league front-runner leads Stockholm by one game, and the Heat by two games.

On Sunday, Stockholm will battle the Karlskoga Bats in another key matchup. The reigning league champion will be looking to avoid the upset against the Bats which feature the league’s highest-scoring offensive attack.

Upcoming Games:

Saturday, August 1
Rättvik at Leksand
Tranås at Sundbyberg

Sunday, August 2
Karlskoga at Stockholm

STANDINGS

* Eliminated from Round 2

Photo courtesy of fotogalerie-rv.ch

ITALY – To say that Fortitudo Bologna is streaky is an understatement.

T&A San Marino rallied from a 9-0 deficit with 10 unanswered runs to deal Bologna a demoralizing 10-9 loss Wednesday night in Round 2 of the Italian Baseball League semi-final playoffs.

The two-time defending regular season champion took a quick lead in the opening frame without a hit. San Marino starter Luca Martignoni walked three of the first four batters he faced, and a Joseph Mazzuca RBI sacrifice fly and a throwing error by first baseman Max DeBiase made the score 2-0.

Bologna chased Martignoni in the third with a five-run outburst. American power hitter Richard Austin ignited the rally with a three-run blast, and both Juan Angrisano and Eddy Garabito added RBIs to stretch the lead to 7-0.

FRIDAY’S GAMES
Fortitudo Bologna vs. T&A San Marino
Telemarket Rimini vs. Cariparma Parma

Austin continued swinging a scorching bat an inning later with a two-run bomb off reliever Pedro Orta to give Bologna a seemingly insurmountable 9-0 advantage. But, the reigning IBL champion came charging back in the fifth.

Ardley Jansen drilled a one-out triple to straightaway center field before David Sheldon swatted the first pitch from Bologna starter Fabio Betto over the left field wall. Carlos Duran’s RBI groundout later in the frame capped the three-run inning.

San Marino rocked reliever Giuseppe Norrito for three scores in the seventh to get back into the game. Duran drove in a pair of runs with a base hit, and Martin Vasquez followed with a run-scoring single to cut the lead to 9-6.

The third-seeded home team completed the stunning comeback the next inning with four runs. Duran and Seth La Fera moved San Marino within a run with RBI singles, and De Biase finished off the improbable win with a two-run hit up the middle.

Mauro Schiavoni blanked Bologna the final 2 1/3 innings to earn the win, while Fabio Milano was charged with the loss after giving up four runs in two innings.

RIMINI STOPS PARMA FOR THIRD WIN

Sandy Patrone turned in a solid outing and Filippo Crociati continued swinging a sizzling bat and Telemarket Rimini beat Cariparma Parma 6-2 Wednesday night to move into sole possession of the top spot in the IBL semi-final playoffs.

Rimini (3-1) raced out to a 2-0 lead in the second on a two-run double by Crociati, and added lone runs in the third and fourth on RBI hits by Ivanon Coffie and Jack Santora.

Parma plated a run in the sixth to chase Patrone. Orlando Munoz started the frame with a double to the gap in left center, and Randolph Balentina followed with a base hit to put runners on the corners. Munoz motored home on a RBI sacrifice fly off the bat of Riccardo Bertagnon to make the score 5-1.

Crociati, who went 5-for-5 with three RBIs, put his team ahead 6-1 with a seeing-eye groundball single through the left side. The Rimini centerfielder is hitting .666 (10-for-15) in four playoff games.

Parma added a meaningless score in the eighth on Davide Dallospedale’s RBI hit to end the scoring.

Patrone (1-1) allowed a run on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings to get the win, and Michele Quattrini worked the last 3 2/3 innings to record the save.

Parma starter Roberto Corradini (0-1) was dealt the setback after surrendering four runs and eight hits in a woeful 3 2/3 innings.

STANDINGS

Photo courtesy of Oldman/Fibs

USA – International Baseball Federation (IBAF) President Dr. Harvey W. Schiller was recently elected to the Hall of Fame’s board of directors.

Schiller, who became the 19th member during the board’s annual meeting on July 25, has been on the front line in the IBAF quest to get baseball reinstated as an Olympic sport. The IBAF is the governing body for the game of baseball worldwide.

“With the election of Dr. Harvey Schiller, the board has added a leader with great character and experience, whose passion for the game is reflected in his grand body of work,” Jane Forbes Clark, chairman of the board of directors, said in a statement. “His energy, vision and diverse experiences will add new perspectives to our leadership team.”

Schiller, who has a B.S. in chemistry from The Citadel, also holds three degrees in chemistry from the University of Michigan: Ph.D., Master’s and Bachelor’s.

A former Southeastern Conference commissioner and chief executive officer of Yankees/Nets, Schiller was also the man who gave controversial former World Championship Wrestling (WCW) bigwig Eric Bischoff his walking papers while president of Turner Sports.

HALL OF FAME’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Jane Forbes Clark (Chairman)
Joe Morgan (Vice Chairman)
Allan H. “Bud” Selig (MLB Commissioner)
Bob DuPuy (MLB President and COO)
Bill DeWitt Jr. (MLB Owner, St. Louis Cardinals)
David Glass (MLB Owner, Kansas City Royals)
Jerry Reinsdorf (MLB Owner, Chicago White Sox)
George Steinbrenner (MLB Owner, New York Yankees)
Lee MacPhail (Former AL President)
Paul Beeston (Former MLB President)
Bill Gladstone (MiLB Owner, Tri-City Valley Cats)
Kevin Moore (President, Clark Estates, Inc.)
Ed Stack (Former Hall of Fame Chairman)
Dr. Harvey W. Schiller (President, IBAF)
Phil Niekro (Inducted Player)
Robin Roberts (Inducted Player)
Brooks Robinson (Inducted Player)
Frank Robinson (Inducted Player)
Tom Seaver (Inducted Player)

Photo courtesy of asama.org

USA – Fantasy baseball tips and advice provider Fantasy Baseball Dugout announced the kickoff of its second annual contest to determine the hottest wife in Major League Baseball, an online vote starting July 30 and running through Thursday, August 31.

This year’s extended lineup of “hot” baseball wives includes:

- Anna Benson, wife of Texas Rangers pitcher Kris Benson
- Karen Burnett, wife of New York Yankees pitcher A.J. Burnett
- Lisa Dergan, wife of Chicago White Sox outfielder Scott Podsednik
- Heidi DeRosa, wife of St. Louis Cardinals infielder Mark DeRosa
- Ashley Eckstein, wife of San Diego Padres infielder David Eckstein
- Heidi Hamels, wife of Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels
- Jamie Kotsay, wife of White Sox outfielder Mark Kotsay
- Misty May-Treanor, wife of Detroit Tigers catcher Matt Treanor
- Yuka Okajima, wife of Boston Red Sox pitcher Hideki Okajima
- Laura Posada, wife of Yankees catcher Jorge Posada
- Diana Roberts, wife of Baltimore Orioles infielder Brian Roberts
- Jordan Schneider, wife of New York Mets catcher Brian Schneider

“Our readers really did the ‘work’ of choosing who the hottest baseball wives are this year,” said Jonathan Bentz, one of Fantasy Baseball Dugout’s primary bloggers. “Now they have a chance to support their favorite team’s hott wife and help us determine the hottest.”

Last year, the fantasy baseball blog created a page devoted to the gorgeous wives of Major League Baseball players and noticed an immediate boost in incoming traffic. After several profiles of these same famous baseball wives generated similar interest, the team of bloggers behind Fantasy Baseball Dugout decided to let their readers have the final say in who truly is baseball’s hottest wife.

In 2008, ten finalists were selected for the contest based on search trends and page views of hottest wife nominees. Voting to determine the winner was text message driven and handled entirely by mobile marketing company PromoTXT. The blog received over 3500 votes with former fashion model Heidi DeRosa, wife of then Chicago Cubs infielder Mark, named the winner with almost 50% of the vote.

This season, text message voting will once again be provided thanks to mobile marketing solution 84444.com, but Fantasy Baseball Dugout will also enlist the online voting services of Poll Daddy.

“Text message voting is a great way to gauge public opinion,” said Bob Bentz, publisher of Fantasy Baseball Dugout. “We were certainly impressed by the thousands of people who participated in our text message vote last year for Baseball’s Hottest Wife and we are glad to be able to include online voting as well this year.”

Voting for your favorite hott baseball wife is easy at Fantasy Baseball Dugout. Polls are setup at the top of the right sidebar of the website and on the exclusive homebase devoted to baseball’s hottest wives. You can also text message your vote by texting HOTT(space)(number) of your favorite hott baseball wife to ’84444.’ For example, to vote for Anna Benson by text message, send ‘HOTT 1′ to 84444.

Full details on the 2009 Hottest Baseball Wives contest can be found online at fantasybaseballdugout.com.

Photo courtesy of ntxe-news.com

JAPAN – Hisashi Chono smashed a grand slam and Japan shutout Indonesia 13-0 to finish the classification round of the 25th Asian Baseball Championship with a perfect 3-0 record.

The Japanese, which outscored their opponents 37-0, advanced to the second round against Chinese Taipei, Korea and China in the tournament’s main event at Sapporo Maruyama Baseball Stadium.

Filipino pitchers Ernesto Binarao and Darwin Dela Calsada silenced the bats of Thailand and the Philippines cruised to an 8-0 victory to claim second place with a 2-1 record.

FINAL STANDINGS
1. Japan (3-0)
2. Philippines (2-1)
3. Thailand (1-2)
4. Indonesia (0-3)

Binarao tossed seven scoreless innings before giving way to Dela Calsada, the 2007 Southeast Asian Games best pitcher, for the final six outs.

Thailand placed third with 1-2 record while Indonesia, the reigning Asia Cup champion, finished the tournament winless.

SECOND ROUND SCHEDULE:

Satuday, August 1
Korea vs Chinese Taipei (10:00 AM)
Opening Ceremonies (12:20 PM)
China vs Japan (2:00 PM)

Sunday, August 2
China vs. Korea (10:00 AM)
Chinese Taipei vs Japan (2:00 PM)

Monday, August 3
Chinese Taipei vs China (10:00 AM)
Japan vs Korea (2:00 PM)
Closing Ceremonies (5:30 PM)

Photo courtesy of thejakartaglobe.com

MIDDLE EAST – By avenging its only loss of the Middle East and Africa (MEA) Region Tournament, Arabian American Little League from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, qualified for its 10th consecutive Little League Baseball World Series.

The Arabian American Little League defeated Dubai Little League from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 15-0, in the MEA championship game, and earned a berth in the Little League Baseball World Series for the 16th time since 1991.

Finishing the three-team tournament with a 4-1 record, Arabian American Little League earned the right to represent the MEA Region in the 63rd World Series Tournament to be played in South Williamsport, Pa., Aug. 21-30. Dubai Little League defeated Arabian American Little League, 9-5, earlier in the tournament.

A team from Saudi Arabia has never won the Little League Baseball World Series. The first year a team from Saudi Arabia qualified for the Little League Baseball World Series was 1983. This year marks the 21st time that a team from Saudi Arabia has reached the World Series.

Arabian American Little League has represented Europe, then the Transatlantic Region, and now the Middle East and Africa Region at the Little League Baseball World Series.

Arabian American Little League joins Caribbean Region Champion, Pabao Little League from Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles; Japan’s National Champion, Chiba City Little League from Tokyo; Asia-Pacific Champion, Kuei-Shan Little League from Chinese Taipei; and Latin America Region Champion, Coquivacoa Little League of Maracaibo, Venezuela, as participants in the 2009 Little League Baseball World Series.

The 2009 Little League Baseball World Series will welcome 11-12-year-olds from around the world. Sixteen teams will compete for the World Series championship.

The World Series championship game can be seen live on ABC at 3:30 p.m., on Sunday, Aug. 30. ABC also will televise the International Championship Game on Saturday, Aug. 29 at noon, followed by the United States championship at 3 p.m.

The 2009 World Series will be the third operated under the eight-year television contract agreement with ESPN/ABC. Five games will be televised on ABC. This will be the fourth year that all of the World Series games will be televised in high definition. For the eighth year since the tournament expanded from eight to 16 teams in 2001, every team will have games on national television.

All 32 games of the World Series will be televised again this year. Thirteen World Series games will be televised on ESPN and 14 will be televised on ESPN2. In addition, the ESPN family of networks will carry all eight of the U.S. Regional Championship finals in the Little League Baseball division. The U.S. regional finals have been televised by ESPN and ESPN2 every year since 1997.

For the second consecutive year, the New England Sports Network (NESN) is scheduled to televise four early-round games in the New England Region Tournament. The Madison Square Garden Network (MSG) is scheduled to televise four early-round games in the Mid-Atlantic Region Tournament. Each tournament is to be played at Little League’s A. Bartlett Giamatti Leadership Training Center in Bristol, Conn.

Little League Baseball and Softball is the largest organized youth sports program in the world, with 2.6 million participants in all 50 states and scores of other countries.

Photo courtesy of aramcoexpats.com

Source: Little League Online

THE NETHERLANDS – The more things change in the Dutch League, the more things stay the same.

David Bergman threw a complete game four-hitter and Corendon Kinheim all but wrapped up the final playoff berth with a 5-0 victory against Sparta/Feyenoord Tuesday night in a make-up game at Rotterdam.

Kinheim (25-14), which captured back-to-back Dutch titles in 2006 and 2007, will qualify for the post-season with one more win or a loss by Sparta/Feyenoord (22-16-1) on the upcoming final weekend of the regular season.

Bergman outpitched World Baseball Classic hero Robbie Cordemans to put Sparta/Feyenoord on the brink of elimination. The Kinheim right-handed ace struck out seven and did not walk a batter to improve his record to 8-5.

Both pitchers came out firing on all cylinders in a matchup that was scoreless after five innings. But the visitors from Haarlem pulled ahead in the sixth on René Cremer’s clutch two-run single with two outs.

Kinheim added three more scores in the ninth with two outs off reliever Herman Gaarman to clinch the key win. Rafael Jozefa doubled home Danny Rombley and Bryan Engelhardt, and sprinted home with the final run moments later on Remco Draijer’s RBI single.

Rombley, who won the batting title two years ago, went 3-for-5 to raise his average to .383. The former U.S. minor leaguer holds a slim lead over L&D Amsterdam’s Kenny Berkenbosch (.382) with three games left.

Cordemans (5-2) suffered the setback after giving up two runs on eight hits and three walks in eight not-too-shabby innings.

UPCOMING GAMES:

Thursday, July 30
DOOR Neptunus at MediaMonks RCH
Mr.Cocker HCAW at L&D Amsterdam Pirates
Konica Minolta Pioniers at Corendon Kinheim
ADO at Sparta/Feyenoord

Saturday, August 1
MediaMonks RCH at DOOR Neptunus
Mr.Cocker HCAW at L&D Amsterdam Pirates
Corendon Kinheim at Konica Minolta Pioniers
Sparta/Feyenoord at ADO

Sunday, August 2
DOOR Neptunus at MediaMonks RCH
L&D Amsterdam Pirates at Mr.Cocker HCAW
Konica Minolta Pioniers at Corendon Kinheim
ADO at Sparta/Feyenoord

STANDINGS

* Clinched Playoff Berth

Photo courtesy of Henk Seppen/L&D Amsterdam Pirates

MEXICO – Guadalupe Treviño Kelly Little League from Reynosa, Tamaulipas, defeated Mexico City’s Maya Little League, 12-0, in four innings to qualify for the 2009 Little League Baseball World Series in South Williamsport, Pa., Aug. 21-30.

Finishing the 12-team, two-phase tournament with an 8-0 record, Guadalupe Treviño Kelly Little League outscored its opponents 60-15, with two shutouts, in earning the league’s first World Series appearance.

Teams from Mexico have won the Little League Baseball World Series three times, the most recent in 1997 when a team from Linda Vista Little League in Guadalupe defeated South Little League of Mission Viejo, Calif., 5-4, in the world championship game. Mexico’s 2008 National Champion, Matamoros Little League, reached the Little League Baseball World Series championship game, losing to West Region Champion, Waipio Little League from Waipahu, Hawaii, 12-3.

Guadalupe Treviño Kelly Little League joins Middle East and Africa Region Champion, Arabian American Little League from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; Caribbean Region Champion, Pabao Little League from Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles; Japan’s National Champion, Chiba City Little League from Tokyo; Asia-Pacific Champion, Kuei-Shan Little League from Chinese Taipei; and Latin America Region Champion, Coquivacoa Little League of Maracaibo, Venezuela, as participants in the 2009 Little League Baseball World Series.

The 63rd Little League Baseball World Series will welcome 11-12-year-olds from around the world. Sixteen teams will compete for the World Series championship.

The World Series championship game can be seen live on ABC at 3:30 p.m., on Sunday, Aug. 30. ABC also will televise the International Championship Game on Saturday, Aug. 29 at noon, followed by the United States championship at 3 p.m.

The 2009 World Series will be the third operated under the eight-year television contract agreement with ESPN/ABC. Five games will be televised on ABC. This will be the fourth year that all of the World Series games will be televised in high definition. For the eighth year since the tournament expanded from eight to 16 teams in 2001, every team will have games on national television.

All 32 games of the World Series will be televised again this year. Thirteen World Series games will be televised on ESPN and 14 will be televised on ESPN2. In addition, the ESPN family of networks will carry all eight of the U.S. Regional Championship finals in the Little League Baseball division. The U.S. regional finals have been televised by ESPN and ESPN2 every year since 1997.

For the second consecutive year, the New England Sports Network (NESN) is scheduled to televise four early-round games in the New England Region Tournament. The Madison Square Garden Network (MSG) is scheduled to televise four early-round games in the Mid-Atlantic Region Tournament. Each tournament is to be played at Little League’s A. Bartlett Giamatti Leadership Training Center in Bristol, Conn.

The next berth in the Little League Baseball World Series is expected to be decided on Aug. 12, when the Europe Region Tournament in Kutno, Poland, is expected to end.

Little League Baseball and Softball is the largest organized youth sports program in the world, with 2.6 million participants in all 50 states and scores of other countries.

Photo courtesy of sportsfullcircle.com

Source: Little League Online

SPAIN – Leslie Nacar tossed a complete game three-hitter, and Daniel Martinez and Luis Perez hit back-to-back home runs to lead Marlins Puerto Cruz to a 3-0 win against Viladecans last weekend in the front end of a doubleheader. The Tenerife club claimed a 5-3 victory in 13 innings in the second game to finish off the sweep.

Nacar (16-1) posted 12 strikeouts in a dazzling outing to notch his league-leading 16th win on the final weekend of the season for the six-time reigning Spanish champion. The talented right-hander has compiled a 27-2 record over the past two seasons and remains one of the key pieces to the success of playing coach Nestor Perez’ squad.

The Marlins plated the only runs it would need in the fifth on a pair of long balls. Martinez smacked a two-run shot off Viladecans starter Delio M. Martinez (8-5), and Perez added a solo blast.

The second game ended in dramatic fashion as Martinez connected for a game-winning, two-run drive in the bottom of the 13th to give the Marlins a 5-3 victory in their season finale. With the win, the Marlins capped a dominant season which saw the Spanish heavyweight win 34 of 36 league games.

Daniel Sanchez (1-0) came out of the bullpen to earn his first win of the season, while Marc Jodar (4-4) was pinned with the loss.

F.C. BARCELONA SWEEPS SANT BOI

Pedro Belmonte threw a complete game four-hitter and Emmanuel Febles scored a pair of runs to help F.C. Barcelona squeak past Sant Boi 3-1 to complete the sweep in the season finale for both squads. Barcelona captured a wild 8-7 win in 13 innings to start the two-game set on a winning note.

Belmonte (15-1), who pitched 85 2/3 innings for San Inazio a year ago, scattered four hits, a run and two walks to put the finishing touches on an outstanding first-year campaign on the mound for Barcelona.

The second game was a see-saw affair which saw Barcelona erase a 1-5 hole with a four-run seventh to climb back into the contest.

Sant Boi took a brief 6-5 lead in the 12th on an RBI single by Javier Flores, but Jorge Miqueleiz pulled Bacelona even in the bottom of the frame with a clutch run-scoing double.

Carlos Fente put San Boi back on top in the 13th with an RBI sacrifice fly before Barcelona countered with two scores in the same inning to clinch the win.

Barcelona tied the game on a run-scoring single by Oscar Diaz, and sealed the comeback victory on a walk-off RBI single by Jason Friedman.

Friedman (1-0), who pitched a season-high seven relief innings, picked up the win.

SAN INAZIO TURNS BACK EL LLANO

Andoni Ortiz threw five effective innings in Game 1, and Alberto Magallon tossed five shutout frames in Game 2 as San Inazio swept El Llano to clinch fourth place in the Spanish League.

Ortiz (2-3) allowed three runs and a trio of hits in a 7-3 win in the twinbill opener. San Inazio roughed up El Llano starter Elbis Alberto Avila (4-3), who was sent packing in the second inning, as Rene Reyes tallied three RBIs.

Magallon (8-6) was the key performer in a 4-1 win in the season finale. The right-hander took over for starter Sergio Acha in the fifth and silenced the El Llano batting order the rest of the way on a walk and four hits.

NAVARRA TAKES TWO FROM HALCONES

Baseball Navarra dealt the Vigo Halcones a pair of setbacks to move in position to claim sole possession of fifth place. Both teams will meet again next weekend for a rescheduled make-up game.

Navarra edged Vigo 2-1 in the opening game behind a strong outing by starter Juan Jose Lopez (6-7), who went the distance with eight strikeouts.

Lopez popped a solo home run to give Navarra a 1-0 advantage and the score emained unchanged until the eighth when the Halcones knotted the score on an RBI single by Angel Virgues. However, Luis Villanueva stroked a game-winning RBI hit in the bottom of the same inning to seal the narrow win.

Navarra rolled to a 12-2 win in the second game behind a big day at the plate by Larry Infante, who homered and enjoyed a 3-for-5 effort with the lumber.

Diego Armando Perez (5-4) collected the final nine outs to pick up the win.

PAMPLONA CONTINUES VALENCIA WOES

Pamplona celebrated a pair of victories over the Valencia Astros in a matchup of the league’s two worst teams.

Alexis Fumero (4-9) pitched a complete game and Aingeru Sanz belted a home run as Pamplona erupted for seven scores in the third to capture a 10-7 win in the opening contest.

Pamplona completed the sweep with another 10-7 win in the weekend finale. Daniel Erice had four hits, including two doubles, and Eneko Del Burgo (1-4) tossed five strong relief innings to register his first win of the year.

STANDINGS

Photo courtesy of Diego Lazaro

USA – The Lancaster Barnstormers have added another big bat to the middle of their lineup. The team has signed and activated first baseman Nate Gold, vice president of baseball operations Keith Lupton announced Tuesday.

Gold, 29, played for the Texas Rangers at Triple-A Oklahoma City earlier this season. The 6-3, 230-pound slugger batted .256 with two homers and 15 RBIs in 25 games before being released last month. Gold was originally a 10-round draft pick by the Rangers in 2002. The Utah native belted at least 20 homers every season from 2004-08, including a career-high 34 home runs at Double-A Frisco in 2006 – when he was named to the Texas League All-Star team.

The Barnstormers expect Gold to bring more power to a lineup that already features McCaskey graduate and ex-big leaguer Matt Watson, former first-round draft choice and Hempfield alum Aaron Herr, Atlantic League All-Star L.J. Biernbaum and 2008 Barnstormers MVP Michael Woods.

“His track record is pretty impressive,” Barnstormers manager Tom Herr said of Gold. “He’s a guy who’s had some really big years at high levels.

“His biggest challenge will be getting game ready as quickly as possible. That’s a difficult task when you’re joining a team mid-season and you have to prepare yourself within the game to get ready. I would anticipate that once his timing is where it should be, he’ll be a real threat in our lineup. He’ll add to what we already have.”

To make room for Gold on the roster, the Barnstormers released OF Michael Campbell. Campbell batted .224 with four homers and 21 RBIs in 67 games.

The Barnstormers begin a three-game series against the Newark Bears at Clipper Magazine Stadium tonight at 7. Tonight is Negro League Baseball Tribute Night with appearances from former players Willie Fordham and Jimmy Weedon.

Wednesday is Christmas in July Night. Wear your ugly sweater and bring an unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots and receive a $1 off coupon to a future game. Thursday is Guys Night. There will be a wing eating contest presented by Wow Wingery. Winner earns a limo trip around town that night. Jenny Ruhl, a Lancaster County native and Maxim’s Hometown Hotties contestant, will be in attendance. One lucky fan will win two round-trip tickets to anywhere in the continental U.S. courtesy of AirTran.

Tickets are still available for all games at www.lancasterbarnstormers.com, by calling 717-509-HITS or by visiting the stadium box office during regular business hours.

Photo courtesy of autographinglive.com

Source: Atlantic League

AUSTRIA – The SUPERFUND Wanderers of the Austrian Baseball League (ABL) will host the Mike Brennan Slowpitch Day on August 29. The charity event – “Strike Out Racism” – is for an American citizen who was brutally beaten by Austrian police.

Brennan, a 34-year-old Afican-American, was mistaken by Austrian police as a drug dealer and attacked at a Vienna subway station. The Jacksonville native, who is recovering in a hospital, suffered injuries to his hands, neck and back.

Vienna police admitted in a statement recently that the two undercover officers had made a mistake, and that “physical force” had been used.

A physical education and English teacher at the Vienna International School, a private school for the expatriate community in Austria’s capital city, Brennan has lived in the small European nation for nearly four years.

Asked in an interview with the Associated Press whether he believed he was attacked because of his race, Brennan said he saw “hatred” in the eyes of one of his attackers.

“I don’t want this to happen to anyone else — I hope justice is served,” said Brennan, perched on the edge of his hospital bed holding crutches.

For more information about the charity event, please contact Nick DeForest at nickdeforest@wanderers.at.

Photo courtesy of justiceformikebrennan.blogspot.com

JAPAN – Yusuke Nomura tossed five innings of no-hit ball and Ikuhiro Kiyota smashed a pair of home runs to lead host Japan past Thailand 12-0 Tuesday in the first round of the Asian BaseballChampionship at Narita Oyatsu Stadium.

The Japanese, which advanced to the final round with the win, picked up its second victory of the four-nation, round-robin tournament after disposing of the Philippines (1-1) on Monday. Japan will meet winless Indonesia (0-2) on Wednesday to complete their first round schedule.

UPCOMING GAMES
Japan (2-0) vs. Indonesia (0-2)
Thailand (1-1) vs. Philippines (1-1)

Nomura, a Meiji University right-hander, overpowered the Thai batters in a dominant performance to pick up the easy win.

Kiyota, a NTT East Corporation outfielder, also enjoyed a stellar game. The 23-year-old slugged a solo home run in the fourth, an RBI triple an inning later, and smacked a two-run drive in the sixth to finish with four RBIs.

In Tuesday’s other matchup, the Philippines dealt Indonesia a 6-1 loss.

Japan will begin the final round of the Asian Championship on Saturday at Sapporo’s Maruyama Stadium against China, South Korea and Taiwan.

Photo courtesy of z.about.com

CANADA – USA starter Drew Pomeranz (Ole Miss) took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and Team USA beat Germany, 8-1, in the championship game at the 2009 Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline World Baseball Challenge at Prince George Citizen Field.

Germany got on the board in the first inning on no hits. Pomeranz (Ole Miss) put two runners on board with a hit batsman and a walk before a sacrifice bunt moved them to second and third. Ludwig Glaser followed with an RBI groundout to second base for the 1-0 lead.

Blake Forsythe (Tennessee) tied the game in the bottom of the second with an RBI single and the U.S. took the lead in the bottom of the third inning when Rick Hague (Rice) hit an RBI single up the middle and Michael Choice hit a solo home run over the left field fence.

Tyler Holt (Florida State) brought in Forsythe and Brad Miller (Clemson) with an RBI double to the right centerfield fence and Kolten Wong (Hawaii) hit an RBI single to score Holt for a 6-1 lead in the fourth. Grandal and Bryce Brentz (Middle Tennessee State) followed with back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning to extend its lead to 8-1.

USA starter Pomeranz took a no hitter into the seventh inning. With two outs, Andreas Janzen hit a single up the middle for the first Germany hit. Pomeranz pitched seven innings and struck out 12 batters.

Nick Peptione (Tulane) and Chad Bettis (Texas Tech) closed out the game for the U.S.

Germany starting pitcher Marcus Winkler pitched three innings, giving up three runs on seven hits with no strikeouts. Rene Franke pitched one inning of relief giving up five runs.

Choice, Gerrit Cole (UCLA), Grandal (Miami) and Pomeranz were named to the all-tournament team as top players at their positions. Choice also collected the Home Run Hitting Award with three and Hague received the Best Hitter Award as he ended the tournament with a .474 batting average and two home runs.

The USA Baseball National Team (Collegiate) finished its summer with a 19-5 record.

Photo courtesy of olemisssports.com

Source: USA Baseball

GREAT BRITAIN – The London Mets kept up their relentless pace atop the NBL standings, but were made to work hard by the Herts Falcons in an entertaining doubleheader.

London emerged victorious by scores of 7-2 and 4-3. Reed Wilson was the hero in game one, pitching another dominating game to frustrate the Herts hitters. Game two was much tighter though, with the Mets needing two passed balls, a stolen base and a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth to rally from a 3-2 deficit.

The Mets’ Alex Pike said: “Reed pitched to perfection in the first game and I cannot ask for more than that. Game two was far closer but we still came through. Pressure means nothing to these guys and they always find a way to win. We are going to be missing quite a few of these guys in the play-offs so we need to try out a few new faces, but they are stepping up well.”

For Herts’ manager Jason Greenberg it was a case of what might have been. He said: “In the first game we came up with only one hit, so no surprises in the result there. Game two we could have won and we are very disappointed. Even so I am very pleased that it was a game against the Mets that we controlled from the first inning. The day is getting closer where we beat this team and it is not considered an upset.”

In Sunday’s other action, the Bracknell Blazers cruised past the still winless Croydon Pirates, pounding the Pirates 22-3 and 10-3.

For Croydon manager Dave Ward, it was another day to forget. He said: “It was all about the pitching – ours was not good enough and we got punished. We are still not really gelling as a team, but nobody is getting too disheartened. We have four chances left to win our first game and everybody is determined to do that.”

STANDINGS

Photo courtesy of british-baseball.com

Source: BaseballSoftballUK

TAIWAN – The Taiwan National Baseball Team has finalized its 20-man roster for the upcoming Asian Baseball Championships (ABC) to be held July 31 to August 4 in Sapporo, Japan.

The international competition, governed by the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA), is the main championship tournament between national baseball teams in Asia. The event has been dominated by Japan, South Korea and Taiwan which competes under the name Chinese Taipei due to political reasons.

2009 Taiwanese National Baseball Team (Asian Championship)

CATCHERS
Kun-Sheng Lin, Hung-Yu Lin, and Hsin-Min Wang.

INFIELDERS
Han Lin, Chih-Hsiang Lin, Po-Yu Lo, Kuo-Min Lin, Ming-Jen Kuo, and Chia-Hao Chang.

OUTFIELDERS
Chih-Hao Chang, Tsung-Chun Wu, and Keng-Wei Lin.

PITCHERS
Wen-Yang Liao, Chen-Hua Lin, Chih-Lung Huang, Yu-Ching Lin, Ching-Ming Wang, Yi-Cheng Wang, Chu-Chien Hsu, and Ming-Chin Lee.

Photo courtesy of vpchin.com

Source: Taiwan Baseball.blogspot.com

TAIWAN – The Chicago Cubs continued their foray into the talent-rich southeast Asia region with the signing of highly-touted San-Hsin High School right-hander Tzu-An Wang. The tallish 6’6″ Taiwanese teenager is the third ballplayer signed out of Taiwan by the Cubs in the past two months.

Wang, who reportedly throws a fastball in the low 90′s, is considered to have the most upside of any of the Taiwanese prospects inked to professional contracts this year. He also throws a changeup, curveball, and split-finger fastball.

A high school teammate of recent Cubs signee Yao-Lin Wang, it is rumored that Wang received a signing bonus in the range of $300,000-$350,000.

Photo courtesy of Taiwan Baseball

Source: Taiwan Baseball.blogspot.com

THE NETHERLANDS – Gregory Gustina pitched a complete game six-hitter and Sparta/Feyenoord remained in the playoff hunt with a 5-2 victory against DOOR Neptunus on Sunday in the series finale at Rotterdam.

Raily Legito and Jeffrey Arends both had RBIs in the opening frame to give Neptunus a quick 2-0 lead. But Sparta/Feyenoord answered back with a run in the second, two more scores in the third, and a run in the fourth en route to the win.

Eugene Henson and Mike Bazuin had two hits apiece, while Roderick Simon dove in a pair of runs to help Sparta/Feyenoord avoid the weekend sweep to their crosstown rivals.

Gustina (6-6) fanned seven and walked three in a clutch outing to keep his team dim playoff hopes alive.

Jurjen van Zijl (2-2) lasted just three innings and was saddled with the loss.

KONICA MINOLTA WINS SLUGFEST

Norbert Lokhorst and Mark-Jan Moorman both drove in three runs and the Konica Minolta Pioniers completed the three-game sweep with a 13-8 win Sunday at Hoofddorp.

Mr. Cocker tagged Konica Minolta starter Shane Gnade (2-2) with two runs in the first to go on top early. But, the Pioniers answered back with four scores off HCAW starter Joey Eijpe (2-4) in the next inning to take a 4-2 lead.

The Bussum squad pulled even in the third with a pair of runs before the home team plated nine unanswered runs to hold a 13-4 lead heading into the seventh. HCAW added four runs over the final three innings to make the final tally look respectable.

L&D AMSTERDAM EDGES MEDIAMONKS

The L&D Amsterdam Pirates gained the three-game sweep over MediaMonks RCH with a narrow 2-1 win on Sunday in the series finale. Sidney de Jong, who is hitting .326 with 18 RBIs, delivered the game-winning hit in the seventh to help the Pirates clinch a playoff berth.

KINHEIM SWEEPS ADO

Corendon Kinheim (24-14) finished off the three game sweep against ADO (9-29-1) with an easy 8-1 victory in Sunday’s season finale. Dirk van ‘t Klooster, who is hitting .316, led the offensive charge with three RBIs.

STANDINGS

Photo courtesy of Henk Seppen/L&D Amsterdam Pirates

USA – It wasn’t pretty, but for the first time in Florence Freedom history a pitcher tossed a no hitter as Florence downed the Traverse City Beach Bums 5-0 Sunday night at Champion Window Field.

Preston Vancil (2-0) walked seven, hit a batter, but did not give up a hit while striking out eight in a 149 pitch, no-hit performance.

“It was tough,” Vancil said. “Early on I didn’t have my good stuff but I just had to grit through it.”

Laboring through nine innings, Vancil faced Anthony D’Alfonso with two outs and a runner on in the top of the ninth. D’Alfonso, on a 2-2 pitch, swung and missed to clinch fourteenth no-no in Frontier League history.

“Adrenaline carried me through,” Vancil said. “By the seventh inning I knew I had something special going.”

It was just the second start for the right hander in his professional career, but in both starts he has yet to allow an earned run.

Johnny Welch drove home the game’s first run in the top of the first off Dave Dinelli. Jay Johnson made it 3-0 Freedom with a two-run double in the second. Florence made it 5-0 with a two run third.

That was it for the scoring as Dinelli (1-3) took the loss for the Beach Bums giving up all five runs in two plus innings.

Florence (28-29) snapped a three game skid with the victory. They host the Beach Bums for game two of the series Monday night at 7:05 p.m.

Monday’s are $1 days at the ballpark. Enjoy $1 hot dogs, popcorn and sodas all night long with it also being “Are You Ready For Some Football Night.” Coach Brian Kelly of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats will be out to throw out the first pitch. Tickets are $5 at the gates for all fans wearing football jerseys.

Photo courtesy of The Optimist-acuoptimist.com

Source: Frontier League

USA – For the seventh consecutive year, Pabao Little League from Willemstad on the island of Curacao will represent the Caribbean Region at the Little League Baseball World Series.

The Pabao Little League defeated Willemstad Little League, also from Curacao, 4-0, in the championship game. Pabao Little League finished the nine-team tournament with a 5-0 record, including three shutouts, and outscored its opponents, 60-7, to qualify for the 63rd Little League Baseball World Series.

The Caribbean Region Champion has won the Little League Baseball World Series one time, when a team from Pabao Little League defeated Conejo Valley (Calif.) Little League, 5-2, in the 2004 world championship game.

In 2005, a team from Pabao Little League lost the world championship game to West Oahu Little League from Ewa Beach, Hawaii, 7-6, in seven innings. Pabao Little League, which will be represented in the Little League Baseball World Series for the eighth time, reached the 2008 International semifinal, losing 11-4, to Edogawa Minami Little League from Tokyo, Japan.

Pabao Little League joins Japan’s National Champion, Chiba City Little League; Asia-Pacific Champion, Kuei-Shan Little League from Chinese Taipei; and Latin America Region Champion, Coquivacoa Little League of Maracaibo, Venezuela, as participants in the 63rd Little League Baseball World Series.

The 2009 Little League Baseball World Series for 11-12-year-olds will be played in South Williamsport, Aug. 21-30. Sixteen teams from around the world will take part.

The World Series championship game can be seen live on ABC at 3:30 p.m., on Sunday, Aug. 30. ABC also will televise the International Championship Game on Saturday, Aug. 29 at noon, followed by the United States championship at 3 p.m.

The 2009 World Series will be the third operated under the eight-year television contract agreement with ESPN/ABC. Five games will be televised on ABC. This will be the fourth year that all of the World Series games will be televised in high definition. For the eighth year since the tournament expanded from eight to 16 teams in 2001, every team will have games on national television.

All 32 games of the World Series will be televised again this year. Thirteen World Series games will be televised on ESPN and 14 will be televised on ESPN2. In addition, the ESPN family of networks will carry all eight of the U.S. Regional Championship finals in the Little League Baseball division. The U.S. regional finals have been televised by ESPN and ESPN2 every year since 1997.

Little League Baseball and Softball is the largest organized youth sports program in the world, with 2.6 million participants in all 50 states and scores of other countries.

Photo courtesy of playballphotos.com

Source: Little League Online

JAPAN – Kazuhito Futagami tossed one-hit ball for five innings and Japan smashed three home runs to open the Asian Baseball Championship (ABC) on Monday with a 12-0 win against the Philippines at Narita Municipal Oyatsu Stadium.

The Asian Baseball Championship is the main championship tournament between national baseball teams in Asia, governed by the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA).

In the lone other game, former Hanshin Tigers standout Hirotoshi Watanabe powered Thailand to a 6-1 victory over Indonesia.

Tuesday, July 28
Japan (1-0) vs. Thailand (1-0)
Indonesia (0-1) vs. Philippines (0-1)

The Hosei University right-hander overpowered the Filipino hitters allowing just a lone hit over five dominant innings. Meanwhile, Japan feasted on Philippines’ pitching to the tune of 17 hits in a seven-inning contest stopped early due to the 10-run mercy rule.

Japan, the favorite to win the first round of the ABC competition, has captured four consecutive Asian titles. The winner will advance to the second round against China, South Korea, and Taiwan in Sapporo, Japan on August 1-3.

Photo courtesy of takashisfield.blogspot.com

SOUTH KOREA – Rookie sensation An Chi-hong and Heroes slugger Hwang Jae-kyun smacked key home runs and the West All-Stars snapped a five-game losing skid against the East All-Stars with a 7-3 victory Saturday at the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) All-Star Game in Gwangju, South Jeolla.

Featuring a record 17 first-time All-Stars, including the 19-year-old An, the KBO mid-season classic made its return to Gwangju for the first time in 11 years.

The Hanwha Eagles second baseman tagged SK Wyverns pitcher Ko Hyo-jun with a two-run drive in the fifth to ignite a four-run rally and give the West squad a 3-0 advantage. The West All-Stars strung together four consecutive hits later in the same inning to stretch the lead to 5-0.

The first All-Star Game MVP to go directly from high school to the KBO, An has already hit more home runs (12) than any rookie since Hanwha’s Kim Tae-kyun smashed 20 dingers in 2001. However, the leading Rookie-of-the-Year candidate has struggled at the plate with a .243 batting mark.

An beat out KIA’s Lee Jong-bum to win the MVP award and received a car worth 25 million won.

The East All-Stars finally crossed the plate in the sixth on an RBI sacrifice fly by Hong Sung-heon, and inched closer an inning later on Doosan’s Choi Seung-hwan two-run blast. But, Hwang answered back in the same frame with a two-run shot of his own to seal the win.

Lee Dae-ho of the Giants topped Choi Hee-seop 5-1 in the Home Run Derby final. The Beijing Olympic hero, who blasted four homers out of the stadium in the finals, took home the three million won prize money.

Photos courtesy of mykbo.net

Sources: Korea Times, mykbo.net

ITALY – The fifth-annual Major League Baseball European Academy will take place at the Italian Olympic Training Center in Tirrenia, Italy from August 11 – August 29.

With the 2009 European Academy, Major League Baseball is continuing its commitment to provide promising young players with the opportunity to reach their full potential. The Academy will bring together the brightest up-and-coming talents in Europe and Africa with the best in Major League coaching and instruction.

The Academy will consist of up to 55 players from Europe and Africa who are between 15 and 19 years old and are a part of their nation’s national team programs. A rigorous selection process will ensure that the best young players from the two continents attend the Academy.

Players will work for three-weeks in an intensive Major League training environment featuring skills instruction, strength and conditioning and a complete schedule of games. The program will be run by top Major League instructors, including John McLaren, Bruce Hurst, Lee Smith and Barry Larkin.

Since 2005, 158 players from 25 European and African nations have attended the Academy with impressive results. 28 Academy players have signed professional contracts with Major League clubs, 12 players have played university baseball in the United States and many others have gone on to play significant roles in their domestic leagues and national teams.

For more information on the MLB European Academy, contact Jason Holowaty at jason.holowaty@mlb.com.

Photo courtesy of Major League Baseball International

Source: Confederation of European Baseball (CEB)