Missouri, Arizona Take Different Routes to Region Championships, Berths in 2006 Little League Baseball World Series
PrintWILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (Aug. 12, 2006) – – Ahwatukee American
Little League from Phoenix, Ariz., hit five home runs, three by
Shaun Chase, to win the West Region Championship, 11-3, on Saturday,
while Ryan Phillips threw a one-hitter, with 14 strikeouts as Daniel
Boone National Little League of Columbia, Mo., claimed the Midwest
Region Championship, 2-0.
A seven-run fifth inning broke a 3-3 tie and powered Ahwatukee
American Little League past River Park Little League, the Northern
California representative from Fresno, at Al Houghton Stadium in San
Bernardino, Calif. Chase hit his second home run in the decisive
fifth and Michael Anderson followed later in the inning with a
three-run home run. Also hitting a home run for the West Region
Champions was winning pitcher Hunter Rodriguez.
Daniel Boone National Little League, which finished 5-0 in the
six-team regional tournament played at Stokely Field in
Indianapolis, scored an unearned run in the first inning against
Davis County (Iowa) Little League. Calvin Mathews was the losing
pitcher, striking out 14 and scattering five hits, including a solo
home run to Jeffrey Ausmus in the second inning.
Ahwatukee American Little League Little League, which suffered its
only West Region Tournament loss to River Park Little League,
finished the six-team tournament with a 5-1 record, and improved to
20-1 overall in tournament play.
Teams from Arizona have qualified for the Little League Baseball
World Series four times and won the United States championship
twice. The most recent runner-up finish was in 1986 when a team from
International Little League in Tucson lost to Tainan Park Little
League from Chinese Taipei, 12-0, in the world championship game.
The most recent World Series appearance for Arizona was in 2003,
when Chandler’s National Little League qualified.
The state of Missouri will be represented for the second time in the
Little League Baseball World Series. Webb City Little League reached
the World Series in 2002.
Ahwatukee Little League joins Daniel Boone National Little League of
Columbia, Mo.; Whalley Little League of Surrey, British Columbia,
Canada; South Lake Charles Little League of Lake Charles, La.;
Columbus Northern Little League of Columbus, Ga.; Arabian American
Little League of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; Brateevo Little League of
Moscow, Russia; Cardenales Little League of Barquisimeto, Lara,
Venezuela; Pabao Little League of Willemstad, Curacao; Matamoros
Little League of Taumalipas, Mexico; Kawaguchi City Little League of
Kawaguchi City, Japan; and Saipan Little League from Saipan,
Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), as participants in
the 2006 Little League Baseball World Series.
The Little League Baseball World Series for 11-12-year-olds will be
played in Williamsport, Aug. 18-27. Sixteen teams from around the
world will take part.
ABC will televise the Little League Baseball World Series U.S.
championship game on Aug. 26, at 3:30 p.m. The world championship
game of the Little League Baseball World Series can be seen live on
ABC at 3:30 p.m., on Aug. 27. Twenty-seven other World Series games
will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2 for a total of 29 games on
national television. Eleven World Series games also will be
televised on ESPN Deportes. For the second straight year, all 32
games of the Little League Baseball World Series tournament will be
on television.
The next berths in the 60th Little League Baseball World Series will
be decided on Sunday when the New England Region, Great Lakes and
Northwest Region Tournaments are scheduled to end.
The remaining U.S. region finals, which will be televised live on
ESPN or ESPN2, are: New England (Bristol, Conn., Sunday, 1 p.m.,
ESPN); Great Lakes (Indianapolis, Sunday, 3 p.m., ESPN); Northwest
(San Bernardino, Calif., Sunday, 10 p.m., ESPN2) and Mid-Atlantic
(Bristol, Conn., Monday, 8 p.m., ESPN2). All game times are Eastern
U.S. time.
For more information on the 2006 Little League Baseball World Series
log on to: www.littleleagueworldseriesonline.org
