MATAMOROS, MEXICO, EARNS BERTH IN LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES

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 WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (July 24, 2001) – Eduardo Flores pitched a no-hitter for Matamoros (Mexico) Little League, defeating a team from Villahermosa, 3-0, on Friday in the championship game of the Little League Mexican National Tournament at Parque Acero in Monterrey, Mexico.

The victory earns for Mexico its 16th trip to Williamsport, Pa., for the Little League Baseball World Series, Aug. 17-26. Mexican teams have won the Little League Baseball World Championship three times, in 1957, 1958, and 1997. A team from Matamoros played in the World Series in 1990, but fell to Trail, British Columbia, Canada, in the first round.

In the semifinals of the Mexican National Tournament, Matamoros advanced to the final with a 4-3 victory against Linda Vista Little League of Monterrey, the same league that produced the 1997 Little League Baseball World Series championship team. Matamoros enters the Little League Baseball World Series with a 15-2 record in district, state and national tournament play.

In previous years, the Mexican national champion would have advanced to the Latin America Region Tournament. But the Little League World Series expands this year from eight teams to 16, as more than 200 children from around with world converge on Williamsport for the 55th annual series for 11-12 year olds. As part of the expansion, Mexico’s national champion receives a berth in the Series, while two other teams will advance from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Matamoros joins Dhahran, Saudi, Arabia, as the only two teams determined thus far for the Little League Baseball World Series.