Players Chosen for Tee Ball on the South Lawn All-Star Game – All 50 States to be Represented

President George W. Bush

By Little League Communications Division

June 19, 2008

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Fifty-one Tee Ball players from all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have been selected to play at the White House in the first Tee Ball on the South Lawn All-Star Game, set for July 16.

( Note: A highlight video from some of the Tee Ball on the South Lawn games of the past seven years can be seen at www.youtube.com/user/DugoutTheMascot )

For the past seven years, President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush have invited Little League Tee Ball teams to the White House for games on the South Lawn. President Bush, the first U.S. President to have played Little League, uses the games as a way to highlight the fun and camaraderie that children and their families can have by participating in the sports of baseball and softball.

Since the event was announced in April, a selection panel at Little League International has reviewed hundreds of entries from around the country. Each entry was accompanied by an essay from the player’s coach, league president, teacher or school principal, giving the person’s reasons for making the recommendation. Little League’s Tee Ball division is for players who are ages 4-7, with about 800,000 participants in the U.S.

In keeping with the tradition of Tee Ball on the South Lawn games, no score will be kept as the 51 players are divided into four teams that will play two games of one inning each. Every player on the four teams will play on defense and bat once, followed by a picnic on the South Lawn for players and their families. A baseball autographed by President George W. Bush will be presented – by the President himself – to each player. Game time is to be announced.

The game will be the 19th to be played on the South Lawn of the White House since May 6, 2001, when President Bush began the initiative as a way to boost interest in youth sports among children and parents. It will be the first game involving players from all the states.

Here is a list of the players that will be participating:

• Alabama ............... Eli Abston – Huntsville Eastern Little League
• Alaska .................. Jackson Moore – Abbott-O-Rabbit Little League (Anchorage)
• Arizona ................ Aidan Twitty – Gilbert American Little League
• Arkansas .............. Riley Riggins – Pine Bluff Western Little League
• California .............. John Cloer – Sierra Madre Little League
• Colorado .............. Matthew Harstead – South Boulder Little League
• Connecticut .......... Connor Hogan – Lyme-Old Lyme Little League
• Delaware .............. Jamar Wright – Stanton Newport Little League (Wilmington)
• Dist. of Col. .......... Maxwell Cowan – Northwest Washington Little League
• Florida ................. Blake Money – North Port Area Little League
• Georgia ................ Parker Byrd – Warner Robins American Little League
• Hawaii .................. Joshua Miyazawa – Manoa Youth Baseball (Honolulu)
• Idaho ................... Allison Mauck – Mountain View Little League (Boise)
• Illinois ................... Kelsey Brauer – Palatine North Little League (Rolling Meadows)
• Indiana ................. Daniel Stefan Hall – Fall Creek Little League (Indianapolis)
• Iowa .................... Noah Wubben – Ankeny National Little League
• Kansas ................. Anna Thompson – Cherokee Little League
• Kentucky ............. Emilee Baldridge – Russell-Flatwoods Little League
• Louisiana .............. Kade Theunissen – Lafayette Little League
• Maine ................... Hannah Milne – Buxton Little League
• Maryland .............. Abby Farr – Easton Little League
• Massachusetts ...... Jason Cote – Boylston Little League
• Michigan .............. B. Cortland “Cort” Oliver – Jackson West County Little League
• Minnesota ............ Tucker Tekautz – Brooklyn Center American Little League (Brooklyn Park)
• Mississippi ............ Will Scoggins – Madison-Ridgeland Youth Club
• Missouri ............... Jill Zulovich – Daniel Boone Little League (Columbia)
• Montana ............... Elicio Talamantes – Riverside Little League (Billings)
• Nebraska ............. Brody Fetters – Blair Little League
• Nevada ................ Kathryn “Katie” Clewett – Washoe Little League (Reno)
• New Hampshire ... Matara Tamzarian – Manchester North Little League
• New Jersey .......... Alex Thaler – Stafford Little League (Manahawkin)
• New Mexico ........ Jayden Ferran – Paradise Hills Little League (Albuquerque)
• New York ............ Shay Rubenstein – Half Hollow Hills Little League (Dix Hills)
• North Carolina ..... Avery Shane Hodge – Rutherfordton Little League
• North Dakota ....... Keegan Henjum – Burlington Recreation Commission (Minot)
• Ohio ..................... Katharine Aliyeva Graf – Anderson Township Little League (Cincinnati)
• Oklahoma ............ Elizabeth Collison – Edmond YMCA
• Oregon ................. Kaleb Karpstein – Bend North Little League
• Pennsylvania ......... Shannon Friday – Whitemarsh Little League (Plymouth Meeting)
• Rhode Island ........ Christopher Carpenter – North Providence East Little League
• South Carolina ...... Sam Bryant – Irmo Little League
• South Dakota ....... Jackson McGough – Harney Little League (Rapid City)
• Tennessee ............ Meredith A. Bailey – Greeneville National Little League
• Texas ................... Michael Juden – West University Little League (Houston)
• Utah ..................... Reggie Graff – Dixie Little League (St. George)
• Vermont ............... Sam Motch – Clyde Whittemore Little League (Waterbury Center)
• Virginia ................. Abigail Purcell – Middlesex County Little League (Hardyville)
• Washington .......... Grant Luce – North Central Little League (Seattle)
• West Virginia ........ Broden “Brody” Kehrer – Bridgeport Little League
• Wisconsin ............. Paul DuPré – East Madison Little League
• Wyoming .............. Ryan Flack – Rawlins Little League

The first Tee Ball on the South Lawn game of 2008 will be on June 30, between the José M. Rodriguez Little League Angels of Manati, Puerto Rico, and the Cramer Hill Little League Red Sox of Camden, N.J. The third and final Tee Ball game of the year will be held later in the summer on a date to be announced, featuring children from each branch of the military, giving the President an opportunity to honor families in the armed services.

President Bush played Little League Baseball at Central Little League in Midland, Texas, in the mid-1950s. He was on the Cubs, and was a catcher. In 2001, President Bush was enshrined in the Little League Museum Hall of Excellence when he visited the Little League Baseball World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

The Tee Ball on the South Lawn games are made possible through the generosity of these sponsors: Wilson Sporting Goods, New Era Caps, Russell Athletic, Musco Sports Lighting, Dick’s Sporting Goods, AIG Insurance, and Subway.

Little League Baseball and Softball is the world’s largest youth sports organization, with nearly 2.7 million children participating in every U.S. state and dozens of other countries on six continents. Little League is the only youth sports organization to be chartered by the U.S. Congress.