Wednesday was his team’s first chance to play baseball; taking part in an hour-long practice before hitting the batting cages.
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Cherie Roberts, mother of Cronulla Little League player Koby Roberts from Sydney, Australia, said being in Williamsport was “absolutely fantastic”.
Instead of the teams parading around the field, a tarp covered the infield.
“No doubt this is gearing up the excitement level for local fans and yes, it does help with attendance in the earlier rounds I believe”, Little League worldwide spokesman Brian McClintock said Monday. “Just to get there, walk around a little bit and hang out will be really cool”.
SVLL was scheduled to play against the team representing Kentucky’s Bowling Green Eastern Little League, the Great Lakes Regional Champions.
“We don’t know what would have happened if the circumstances had been different but certainly the “what ifs” is going to drive them insane for the rest of their lives”, Melia Hall whose son plays on the team said. He says even though opening ceremonies were canceled, he is just excited to be here.
But unfortunately for Johnson and all of the other families, Mother Nature was relentless.
The team from the Bonita-based league is the 11th from San Diego County to qualify for the Little League World Series and third in seven years.
At that point Little League play essentially vanished in South Carolina, and Dixie Youth Baseball was born. Some of the tournaments included more than a dozen teams.
When Leach first coached at Northwood, if a kid wanted to continue playing after the season he might join an AAU or Babe Ruth team. Hocking, state player of the year as a junior pitcher at Riverside, was forced out of the game in college by a torn labrum from high school.
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Kyle Peterson will also serve as an analyst alongside Belisle for his four games today and Friday.
