New York State Little League Tournament Preview (2016)

Wow. We're back. I missed the entirety of the 2015 Little League season because work just doesn't allow me to be Little League Insider anymore. I guess being an adult can stink sometimes. Who knew?

Anyway, I've been out to a few games this season around the New York and New Jersey area and I'm pumped up for all the state tournament action. Even though the blog itself isn't nearly as active as it used to be, the Little League World Series Discussion Group is always firing on all cylinders. Seriously... join it. There's Little League fans (1000s of them) across the country giving updates every single day. It's a great community.

I've done state tournament previews for New York and New Jersey in the past and its always one of my favorite posts to write, so I decided to give NY a shot this year since I've seen a couple of the teams so far and I'm incredibly excited to see Maine-Endwell this season, a team that could be historically good in New York. We'll see this week.

The state tournament is being hosted by Van Nest Little League and Bronxchester Little League in District 22 in the Bronx. The two fields are in walking distance of each other and will showcase the best the state has to offer.

Without further ado, here's this year's state tournament preview. Remember that most of this is based on simple research and I did it all in a couple hours. If any names are wrong, spelled incorrectly, or didn't showcase enough or the proper players, I'm deeply sorry. I'll get it right once the tournament starts today. Finally... come say hello if you see me. I'll be there on Wednesday and Thursday for sure.

Section 1 West: Penfield (District 4)
Recent History (2000-2016): 4 district titles, first section title since 1979

Penfield National rolled through the sectionals by averaging 14 runs per game. The last time PLL played a close game was the District 4 championship when they knocked off Fairport, 6-4. Noah Rogoff, Matt Salina, Jake Lipani, and John Scoenhardt are just some of the names to watch from the Rochester-area squad.

Section 1 East: Maine-Endwell (District 7)
Recent History (2000-2016): 8 district titles, 5 section titles, 2 state titles

Maine-Endwell are the defending state champions. Normally, this doesn’t mean much… new crop of kids, right? Wrong. M-E had six 11-year olds on that state championship team and they’re bigger and stronger this season. This group also won the state championship when they were 10-year olds. M-E is led by Michael Mancini, Conner Rush, Jude Abbadessa, et al. The boys in blue and gold have been as dominant as you can be, winning by mercy rule in every game thus far.

Section 2 North: New Hartford (District 10)
Recent History (2000-2016): 2 district titles, first section title

New Hartford won its first section title in the long history of its league and the Utica-area squad is excited to take its show to the Bronx. NH is 10-1 through the tournament so far and topped a strong Rotterdam-Carman squad in a Best-of-3 series to reach the state tournament. Roman Kimball has been the staff ace and one of the team’s top hitters. Tyler Potocki has shown some big time ability on the bump as well including a 12 strikeout performance in the district championship game. Will Gall and Kyle Philipkoski have had big hits in recent victories.

Section 2 South: Town of Wappinger (District 17)
Recent History (2000-2016): 7 district titles, 2 section titles

Wappinger has become the defacto leaders of District 17 since becoming one charter and this particular group is experienced. They reached the state tournament last season as 11-year olds, so they will be experienced. The group is young with some 11s mixed in this year, but Shane Heinemann, Sean Camacho, Ben Tullo, and Parker Nevins have been great leaders thus far.

Section 3 North: Pine Bush (District 19)
Recent History (2000-2016): 4 district titles, 2 section titles

Pine Bush enters the state tournament at 13-1. They’ve won 13 straight games. The offense for the Bushmen has been relentless. PB has scored less than 10 runs in a game just three times in their run to the Bronx. They put up 20+ runs four different times as well. The team has 54 home runs in total, an astronomical number. Joe Croce leads the way for an offense that puts them up in bunches. He homered three times in the district “if” game, the second straight year he’s hit three in a title-winning performance. Watch out for Will Pitt, Ethan Velanga, and Gunnar Meland as well. Nick Scala provided an epic 6th-inning homer in Game 1 of the district final.

Section 3 South: Mid-Island (Staten Island) (District 24) Recent History (2000-2016): 4 district titles, 3 section titles, 1 state title, 1 regional title

Mid-Island reached the LLWS back in 2006 and is ready for another run. MILL comes from one of the toughest districts in the entire Eastern Region and is battle-tested. MI has some big boppers at the top of the lineup and strong arms.  Matt Rupp has been the team’s most dominant starter and one of the big sticks. Matt Polemeni, Eric O’Neill, and Chris Field are also major home run threats every time they step in the box.

Section 4 West: Port Washington (District 28)
Recent History (2000-2016): 9 district titles, first section title

Like Wappinger and St. James/Smithtown, Port Washington played in the 11-year old state tournament last year. So they have some experience at this level. They went 2-2 with wins over the other two teams in the tournament. Chris Chang and Jake Spiryda are two players to watch for PW.

Section 4 East: St. James/Smithtown (District 35)
Recent History (2000-2016): 2 district titles, first section title since 1999

Smithtown had an interesting road to the Bronx. In one of the worst and wildest tournament formats you’ll see, St. James/Smithtown went 1-2 in pool play of its sectional tournament, placing third. All four teams make the semifinals though and SJSLL promptly won the semifinal and then beat the 0-3 team in the championship. They obviously worked the tournament the right way. It’s no accident though that Smithtown is in. They were in the state tournament last year as well, falling twice in mercy-rule shortened games. James Ackerman and Tyler Lawrence are two of the guys who should be on your radar.

PREDICTIONS

It’s hard to predict how teams will pitch a double elimination tournament, so instead of straight picks, I’ll give you the teams ranked in order… Remember that I’ve only seen two (Pine Bush and Mid-Island) play in person.

1. Maine-Endwell

2. Mid-Island
3. Pine Bush
4. Penfield National
5. New Hartford
6. Port Washington
7. Town of Wappinger
8. St. James/Smithtown

I’ll be at Van Nest and Bronxchester Little Leagues on Wednesday and Thursday for sure. Join in on the conversation for the Road to Williamsport at my LittleLeague World Series Discussion Group on Facebook.

DC Little League Rivalry Forged through Competition, Now Has Respect

Photo courtesy of LISPN.com

When it comes to Washington D.C. Little League baseball, only one name came to mind for well over a decade before 2009, and that was Capitol City Little League.

Cap City won the D.C. Tournament every single year from 1988 to 2008, and usually in laughable fashion. If there were any competitive match-ups, they only came from Northwest Washington Little League and very rarely. Finally, something in Northwest Washington clicked. In 2009, NWLL shocked Capitol City and won the city tournament, earning a spot in the Mid-Atlantic Tournament in Bristol, CT.

Since then, the rivalry has flourished. Northwest Washington has now won three of the last five titles and they're slight favorites for a fourth in today's D.C. Tournament championship despite Capitol City returning a handful of contributors to last season's regional semifinal appearance.

"In the heat of it all, the rivalry was not friendly," First-year Capitol City manager Brian Friel said. "It wasn't in the spirit of Little League."

In the arms race to dominate to Washington D.C. youth baseball, the two leagues turned into bitter rivals in the last few years, but with that bitterness, respect has come into play over the last year or two, and it came to a head during pool play this week.

Road to Williamsport: Early Teams to Watch - 2014

Well it’s mid-July and time to start introducing you to teams you could POTENTIALLY see in your respective Little League regionals or even South Williamsport. Last year, we had a pretty solid track record. Let’s see what happens with this year’s version of Little League Insider’s Early Teams to Watch.

Check it out after the jump:

Welcome Back! The 2014 Season is Upon Us!

Hello everyone out there in Little League land, it's your favorite youth baseball blogger, John Malone. We, obviously, won't be kicking into high gear until June, but everyone is hopefully getting outside in the East and Central in the next week or so, and who knows how long you boys and girls have been going already in the South, Southwest, and West.

There's big changes currently in Little League and on the horizon for next year possibly. These rules will fundamentally change the future of Little League Baseball and Softball. It's to be determined if its for better or worse.

What's CURRENT for 2014 -- Well, the big rule is "School Eligibility." As of this year, if you attend school (public or private) inside the boundaries of a league that you don't reside in, you can choose between your home league and your school's league. If Johnny lives in Anytown, but goes to school in Cityville, he can choose to play in Anytown Little League OR Cityville Little League. It certainly opens a can of worms. There are many reasons for this rule change. Some of them are international, some of them are so kids can play with their school friends, and others are potentially because it will make some tournament teams stronger.

What's ON TAP for 2015 -- The biggest rule change that will be voted on this month for NEXT season is the brand new birthday. For years, the age cutoff was always July 31. If you turned 13 on that day or before, you were considered a 13 year old and couldn't play. In 2006, Little League changed its birthday date to coincide with USA Baseball and moved it BACKWARDS, making kids a few months older than they were. A few months meant much bigger kids because we all know that puberty is fickle at this age group. So, what's happening for 2015 potentially? The is now going FORWARD, all the way to December 31st. This means that if you turn 13 at any point in the calendar year... you are 13 for Little League. This makes everyone in the organization much younger now as opposed to older. Quote-unquote 12-year olds are done with the small field if this passes. Little League's "Williamsport" division will be mostly true 11-year olds. This will help the new 50/70 division which was ridiculously bad because it had glorified 14 years olds playing on 220-foot fields.

One of the big problems I've heard from all around the country with this new rule, however, is that one age group will be grandfathered in, but after that, it will be official. None of us are stupid. We all know that successful tournament teams start playing together as early as 8, and definitely at age 9 and 10. Well those teams that already started gearing up for Williamsport runs three years in advance are now defunct. They will be broken up. Some will say the "grandfather" rule needs to start somewhere, but most coaches/parents (granted they are in that bracket that will be cut up), think it should be set 3-5 years in advance, so nobody that's already played in tournaments together will be affected.

BLOG NOTES: Anyone that wants to write for the blog this year (preferably outside the East Region where I and others are located) please email me with your ideas and some writing samples. I'd love to have you. We had a monster year last year. Let's blow it out of the water.

We will have our radio show back once again this year, but we will start it much earlier in the tournament. I was approached by the station last year a little too late for it to get established. We had a great audience for it though and the station is excited.

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Those are the best ways to interact and get information, thoughts, and notes while there isn't a ton of material that requires a blog post in itself.

Capitol City (DC) Shakes Up Mid-Atlantic Region

Written by John Malone, editor
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Capitol City Little League of Washington D.C. has more than held its own at the Little League Baseball Eastern Region Tournament. Cap City had leads in each of its first two games and threw monkey wrenches into a couple teams' pitching plans. In the third game of the tournament, Capitol City finally earned more than respect, it earned a victory.

Behind a much-needed offensive outburst from Robert Reynolds and Isaac Frumkin, Cap City took a 10-3 lead after three innings and hung on for dear life in the sixth to record an 11-10 victory over previously unbeaten Berlin, Maryland.

"I was really excited because I didn't hit the ball well in the game against Pennsylvania," Reynolds said. "I was just looking for pitches in my zone and I got a lot of those today."

Reynolds was 4-for-4 with a home run, four runs batted in, and three runs scored to lead Capitol City. Frumkin was 3-for-4 with a triple at the top of the order. Usually a dynamic catcher, Frumkin came on in the fourth inning to record a long save with 2 1/3 innings pitched, two runs, and just two hits.

Capitol City led 11-8 heading into the sixth inning with Frumkin on the hill. Maryland's Tristan McDonough promptly ripped a double, and then Billy Wheatley was hit by a pitch. With two outs and runners on second and third, Jack Rosenberg ripped a double to left field plating both runs. The ball squirted through the outfielders legs and rolled all the way to the deep left field corner. Maryland tried to bring Wheatley all the way around to score but shortstop Collin Bosley-Smith threw a perfect strike to Sofia Ohanian at home plate to cut down the tying run for the game-winning play.

"I saw the coach waving the runner home, but I saw the guy stop, and then kept on going," Frumkin said. "There were perfect throws from Noah (Gold) and Collin though, and we got him by a mile."

Capitol City took a 7-3 lead in the second inning with Frumkin's RBI triple, a Rory Friel RBI single, and Reynolds' home run. In the third, Cap City padded its lead with three more runs with RBI singles from Aaron Rosenthal, and two more RBI from Reynolds.

Capitol City starter, Bosley-Smith, allowed three first-inning runs to Berlin with some control issues but buckled down to retire five of the next six batters he faced in a solid start that was marred with inconsistent calls at home plate and frequent game stoppages among other things. He came out with 65 pitches to stay eligible for the potential semifinal.

D.C. took a 3-0 lead after one inning with an RBI double from Zach Lordan, an RBI from Sofia Ohanian (who had a web gem at first base), and an RBI from Aiden Trinity. Berlin answered back with three runs on a variety of walks, infield hits, and a fielder's choice.

"I was really impressed with the way Collin pitched today. He came back from a rough first inning and threw really well," Reynolds, the staff ace, said. "He blocked everything out. All the pitchers did a great job working through stuff today."

Maryland never gave up in its quest to come back from the huge deficit. Matt Kinsey had a big two-run single in the fourth, and Wes Powell added a two-run triple to follow. Powell scored on a wild pitch to bring Maryland within two runs.

In an effort to keep the score within reason, Maryland went to its ace, McDonough, in the sixth. Reynolds ripped a single to lead off the inning and then scored on three passed balls to add the ever-important insurance run. It ended up being the winning run.

"I hope people realize we can compete here. We could've won the first two games and we got one now," Frumkin said. "We're very confident. We knew we could win a game, now we want to win another one."

The victory was the second win for a District of Columbia team in two years (Northwest Washington LL beat eventual Mid-Atlantic champion, Par-Troy East (NJ) last year) and the first for Capitol City since it beat Haverstraw (NY) back in 2008. Now, Cap City will try to reach the Mid-Atlantic semifinals for the first time since 2004.

Washington D.C. faces Burnt Hills (NY) in its final pool play game on Wednesday. Both teams need a victory to stay in the running for a semifinal spot.

"This team is so hungry for wins, so hungry to earn respect for DC baseball," Assistant coach Seth Rosenthal said. "They did it in the first two games, but today took us another step towards earning DC baseball some respect."

To listen to a pre-tournament interview with Capitol City assistant coach Brice Plebani, listen to Little League Insider Radio: Episode 2.

For Mobile Users, try this link here: Little League Insider Radio: Episode 2

To listen to the debut episode of Little League Insider Radio: CLICK HERE

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Westport CT Shows its Mettle, Wins Section 1 Title in Extras

Written by John Malone, editor

Relying on its big arms for most of the District 2 and Section 1 tournament, Westport was getting desperate for some big hits late in its championship game against Bristol Edgewood. No matter what Westport mustered offensively, Edgewood always had an answer. Finally in the seventh inning, Westport got some breathing room off the bat of Charlie Roof.

Roof's single in the fourth allowed Westport to take a 3-2 lead, but it was his two-run two-out double in the seventh that won the game. A leadoff walk to Chris Drbal started the inning, but back-to-back strikeouts by Edgewood reliever, Shane Caron, put Westport in another tough spot. Harry Azadian and Matt Stone worked another pair of walks to load the bases for Roof.

"That's a really good team over there, they need to be proud of themselves. We battled too though," Westport manager Tim Roger said. "I told them before the game that I thought it would take four runs to win this game. It was a great battle."

In Westport's previous meeting with Edgewood Chad Knight tossed a no-hitter and completely shut down the big bats of ELL. Tonight, the ball went to Azadian who was great once again himself. Azadian allowed two runs on three hits in five innings. He only needed 58 pitches. With the state finals looming on Saturday and a 3-2 lead in the sixth, Roger lifted Azadian for Knight.

"With pitch count rules, you have to make plans and contingency plans and stick to them," Roger said. "If we could get Harry at 65 and only use chad for three outs, we would do that then."

Edgewood had other plans. After a walk, Stone made a great throw to second after a wild pitch and caught the runner stealing for the first out. Knight blew away the next batter for out number two. With a two-strike count, Edgewood's Cory Fradette blasted a home run 300 feet to right centerfield (I measured it!) to tie the game. A ground out got Westport out of the sixth without further damage, but the plans were thrown for a loop. Luckily for Westport, the offense came through in the seventh. Knight got the first out and was relieved by Max Popken who induced two more outs to pick up the save. (Editor's Note: I would make all the same pitching moves that Westport made.)

"Everything that could happen, did happen," Roger said. "It was back and forth. Every inning we scored a run, they came back with a run...except for the seventh."

Westport didn't commit an error in 16 chances in the field and shortstop Ricky Offenberg (who had an RBI single) was nothing short of magnificent with the glove.

Westport opened the game with a triple from Drbal  (3-for-3, three runs, 3B, 2B) and an RBI from Popken. In the fourth, Tatin Llamas homered to right to give Westport a 2-1 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, the sky opened up and play was suspended for close to two hours. Both Azadian and Edgewood starter Noah Plantamuro weathered the storm, so to speak, and continued to be effective.

Edgewood will face the winner of South Windsor American and Coginchaug on Saturday in Game 1 of the state finals, a best two out of three affair. Westport will have its full pitching staff available.

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New Jersey State Tournament Preview

Written by Kyle Stackpole with contributions from John Malone

The New Jersey state tournament begins on Thursday in Wallington. 

Coming into the tournament, the field seems to be wide open. Wayne National and Nutley East were 3-0 in their sectional tournaments but did not completely run away with their section titles. On the other hand, both Toms River East American and East Greenwich came through the losers’ bracket of their respective sections.

Section 1: Wayne National (District 2)
Recent History (2000-Current): District titles- 3, Section titles- 0

Wayne National went 3-0 during the Section 1 tournament, outscoring their opponents 28-11. Dominic Cancellieri was magnificent in the tournament, going 5-for-9 with three home runs. He is also the ace pitcher of the staff, tossing 4 2/3 innings of one run ball while striking out 10 in the championship game. On the offensive end, Wayne National can score. John Boscarino, Jarod Strus, Jack Feit and Ari Field all have home run potential every time they step to the plate. Pitching will determine how far this team can go.

Section 2: Nutley East (District 8)
Recent History (2000-Current): District titles- 1, Section titles- 0

Nutley East also went 3-0 during the Sectional Tournament and outscored their opponents 23-10. NELL is a well-rounded ball club without a true star. Seemingly everyone has come up in a big spot. A.J. Lotito, Aidan Okamoto-Wolf, and Danny Caraballo have all come through in the last few weeks and Peter Lopez has got it done on the mound.

Section 3: Toms River East American (District 18)

After winning the Little League World Series title in 1998 and losing in the United States championship game in 1999, Toms River East American has not advanced to the state tournament.  After falling 12-8 to South Wall in the opener, TREA kept fighting. They put up 32 runs in their next two elimination games to reach the Section 3 final against Nottingham. After trailing 13-3 in the fourth inning, Toms River East American came all the way back to win the game 15-13, forcing the two teams to play again. In that game, TREA was finally kept in the ballpark, but came away with a hard-fought 5-4 victory. After scoring 79 runs in six games, Toms River East American is a serious threat to win the state crown.  The first six hitters in the lineup all have legit home run power. Watch out if Nick Silvia gets hot at the top of the order.

Section 4: East Greenwich (District 15)

This is the first ever state tournament appearance for East Greenwich. After making it to the winner’s bracket final, East Greenwich fell to Haddonfield 13-6. From there, it was an uphill battle. After defeating Ocean City 12-2 in an elimination game, East Greenwich set up a rematch against Haddonfield in the sectional final. Two wins later, East Greenwich stole the crown and will be entering unchartered waters starting Wednesday in Wallington. East Greenwich has put up a ton of runs throughout the tournament so far. Shawn Dougherty was one of the big bats during the Section 4 final. He finished 4-for-5 with two home runs.

John Malone’s Prediction: Without knowing Nutley East and East Greenwich this is impossible, but history tells us that either Wayne National or Toms River East American is the favorite because they come from tougher sections. With that being said, TREA’s offense is really deep and has the potential to outhit anyone, but if Wayne National can maximize its pitching prowess then I give them the edge.

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New York State Tournament Preview

The New York State Tournament begins on Tuesday with a 6-team double elimination bracket. Auburn opens against Horseheads with the winner facing Pearl River. South Shore American opens with Massapequa Coast with the winner facing Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake.

With the way 6-team tournaments are set up, if you play in the first round, you can't blow any of your pitching. It's not worth it. Winning a first round game, and then losing to the bye team sets you back at the beginning of the losers bracket. You have to win the first TWO games if you don't have the bye. The way to do that? Save your pitching for game two. Obviously, if you have the bye, you play to win every game. That's your Little League Insider strategy of the day.

Section 1: Auburn (District 5)
2000-Current History: District titles- 8, Section titles- 2

Auburn is 6-0 in the tournament so far and faced three straight elimination games in the Section 1 tournament because the Section 1 tournament is single-elimination. Don’t ask me why. Auburn last won a Section 1 title in 2010 and made the semifinals out of pool play. Unfortunately, there’s not much info out there right now on Auburn. They’re a big unknown this year.

Section 2: Horseheads (District 6)

2000-Current History: District titles- 6, Section titles- 1

Horseheads has completely rolled over everyone in its path to this point in the tournament except for New Hartford in the Section 2 championship game. Horseheads pulled out a 9-7 victory in that game and has outscored its 11 tournament opponents 138-15 on the road to the state tournament. Mike Limoncelli gets it done on the mound and at the plate. He leads the team in both categories. Eli Schooley tossed a six-inning perfect game during districts with 16 strikeouts. Adam Cook and Tony Burlingame and the rest of the lineup really hit the ball well. This team won the section championship as 10-year olds and finished third in the state.

Section 3: Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (District 12)

2000-Current History: District titles- 4, Section titles- 1

Burnt Hills is playing in its first 12-year old state tournament, but this particular team isn’t green. BHBL won the Section 3 title both as 11s and 10s. Hunter Valley struck out 12 batters in the sectional championship win over Colonie. Evan Bowers carries the big bat for Burnt Hills.

Section 4: Pearl River (District 18)
2000-Current History: District titles- 2, Section titles- 2

Pearl River won its second section title in three years with an epic 14-13 victory over New Rochelle Central. It was the fourth straight section championship for a team from District 18. In fact, D18 has cleaned up at every level since New York went to six sections. This group doesn't have dominant pitching, but they hit 1-12 and find ways to win all the time. Sean Flaherty and Jon Farley have the most power on the team, and PR isn’t afraid to leg out a few bunt singles.

Section 5: South Shore American (District 24)
2000-Current History: District titles- 7 (incl SSN), Section titles- 4, State titles- 1

South Shore is the most storied LL program in New York and one of the best in the Eastern Region. South Shore has been to the Little League World Series three times and won handfuls of state championships. They have experience and they expect to win. SSA is led by Nick Scala, a big right hander who strikes out about two batters per inning. Scala also has power in his bat. Thomas DiOrio and Mike Ciancio tend to come up with big time hits and South Shore truly relies on a great defense.

Section 6: Massapequa Coast (District 31)
2000-Current History: District titles- 9, Section titles- 4

Massapequa needed extra innings to pull out a Long Island championship, but winning is nothing new for Coast. This group won the Mid-Atlantic title as 10-year olds and took home the Long Island title last year as 11s. They are the first team to ever win three Long Island titles. Nick Collins and Matt Zanfardino are a solid 1-2 punch on the mound, and everyone seems to come through at the plate when necessary. It’s to be expected from a team that has played together for so long during the entire year.

Predictions

South Shore American wins the title over Horseheads with Massapequa Coast taking third.

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More State Champions Crowned!

For starters, I’m going to bring up the radio show today. It went as smoothly as a first show can go I think. The feedback sounded pretty solid afterwards. For all those who missed it, we will have a download on the site by Monday. On the show we talked to Nate Andrus of Dixie Little League in Utah. He was a fantastic interview and gave us some great stuff. Then, we had Pearl River Little League of New York come in and talk with us live and that was also a lot of fun. We had a couple phone calls. One went well, one had a bunch of feedback, but I was happy with the way things well overall. Thank you guys for participating and listening. We hope to have a bigger and better show next week. Once you listen to it this week, but please send me any thoughts you’d like. Now…. onto the roundup!

Washington

Eastlake won its first state championship by winning eight straight games in a week including two against Federal Way on Sunday. Federal Way beat Eastlake 6-5 on the tournament’s opening day before Eastlake went on a tear. Eastlake's 12-year old softball team is currently in San Bernadino as they ALSO won the state championship.

District of Columbia

The two pre-tournament favorites took care of business and will now face each other on Monday in the DC championship game. Northwest Washington knocked off Capitol Hill LL 6-3 and Capitol City beat Banneker City 15-2 in four innings. Capitol City is definitely the favorite with the pitching edge of Robert Reynolds.

New Hampshire
Salem took Game 1 on Satuday  8-4 over Reye, but both teams busted out some big pitching performances in Game 2. Rye had just two hits, but they were both home runs and evened the series with a 2-1 victory over Salem. Dylan Chase and Max Malila hit the two home runs and it sounds like they’re the big stars for Rye. Chase pitched all six innings and struck out 10. Nick Robertson homered for Salem in the loss. Game 3 is on Tuesday for a berth in the New England Regional.

Connecticut
Both sectional championships are set with Westport in the driver’s seat in Section 1 and South Windsor American coming out the winners bracket in Section 2.

Edgewood continued to pound the baseball when it doesn’t face Westport and beat Orange 14-9 to reach the title game. Edgewood has scored 44 runs in the three wins, but was no-hit by Westport, who will have its full complement of pitchers available on Tuesday and Wednesday, if necessary.

Coginchaug, the defending 11-year old state finalists, hung onto a 7-6 victory over Waterford South behind two home runs from Cole Neidmann. Waterford was the 10-year old New England and East region champions two years ago.

Nevada

The title game is set with Henderson in the driver’s seat after a 6-3 win over Mountain Ridge in the winners bracket final. Mountain Ridge knocked off Reno Continental to get back to the championship.

Georgia

Warner Robins American moved to 2-0 in the tournament with a 6-0 blanking of Cartersville. WRALL has yet to allow a run so far. I wish I knew what was in the water in that town.

Ohio

New Albany picked up a victory in the state tournament and is now in the winners bracket semifinals. NALL will now face Hamilton West Side who has won four straight state championships, six of the last seven, and eight of the last 11. Boardman and Guernsey are on the other side of the winners bracket.

Maryland

State title favorite, Berlin, completed an amazing come back over two days (due to weather) and had a two-run walkoff home run this morning to beat Bethesda  4-3. They played again later in the winners bracket and beat up on Elkton in a mercy-rule victory. They now face Conococheague in the winners bracket final and are set up pretty well. It shows you how much some luck is needed in the tournament.

Northern California

Redwood Belmont Shores picked up another victory with a hard-fought 7-5 win over West Sacramento a day after beating River Park National 10-0. West Sac had a bye, so the offensive output was definitely a good sign from RBS who most likely faced a number one pitcher.

Southern California

Chula Vista Eastlake picked up another high-scoring victory, this time over Coronal Nationa 12-8. Eastlake trailed 6-2 before exploding for nine runs in the fourth inning

Louisiana

Bossier National knocked off not one but two REGIONAL powers in South Lake Charles and Lafayette Louisiana. They are in the driver’s seat against Lafayette on Monday night for the state championship. The league has never won a state title before. In fact, the two powerhouse leagues have won 16 of the last 17 state titles.

Indiana

Hagerstown won its district for the first time in history and decided that wasn’t enough. Hagerstown knocked off Chet Waggoner 5-4 in its first state tournament game.

Rhode Island

Lincoln is definitely back. The boys in the ugliest uniforms known to man look like a big threat for the New England crown. They romped through their tough district and know they’re in the catbird seat in the state championship game after two shutouts. Lincoln beat King Philip today 11-0 after beating Cranston Western 13-0 yesterday.

Pennsylvania

Warwick and Keystone each started strong with big wins on opening day of the PA state tournament. West Point, one of the 2-3 tourney favorites, needed a walkoff home run to pick up its first victory. Keystone looks like an express train that won’t stop, however.

State Champions List

Utah- Dixie LL (St. George)
Alabama- Jackson LL

Oklahoma- Tulsa LL
Idaho- Coeur d’Alene LL
Washington- Eastlake LL (Sammamish)

If I'm not mentioning your state, please send me a message on Facebook or Twitter telling me what's going on in your neck of the woods. There's so many teams still alive, it's tough to get everyone. So let me know.

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Little League Insider Radio LIVE at 1 P.M. Today!

We've been doing so well right out of the gate this summer that we're really going to blow it out of the box. Starting Sunday July 21, we'll be LIVE on the radio for a one-hour show.

We'll be broadcasting each Sunday through the Little League World Series championship game from 1pm-2pm Eastern Time. The show will be live at Emmett's Castle in Pearl River, NY and can be heard on WFAS 1230AM News/Talk radio out of Westchester, NY. Call into the show for questions, comments, or to tell us about the best team in your area at (914) 693-5700.

It will be a nationally focused show with a lean towards the East coast because that's what we know the best. Once the world series hits, we'll be all national, all the time.

You can listen LIVE online HERE and HERE. If you have the iHeart Radio app, you can listen there as well. The show will also be recorded for download right here on the Little League Insider Blog.

If you have ideas for the show, don't hesitate to let us know. You can contact us nearly 1000 ways now. The show has the potential for a lot of interactivity. We will have live guests, phone interviews, and you will be able to call-in with questions, comments, and updates from your area of the country. I'll have that number for you soon.

It's a very exciting time. This is going to be a great six weeks of baseball.

CALL-IN Number: (914) 693-5700

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NJ Section 1: Wayne National races to title

Written by Kyle Stackpole, contributing writer

Usually brand new 13-year olds receive presents on their birthday.

On Thursday night, Wayne National’s Dominic Cancellieri gave his team the biggest present of all.

 A sectional championship.

Behind Cancellieri’s dominant pitching and incredible hitting, Wayne National defeated Par-Troy East 11-1 in five innings to win the Section 1 title. The game was shortened by the mercy rule.

On the mound, Cancellieri pitched 4 2/3 innings, giving up just one run and two hits while striking out 10. With the bat, he was just as impressive. He hit two home runs and drove in three for a Wayne National team that hit six home runs in the game. Jack Feit added a pair of round-trippers and John Boscarino and Ari Field each hit a solo shot.

Even more amazing was that on a day dedicated to him, he pulled through for his team.

“It feels great,” Cancellieri said. “We thought we were meant to be in sectionals last year. This year, we hoped to make it past the districts. Now look at us; we’re onto states.”

Cancellieri is one of three returning players from last year’s squad. Boscarino and Jared Strus also played on last year’s sectional squad. Experience has obviously helped this team understand the amount of work it takes to be one of four teams left in New Jersey. The other major aspect is working hard every day.

When asked how they were so successful throughout the tournament, manager Paul Boscarino put it simply.

“Practice, Practice, Practice.”

“We work hard,” added an assistant coach. “Whenever we do not have a game, we practice for two to three hours a night.”

That hard work has sure paid off. Wayne National has outscored its opponents 28-11 during the three games at Dumont.

As satisfied as this team is at this point in the season, the road to Williamsport has just begun. They begin the state tournament on Wednesday in Wallington for a chance to represent the state of New Jersey in the Mid-Atlantic Tournament. According to Cancellieri, success for this team is centered on a few factors.

“We need to pitch well and not walk batters. Those extra batters are the ones that will kill us. We don’t have to worry about hitting. We’re going to hit.”

Wayne National sure hit the heck out of the ball tonight. They finished the game with 11 runs, 11 hits, and six home runs.

With an explosive lineup, pitching will determine how far this Wayne National team can go.

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