Another Loss in the World Series/District 3 Family

It is with deep regret that we report that long time Umpire and friend of Little League Softball Jay Bunting passed earlier this week.

He was greatly admired for his hard work and dedication to Little League, especially at the Lower Sussex League. He umpired at almost every level of District 3 play, and in later years concentrated on Girl's softball, and helped with the Eastern Regionals, and then World Series.

He was greatly admired for his hard work and dedication to so many things. He will be greatly missed. Services for Jay Bunting are being held Sunday, April 15 at the Mariner Bethel United Methodist Church in Ocean View, DE at 1:30 PM.

Little League’s 8-Year Television Contract Extension with ESPN Includes Televising Senior League Softball World Series from Lower Sussex

Contract will allow Little League International to provide even more direct benefits to local leagues

SUSSEX COUNTY, Del. (Jan. 4, 2007) – Little League International has signed an eight-year television contract extension with ESPN, expanding national coverage to include all eight of its baseball and softball world series tournaments, including the championship game of the Senior League Softball World Series at the Lower Sussex Little League Complex in Sussex County. Stephen D. Keener, president and chief executive officer of Little League Baseball and Softball, made the announcement today at Little League International in Williamsport, Pa., along with John Skipper, executive vice president, content, ESPN, Inc., in New York.

The 2007 Senior League Softball World Series, for 14-16 year olds, is scheduled for Aug. 5-11. The final game on Aug. 11 (at a time to be determined) will be televised nationally on ESPN or ESPN2 for the first time since Sussex County began hosting the tournament in 2004.

"Little League is pleased that television viewers around the country will see what Senior League Softball World Series families have known for years," Mr. Keener said. "And that is the outstanding tournament that Little League volunteers in Delaware have provided for the past three years, as well as the hospitality of the people of the greater Sussex County community."

Here's the links to the local stories: Martin Donovan in The Leader and Bruce Layton in The Wave

At least 49 games in all eight divisions of Little League Baseball and Softball will be televised nationally each year starting in August 2007. The U.S. and World Championship games in the Little League Baseball World Series will again be televised on ABC, with other games appearing on ESPN’s expanding family of networks. Previously, the greatest number of Little League games to be televised nationally was 43, in 2006.

"Having Little League games on national television has helped us communicate the benefits of our program to millions of viewers annually since 1963," Mr. Keener said. "We’re grateful that our partners at ESPN share that vision, and we are pleased to announce that the coverage has now expanded to all divisions of Little League play. We also are pleased to announce that this new contract means that Little League International will be able to provide more than $1 million in direct financial benefits to local Little League programs."

The multi-media agreement includes coverage across 15 ESPN platforms – ESPN on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD, ESPN Classic, Spanish-language ESPN Deportes, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, ESPN International, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN360 (the company’s growing interactive and customizable broadband service), Mobile ESPN Publishing (ESPN’s wireless content licensing business) and other ESPN-branded services (i.e. iPod, video-on-demand, etc.).

"Little League captures the heart of sport – a balance of competitiveness, sportsmanship, and passion for the game," Mr. Skipper said. "This new deal will allow fans to enjoy Little League World Series content any way they choose to experience these moments that touch so many."

In 2007, for the first time, all 32 games of the Aug. 17-26 Little League Baseball World Series in Williamsport will be televised on ABC, ESPN, or ESPN2.

In addition, ESPN and ESPN2 will continue to carry all eight of the U.S. Regional Championship finals in the Little League Baseball division. The U.S. regional finals have been televised by ESPN and ESPN2 every year since 1997.

The two semifinal games and the World Championship game of the Little League Softball World Series (11-12-year-olds), scheduled for Aug. 9-15 in Portland, Ore., will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2.

In addition to the final game of the Senior League Softball World Series, the championship games of the following tournaments also will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2: Junior League Baseball (13-14-year-olds), at Taylor, Mich., Aug. 12-18; Senior League Baseball (14-16 year olds), at Bangor, Maine, Aug. 12-18; Big League Baseball World Series (16-18 year olds), at Easley, S.C., July 28-Aug. 4; Junior League Softball (13-14-year-old girls), at Kirkland, Wash., Aug. 12-18; and Big League Softball (16-18-year-old girls), at Kalamazoo, Mich., Aug. 13-18.

The contract extension calls for more than 390 Little League Baseball and Softball tournament games to be televised nationally through 2014, which will mark the 75th anniversary of Little League’s first season, in 1939.

New Contract Provides Direct Benefits to Local Little Leagues

"Our new partnership with ESPN will bring a significant increase in value," Mr. Keener said. "As a result of that, we have taken definitive steps to increase the financial benefits provided to our local leagues."

Free Background Checks – In partnership with ChoicePoint, Little League International will provide every local Little League in the U.S. with 80 free criminal background checks of volunteers in each league. Additional checks will be $1 each.

During the last several years, ChoicePoint has provided the checks to local Little Leagues at a cost of $1.50 per person. In 2006, nearly 100,000 background checks were conducted on Little League volunteers through ChoicePoint.

Normally, the cost for these background checks to non-Little League organizations may be as high as $19.95 per person thorough ChoicePoint. This arrangement with ChoicePoint represents a savings to local leagues of more than $1 million, but also provides easy access to a more efficient and thorough process for local leagues to screen volunteers.

Mandatory background checks for all managers, coaches and certain other volunteers began in Little League in 2003. At a minimum, local leagues are required to conduct a check of the National Sex Offender Database on these volunteers. However, a more extensive criminal background check, such as that offered through ChoicePoint, is recommended.

Charter Fees Reduced – For the first time in Little League’s 68-year history, the fees paid by the local volunteer organizations to become "chartered" Little Leagues will decrease for every division of play. In 2006, charter fees were $18 per team.

Starting in 2007, fees have been lowered to $16 per team, representing a savings of more than $300,000 per year for local leagues.

Promotional Messages – While having 49 games on national television, adding up to more than 100 hours of programming, is one of the best ways for Little League International to communicate its message to the public, Little League also will receive time for public service announcements (PSAs) during other times of the year on the ESPN family of networks.

Some of the PSAs will be aired during the winter and spring, and are aimed at promoting registration at the local Little League level.

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Coaching Initiative – Still being formulated, it is Little League International’s intent to offer an on-line coaches resource center and training program at no charge to all Little League managers and coaches worldwide. Based on the fees charged to individual coaches or leagues in other youth baseball and softball programs, this initiative represents a savings of more than $250,000 for local Little Leagues and volunteers.

Services Already Provided by Little League

"We’re grateful to ESPN for making it possible to offer these benefits, particularly the free background checks and the reduction in charter fees," Mr. Keener said. "We’ve always wanted to do that for our local programs, but until now have not been able to do so."

Included among the services currently provided to chartered local Little Leagues by Little League International:

• Free "Little League Magazine, Presented by Major League Baseball" sent to the homes of more than 1.5 million Little Leaguers each year.
• Travel reimbursement of $1 per mile for one round trip to each tournament site beyond the district level in the Little League International Tournament. (Leagues pay a one-time fee of $75 per team to enter the International Tournament. There are no other fees charged at subsequent levels.)
• Free travel, room and board to World Series teams at all levels.
• Low-cost insurance fees, ranging from $18 to $48, per team, per year. Liability insurance, when purchased through Little League, annually costs from $101 per league for some leagues to $30.30 per team, per year, for leagues with more than 14 teams. Insurance fees are maintained at such a low rate in part because of ASAP (A Safety Awareness Program).
• Each league receives two free Little League rule books for each team chartered. Little League also supplies free materials for establishing constitution, by-laws, committees, etc.
• Free, full-time rules interpretation service by telephone and e-mail, with regional staff on duty at offices in five U.S. states and four other countries.
• Training clinics and seminars at various locations around the U.S. and around the world each year. These clinics are for league officers, managers/coaches, umpires, and other volunteers.

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A Very Sad Day for the Softball World Series

It is with a very heavy heart that the District III committee reflect on the loss of Joshua M. Freeman, the head of Freeman Properties and a major benefactor of the Little League Senior Softball World Series held at Lower Sussex each year.

All of us involved in the series want to express our condolences to the family of Mr. Freeman, and honor his memory. His contributions that led to the playing of the Softball World Series in Sussex Country probably will never be completely known.

Wer're going to miss him and his help.

A story from the local newspaper follows: Real estate developer Joshua Freeman and a woman pilot from Virginia were killed

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World Series Stories from around the web:

Click the links to read the stories
Sussex set for softball series; International teams to vie in Senior tournament

Team Stories:

East :
Milton All-Stars are World champions
+ Milton routs Delaware in World Series opener
+ Milton tops Canada at Senior Division World Series
+ Milton having a new experience in Delaware
+ Milton secures top seed in Pool A with victory
+ Substitutes expected Milton softball team to do well this season
+ Little League Senior Softball World Series: 'Aunt'icipating any problems. Two mothers in charge of Milton players' every move
+ Gutsy call pays off for Balliet
+ Milton rallies to advance to World Series ...

District III/Nanticoke:
Nanticoke falls in softball title game
+ Nanticoke of Seaford falls in Senior Softball World Series
+ Host team powers past U.S. South representative
+ Nanticoke advances to championship ...

Central:
South Bend romps Rotterdam
+ 4th place finish for District 11
+ Gillis banking on Series experience

Southwest
Northwest reaches semifinals
+ Five Diamonds eliminated
+ Northwest wins
+ Softball: Win, and they're in

South
Sr. League Girls suffer another heartbreaking World Series loss
+ Morristown falls 2-0, shows improvement

Saturday

The beast of the East from Milton LL, Pennsylvania wins the Series with a come from behind 3-2 win over Nanticoke, representing District III.

Nicole Smith of Milton pitched the whole game, striking out 8 and holding the host team to just 2 runs.

This East team had finished #2 in several regionals, and this win was especially good for their coaches. We'll try to provide links to the various newspaper stories about the game over the next few days.

Friday

The Thrillah in Roxanna - Dist III - Nanticoke took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the 7th, and allowed a couple of base runners with 2 outs - The batter from Central looked at 3 straight balls, then watched the 3rd strike sail by - putting Dist III in the final game.

Earlier, the Beast of the East pulled off a bottom of the 7th win over Southwest, scoring 2 runs to win 3-2.

East meets District III today at 3:30 PM for the title.

Thursday

The finals are set - East will play Southwest at 5:30pm at Ebbets field, followed by District III vs Central at 8 PM. In the consolation games, West plays South at 5:30 at Connie Mack and Canada takes on Latin America at 8.

Central lost to Latin America 1-0 tonight, after Southwest also won, giving all 3 of the top teams in the B Pool identical 3-1 records. Central finished on top due to the tie-breaker, runs allowed divided by defensive runs played. Earlier Southwest had played a full 7 innings against Europe to raise their defensive innings total - that put them ahead of Latin America.

The Semi-Final games both look to be outstanding games - and could result in a rematch of one of the tournament's opening games, but lets see what happens on Friday.

Wednesday

Another night of good Senior Softball, highlighted by Canada's 9 inning 8-7 win over South. The Canadians led early, gave up the lead in a 7 run 4thinning, then battled back, tieing South in the bottom of the 7th, then scoring after a walk off single in the bottom of the 9th. Its their first World Series win at Lower Sussex.

Earlier Latin American and Southwest battled to a close game that Southwest won 3-1 and West got in the win column with a 16-2 win over Europe.

Statistical Updates

Lorijn Buise of Europe still leads the batters with 6 or more [2 at bats per game x 3 games] at bats with a 714 BA. She's 5 for 7 with 2 stole bases and 1 run scored.

Seven Pitchers still have 0.00 ERAs, Nicole Smith (East 3-0), Angela Gillis (Central 1-0), Kelsey Riggleman (Dist III 1-0), Felicia Mendoza (West 0-0), Olivia Findley (Central 1-0), Zenofia Leito (Latin America 0-0) and Dani Campbell (Central 0-0) have not allowed a run yet.

Tuesday

Central, East and Latin America all won, with Latin America winning big, but first District III had to get 3 more outs to beat the South team 13-0, Kelsey Riggleman did just that as the Host team got to .500. The West-Southwest game also was halted in the 5th, Southwest also picked up where they left off and won 9-1.

Central had little trouble, shutting out West 7-0, and East found that the South team was better than their earlier game - they had to shut them out to win 2-0.

The big win was Latin American over Europe. The team from the Netherlands Antilles rolled up Europe 22-0 in 5 innings.

Monday

Both the East [2-0] and the Central [2-0] teams increased their hold on first place in their respective pools with wins in the early games Tuesday. Both games were decided by the 10 run rule. In the 2nd games, District III, South, West and Southwest all had games delayed due to bad weather in the area - they'll be finished at 1 PM Tuesday.

District III has a 13-0 lead over the South team heading into the bottom of the 5th, Southwest leads the West team, 5-1 in the top of the 5th. Wins by Dist III, Southwest and West would put them at 1-1, good position should their respective pool leaders falter, South was playing their first game Monday.

All the games Tuesday are scheduled for the afternoon so all the teams can have a "get to know you" party Tuesday night - Sky Brady will entertain.

Sunday

3 games down, and still a bunch to go...

In the battle of the C's - Curacao and California [the West team], Latin America was able to get a lead and keep it, winning 4-2 behind a 6 strikeout performance by pitcher Suliviendra Hooi. West's Felicia Mendoza also had 6 K's in relief, but Latin America put up 3 runs in the first inning and that was enough.

The "Beast of the East" showed their power, and District III was a little rusty as the East almost shut out Nanticoke, winning 6-1. East's Nicole Smith was almost unhitable as she struck out 5 and allowed only one hit in 4 innings. Larissa Luu came in for the final 3 innings and only allowed 1 run on 3 hits.

Nanticoke, Dist III commited 2 errors, but it was timely hitting [6 runs on 6 hits] and good baserunning that put all those runs up on the board for the team from Pennsylvania.

Here's the Wilmington News Journal story about the game

Over at Connie Mack field - Central needed 8 innings to beat Southwest, 2-1. We'll have the official box scores up this afternoon, once we fix the "computer problem" at Connie Mack.

You can see the official Box Scores and Scorebooks in the Games Section: Click Here

We'll also try to post the links to stories from the web here as we find them.

Meanwhile, here's the link to the Little League Official Site with all the dates and locations of the Regional Tournaments...

-LLWS-