New Albany’s Run in the Little League World Series
This is the view of Howard James Lamade stadium from the hill behind center field. (Photo: Ruhrfisch/Wikimedia).
The Little League World Series is popular all around the world. It is full of teams throughout the U.S as well as teams from many countries internationally that play to win it all. Central Ohio was lucky enough to have a team represent Ohio and the Great Lakes Region. New Albany’s 12u baseball team entered themselves into the tournament, and they had to go through a round with only teams from their region. They won the region and got to represent that region in the LLWS.
New Albany has always had a little league team that enters into the Little League World Series but this year was different. On August 5th, New Albany would represent team Ohio. They played Michigan and ended up winning 12-2. New Albany’s team was in a pool along with other teams from the Great Lakes region in Williamsport, PA.
The next day team Ohio would play Kentucky. This game was another blowout. So far, the team has been playing incredibly well. They beat Kentucky 6-0. Starting off with two wins and zero loses, the team was looking great. On August 7th, the New Albany 12u team would play Illinois. Illinois' record was 1-0, so it would be a good match-up. The final score was 8-4 and Illinois had won giving team Ohio their first loss.
A day later, New Albany would be playing Kentucky for a second time. This time, it was a closer game of 8-5. This was another win for team Ohio to now make them 2-1. This was surprising since two days earlier, Team Ohio had beaten Kentucky 6-0.
This is the view of Howard James Lamade stadium behind home plate. (Photo: Google Maps).
After this there was a break so players could rest up for the championship game. The championship would be played August 10th at for the Great Lakes Region title. Team Ohio would be competing against Illinois for a rematch. Illinois’ record coming into the game was 2-0. Team Ohio’s record was 2-1 with a previous loss to Illinois. Team Ohio beat team Illinois four to zero to win the championship. Team Ohio would be representing the Great Lakes region at the Little League World Series.
Nine days later, the Great Lakes team or New Albany would be playing in the Little League World Series for the first time. Team Ohio would be playing team Nevada representing the Mountain Region. New Albany unfortunately ended up losing in a harsh game 13-2. Although this was a tough loss, it was an accomplishment in itself to make it to the LIttle League World Series.
53 teams from the United States competed to represent their region and only 10 teams were able to do so. Other countries also have teams that compete to do the same thing. So out of 106 teams, 53 from the US and 53 from other countries, being one of the 20 teams that goes to the Little League World Series is very impressive. While team Ohio had lost, they were able to go and play and have so much fun while doing so.