A strong pitching performance and some timely hitting propelled Par Troy East Little League from Parsippany, N.J., to the Mid-Atlantic Region Tournament championship today. The New Jersey State Champions defeated Newark (Del.) Little League, 1-0, in the game which was played at Breen Field at the A. Bartlett Giamatti Little League Leadership Training Center in Bristol, Conn.
Par Troy East Little League rode the right arm of starting pitcher Emil Matta to the last berth in the Little League Baseball World Series. Matta went the distance needing only 72 pitches, 59 of which were strikes, allowing just two hits, two-out doubles in the fourth and sixth innings, while striking out five. Matta retired 11 batters on ground ball outs.
Newark Little League starter Clayton Hanson made one mistake, allowing a leadoff home run to left field by Bener Uygen in the fourth inning, but otherwise matched Matta almost pitch for pitch. He allowed just three hits and struck out six. Uygen’s home run, which proved to be the difference, was his second of the tournament.
With the win, Par Troy East Little League earns its first World Series berth. Newark Little League was also looking for its first trip to Williamsport.
Par Troy East Little League advanced to the championship game with a 9-4 victory in one semifinal game over Collier Township Athletic Association Little League from Collier Township, Pa. Newark Little League earned a 6-0 decision over West Salisbury Little League from Salisbury, Md., in the other semifinal
Par Troy East Little League joins Aguadulce Cabezera Little League from Aguadulce, Panama, the Latin America Region Champion; Kitasuna Little League from Tokyo, Japan, the Japan Region Tournament Champion; Asia-Pacific Region Champion, Kuei-Shan Little League from Taoyuan County, Chinese Taipei; Pariba Little League from Willemstad, Curacao, the Caribbean Region Champion; Middle East & Africa Champion, Lugazi Little League from Lugazi, Uganda; Mexico Region Champion, Oriente Little League from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico; KMC American Little League from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, the Europe Champion; McAllister Park National Little League from San Antonio, Texas, the Southwest Region Champion; Great Lakes Region Champion, New Castle (Ind.) Little League; Kearney (Neb.) Little League, the Midwest Region Champion; Hastings Community Little League from Vancouver, British Columbia, the Canada Region Champions; Gresham (Ore.) National Little League, the Northwest Region Champion; New England Region Champion, Fairfield American Little League; and Petaluma (Calif.) National Little League, the West Region Champion, in the 16-team Little League Baseball World Series field.
The new Mid-Atlantic Region champion will play its first game in the World Series, Aug. 17, against the Southwest Region Champion.
The 66th Little League Baseball World Series, for 11-12-year-olds, will be played in South Williamsport, Pa., Aug. 16-26. Sixteen teams from around the world will vie for the coveted title of World Champion.
The World Series will use the same format as last year with the teams split into two eight-team brackets – a U.S. bracket and an International bracket.