June 26 - Tournament pool play opened for some and continued for others in the area’s four Little League districts this weekend.
Four districts - 4, 9, 10 and 16 - fall under the magazine’s coverage area in Arlington, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Stafford and Spotsylvania counties.
Little League Baseball adjusted its age groups slightly for its 78th season in 2016, with three divisions - 8-10 year-olds, 9-11 year-olds, and 10-12 year-olds - now the classifications for youth players. Each league has established their All-Star teams from their respective house leagues, with those teams now attempting to advance through three levels of play - district, state and regionals.
The highest youth division - the 10-12 year-olds - are also known as the Majors Division, and regional winners for that age bracket advance to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA, in August.
The last area team to advance to the World Series was Central Springfield in 1994, one of just five from the state that have advanced to Williamsport. The others were Richmond’s Tuckahoe in 1968, Vienna National in 1972, Tuckahoe in 1976, and Tuckahoe American in 1993.
Since 2001, when Little League expanded to a World Series field of 16 - eight from U.S. regions and eight international teams - the following local teams have won state titles and advanced to the Southeast Regionals: Vienna American (2001), West Springfield American (2003, 2005), Southwestern Youth Association (SYA) East (2007, 2010), Chantilly American (2009), Reston National (2011) and Great Falls (2012).
Teams from either South Korea or Japan have won the past four World Series championships, with the last American team to win the title being Ocean View from Huntington Beach, CA, in 2011.
Play has opened for the 8-10 and 9-11 divisions, with Majors Division pool play beginning this coming week. As local teams advance through district and state play, the magazine will feature stories and a daily scoreboard. Please pass any story ideas to us here, and be sure to nominate deserving players for our Player of the Week here.
Here is the area’s All-Star Scoreboard for Saturday’s Games:
District 4 - 8-10 Year-Olds:
Pool A Play:
Alexandria 12, Great Falls 7
McLean National 10, Arlington American 0
Reston-Herndon American 12, Vienna American 0
Next Games: Pool Play Round 2 of 5 on Monday
Pool B Play:
Reston-Herndon National 13, Mason District 3
Falls Church 17, Arlington National 3
McLean American 11, Vienna National 5
Next Games: Pool Play Round 2 of 5 on Monday
District 4 - 9-11 Year-Olds:
Pool A Play:
McLean National 7, Great Falls 1 Vienna American 11, Reston Herndon American 8
Next Games: Pool Play Round 2 of 3 on Tuesday
Pool B Play:
Vienna National 5, Reston-Herndon National 4
Falls Church 12, Alexandria 2
Next Games: Pool Play Round 3 of 5 on Thursday
District 9 - 8-10 Year-Olds:
Pool A Play:
Central Springfield 15, South County 1
West Springfield American 16, Woodlawn 4
Next Games: Pool Play Round 2 of 5 today
Pool B Play:
West Springfield National 10, Fort Hunt 6
Woodbridge 10, Dumfries-Triangle-Quantico 9
Next Games: Pool Play Round 2 of 3 today
District 9 - 9-11 Year-Olds:
Pool A Play:
West Springfield American 12, Dumfries-Triangle-Quantico 2
Next Games: Pool Play Round 2 of 3 today
Pool B Play:
West Springfield National 13, Central Springfield 7
Next Games: Pool Play Round 2 of 3 today
District 10 - 8-10 Year Olds:
Pool A Play:
Chantilly American 17, Coles 4
Next Games: Fairfax American vs. Bull Run today
Pool B Play:
Annandale-North Springfield 4, Fairfax National 2
SYA West 10, Chantilly National 0
Next Games: Pool Play Round 5 of 5 on Monday
District 10 - 9-11 Year-Olds:
Pool A Play:
Chantilly American 10, Fairfax American 0
SYA East 6, Chantilly National 4
Next Games: Pool Play Round 5 of 5 on Tuesday
Pool B Play:
Bull Run 15, Coles 11
SYA West 6, Fairfax National 4
Next Games: Pool Play Round 3 of 3 on Tuesday
District 16 - 8-10 Year-Olds:
Double-Elimination First Round:
Dulles American 6, Greater Fauquier 3
Central Loudoun American 12, Loudoun South National 2
Next Games: Second Round on Monday
District 16 - 9-11 Year-Olds:
Double-Elimination First Round:
Upper Loudoun National 13, Lower Loudoun 3
Loudoun South National 10, Greater Fauquier 0
Next Games: Second Round on Monday
Photo of the Reston-Herndon National 9-11 Year-Old All-Star Team courtesy of RHLL.
