2011 Little League World Series

The 2011 Little League World Series took place in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, between August 18 and 28.[1] Eight teams from the United States and eight from throughout the world competed in the 65th edition of this tournament. Ocean View Little League of Huntington Beach, California, defeated Hamamatsu Minami Little League of Hamamatsu City, Japan, 2–1 in the World Championship game. Nick Pratto hit an RBI single to clinch the title for Ocean View.

2011 Little League World Series
Dates	August 18–August 28
Teams participating	16
Champion	Ocean View Little League Huntington Beach, California
Runner-up	Hamamatsu Minami Little League Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka, Japan
Little League World Series

Tournament changes

On June 16, 2011, Little League announced that it was modifying the double-elimination format that was first used in the previous year's tournament. The format of four pools consisting of four teams in each pool, a format that had been used since the tournament expanded to 16 teams in 2001, was eliminated. Instead, the eight teams from the United States were placed into one bracket, and the eight International teams into another bracket. The tournament remained double-elimination until the United States and International championship games, where it became single-elimination.[2]

Little League International renewed deals with uniform suppliers Russell Athletic and New Era Caps. As part of the deal, regions had new color schemes this year.[3][4]

Teams

United States	International
La Grange, Kentucky Great Lakes Region North Oldham Little League	Kaohsiung City, Chinese Taipei Asia-Pacific Region Ching-Tang Little League
Clinton County, Pennsylvania Mid-Atlantic Region Keystone Little League	Langley, British Columbia Canada Region Langley Little League
Rapid City, South Dakota Midwest Region Harney Little League	Oranjestad, Aruba Caribbean Region Aruba North Little League
Cumberland, Rhode Island New England Region Cumberland American Little League	Rotterdam, Netherlands Europe Region Rotterdam Little League
Billings, Montana Northwest Region Big Sky Little League	Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Japan Region Hamamatsu Minami Little League
Warner Robins, Georgia Southeast Region Warner Robins American Little League	Maracay, Venezuela Latin America Region Gran Maracay Little League
Lafayette, Louisiana Southwest Region Lafayette Little League	Mexicali, Baja California Mexico Region Seguro Social Little League
Huntington Beach, California West Region Ocean View Little League	Dhahran, Saudi Arabia^[a] Middle East-Africa Region Arabian American Little League

• Due to complicated relations with the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China—commonly known as Taiwan—is recognized by the name Chinese Taipei by a majority of international organizations, including Little League Baseball. For more information, see Cross-Strait relations. LLWS records and news accounts may use Republic of China, Taiwan, or Chinese Taipei to refer to the same entity.

• Of the 16 teams, 11 made their first LLWS appearance. Most notable among these was the Keystone Little League, based less than 30 miles (48 km) from Little League headquarters. The last LLWS to feature a team from the immediate Williamsport area was the 1969 edition.[5] Keystone's game on August 19 against the North Oldham Little League set an attendance record for Howard J. Lamade Stadium, at 41,848.[6] The record stood until it was broken during the 2015 event.

Results

United States bracket

	August 18 – Game 2
	Montana	6
					August 21 – Game 14
	South Dakota	4
					Montana	3
	August 18 – Game 4
					Louisiana	1
	Georgia	0
									August 24 – Game 24 (F/7)
	Louisiana	2
									Montana	1
	August 19 – Game 6
									California	0
	Rhode Island	0
					August 21 – Game 15 (F/4)
	California	11
					California	10
	August 19 – Game 7
					Kentucky	0
	Kentucky	1
	Pennsylvania	0
																	August 27 – U.S. championship
																	Montana	2
	August 20 – Game 10
																	California	11
	South Dakota	3
					August 22 – Game 18 (F/9)
	Georgia	6
					Kentucky	5
					Georgia	8
									August 23 – Game 22
									Georgia	5
	August 20 – Game 12
									Pennsylvania	7
	Rhode Island	0
					August 22 – Game 20 (F/4)
	Pennsylvania	2
					Pennsylvania	10
					Louisiana	0
													August 25 – Game 26
													California	2
													Pennsylvania	0

International bracket

	August 18 – Game 1
	Chinese Taipei	0
					August 21 – Game 13 (F/7)
	Mexico	3
					Mexico	3
	August 18 – Game 3 (F/4)
					Japan	2
	Aruba	1
									August 24 – Game 23 (F/9)
	Japan	12
									Mexico	2
	August 19 – Game 5
									Venezuela	1
	Saudi Arabia	5
					August 21 – Game 16
	Canada	6
					Canada	0
	August 19 – Game 8
					Venezuela	8
	Netherlands	1
	Venezuela	6
																	August 27 – International championship
																	Mexico	2
	August 20 – Game 9 (F/4)
																	Japan	5
	Chinese Taipei	20
					August 22 – Game 17
	Aruba	3
					Canada	5
					Chinese Taipei	3
									August 23 – Game 21
									Canada	0
	August 20 – Game 11
									Japan	4
	Saudi Arabia	4
					August 22 – Game 19
	Netherlands	2
					Japan	13
					Saudi Arabia	4
													August 25 – Game 25
													Venezuela	6
													Japan	9

Crossover games

Teams that lost their first two games got to play a crossover game against a team from the other side of the bracket that also lost its first two games. These games were labeled Game A and Game B.

	Game A
	August 22 – Lamade Stadium
	Aruba	5
	South Dakota	0

	Game B
	August 23 – Lamade Stadium
	Netherlands	7
	Rhode Island	8

World Championship

	Little League World Championship
	August 28 – Lamade Stadium
	California	2
	Japan	1

2011 Little League World Series Champions
Ocean View Little League Huntington Beach, California

The consolation game was cancelled due to the expected arrival of Hurricane Irene.[7]

Middle East-Africa qualification

Kampala, Uganda defeated Dhahran, Saudi Arabia in the Middle East-Africa Region Final but the Ugandan team was denied visas by the State Department.[8] Reportedly, the visas were denied because some players provided false information, specifically related to their ages.[9][10] The runner-up, Saudi Arabia, was invited to the Little League World Series in their spot.[11]

Champions Path

The Ocean View Little League won 20 games and lost 1 game to reach the Little League World Series. Overall, their record was 25–2. Their two losses came against Rancho Mission Viejo LL (from California),[12] and Billings Big Sky LL (from Montana).[13]

Round	Opposition	Result
District 62
Winner's Bracket Quarterfinals	Costa Mesa National LL	6-0
Winner's Bracket Semifinals	Costa Mesa American LL	19-0
Winner's Bracket Final	Huntington Valley LL	7-1
District 62 Championship	Huntington Valley LL	13-3
Section 10
Game 1	Aliso Viejo LL	5–4
Game 2	Rancho Mission Viejo LL	2–1
Game 3	Rancho Mission Viejo LL	5–6 (8 inn.)
Section 10 Championship	Rancho Mission Viejo LL	3–1
South California Divisional
Winner's Bracket Semifinals	Fontana Community LL	13-2 (4 inn.)
Winner's Bracket Finals	Canyon Springs LL	5–1
South Sub-Divisional Championship	Park View LL	5–4
South Championship	Encino LL	12–1 (4 inn.)
South Championship	Encino LL	11–1
West Regional
Group Stage	Red Bluff LL	10–2
Group Stage	Central East Maui LL	3–0
Group Stage	Rio Rico LL	10–0 (4 inn.)
Group Stage	Silverado LL	11–3
Semifinals	Washington LL	5–0
West Region Championship	Red Bluff LL	2–1

Notable players

Nick Pratto, drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 2017 MLB Draft. (Huntington Beach, California).

Hagen Danner, drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2017 MLB Draft. (Huntington Beach, California).

Jake Fromm, Georgia Bulldogs starting Quarterback. Drafted by Buffalo Bills in the 2020 NFL Draft. (Warner Robins, Georgia).

References

1. Communications Division (November 12, 2010). "Dates and Sites for 2011 Little League World Series Tournaments Announced". Littleleagueonline.org. Archived from the original on March 5, 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
2. Communications Division (June 16, 2011). "2011 Little League Baseball World Series Schedule Announced". Little League. Archived from the original on June 20, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
3. "Russell Athletic Renews Agreement with Little League Baseball and Softball". Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2011-07-03.
4. "Little League Baseball and Softball Extends Partnership with New Era Cap". Archived from the original on 2011-09-18. Retrieved 2011-07-03.
5. "Keystone Little League Earns Berth in Little League Baseball World Series as Mid-Atlantic Region Champion" (Press release). Little League Baseball. August 15, 2011. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
6. "Central Pa. team shut down by Kentucky". The Philadelphia Inquirer. AP. August 20, 2011. p. E05. Retrieved August 21, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
7. Communications Division (August 26, 2011). "Little League Baseball World Series Championship Game Moved Up to Noon on Sunday". Little League. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
8. Communications Division (July 22, 2011). "Visa Applications Denied for Little League Team from Uganda". Little League. Archived from the original on 2012-10-12. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
9. "Uganda investigating age of youth baseball team denied US visas for Little League". The Washington Post. Associated Press. July 30, 2011. Retrieved July 30, 2011. Dead link as of August 15, 2011
10. Zinser, Lynn (July 29, 2011). "No Little League World Series for Ugandan Team". The New York Times. Retrieved July 31, 2011.
11. Communications Division. "Arabian-American Little League of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, to Receive Berth in Little League Baseball World Series". Little League. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
12. "Southern California Divisional Tournament". Unpage.com. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
13. "West Region Tournament". Unpage.com. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2011.

External links

• 2011 official results via Wayback Machine
• 2011 tournament bracket via Wayback Machine