by Little League Baseball
As Little League® celebrates its 75th Anniversary at the 2014 Little League Baseball® World Series, the league representing the Europe and Africa Region has won its way to compete in South Williamsport. At the Little League Baseball European Leadership Training Center in Kutno, Poland, South Moravia Little League from Brno, Czech Republic, captured the banner as Europe and Africa Region Champions with the 11-6 win, defeating Catalunya Little League from Catalunya, Spain, on Monday, July 21. This will be back-to-back Little League Baseball World Series appearances for South Moravia Little League, which is also sending a team to the 2014 Little League® Intermediate (50/70) Baseball World Series.
“We are thrilled to welcome back South Moravia Little League to the World Series this year,” said Patrick Wilson, Little League Baseball and Softball Senior Vice President and International Tournament Director. “It’s wonderful to see leagues, like South Moravia, throughout Europe and Africa that are not only fundamentally sound on the field, but are also instilling the life lessons of dedication, sportsmanship, and hard work for the children in their communities.”
At the 2013 Little League Baseball World Series, South Moravia Little League was the Czech Republic’s first league to ever play in South Williamsport. The team went 1-2, with their win coming against the Great Lakes Region Champions from Grosse Pointe Woods-Shores Little League from Grosse Pointe, Mich. Many of the players from the 2013 Little League Baseball World Series team are on the roster for the team that is competing in the 2014 Little League Intermediate (50/70) Baseball World Series, which begins on July 29 in Livermore, Calif.
At this year’s region tournament, the team from Brno went 5-0, scoring 64 runs while only allowing 10. They averaged nearly 13 runs per game during their Region Championship run. Learn more about the Europe and Africa Region Tournament.
The Europe and Africa Region Champions will face the Asia-Pacific Region Champions on Thursday, Aug. 14, at 1 p.m. at Volunteer Stadium, airing on ESPN. On Sunday, July 6, Seoul Little League from Seoul, South Korea, won the Asia-Pacific Region Championship in Clark, Philippines. All games at the Little League Baseball World Series will be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks, the Watch ESPN app or ABC.
The 68th Little League Baseball World Series begins on Thursday, Aug. 14 in South Williamsport, Pa., with the Championship Game scheduled for 3 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 24, airing on ABC. The World Series will culminate the year-long celebration of the 75th Anniversary of Little League. For more information on the Series and to follow the action live, visit llbws.org. To learn more about Little League’s Diamond Anniversary, visit LittleLeagueBigLegacy.com.