Petaluma (Calif.) National Little League used two big innings to earn its first berth in the Little League Baseball World Series tonight with a 7-5 victory over Nanakuli Little League from Waianae, Hawaii, in the championship game of the Western Region Tournament. The game was played at the Little League Western Region Headquarters Complex in San Bernardino, Calif.
Nanakuli Little League, looking for its first berth in the World Series, took the early lead on a two-run home run by Jaylen Gonzalez in the opening inning. Petaluma National Little League came back in the bottom half of the first inning to score three runs on a Logan Douglas two-run home run and a Kempton Brandis run-scoring single.
After the Hawaiian Champions regained the lead in the top of the second with a pair of runs, the Northern California Champions took the lead for good with a four-run fourth inning that was keyed by another Brandis RBI single and a Hance Smith single that gave them a 7-4 lead.
Nanakuli Little League scored one run in its last at-bat to close the gap, but could not push across any other runs.
Petaluma National Little League earned its spot in the championship game with a 10-4 win over Cheyenne Little League from North Las Vegas, Nev., in one of the semifinal games. In the other semifinal, Nanakuli Little League posted a 6-5 victory over Rincon Little League from Tucson, Ariz.
Petaluma National 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; and New England Region Champion, Fairfield American Little League, in the 16-team Little League Baseball World Series field.
The new West Region champion will play its first game in the World Series, Aug. 16, against the New England 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.