Cronulla, Hills to take on the world
Kingsley Collins
10 August 2016
Hot on the heels of a superb performance by Southern Mariners at the Senior League World Series, Sydney-based charter teams Cronulla and Hills will shortly be flying to United States to respectively contest the Junior League World Series and the iconic Little League World Series.
Tournament winner of the sixteen teams at this year’s Australian Junior League Championship, Cronulla received automatic entry for the Junior League World Series – which begins on 14 August - while the Hills squad was ultra impressive in talking the Australian Little League title to earn a berth at Williamsport for its World Series commencing on 18 August.
The JUNIOR LEAGUE WORLD SERIES will be held in Taylor, Michigan, from 14 to 21 August.
Aside from the five United States teams, the tournament will include international squads from Chinese Taipei, Canada, Czech Republic, Panama, Mexico - along with Cronulla.
Chinese Taipei is the reigning champion at the Junior League World Series.
Games will be streamed live and covered by the Game Changer service. Links, history, news and images will be provided by the City of Taylor, Michigan HERE.
The LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES is scheduled for Williamsport, Pennsylvania and will run from 18 August to 28 August.
The Hills team – from Baulkham Hills in Sydney – will join fifteen other squads in competition for this prestigious series.
Eight United States teams have qualified, along with squads representing international under-aged baseball across the globe – including South Korea, Canada, Italy, Japan, Curacao, Panama and Mexico.
Hills will play its first game against Italy.
Little League World Series games will be streamed live and will attract massive media and online coverage through the links provided HERE.
The success of Australian teams of qualifying for all three of the World Series – Senior League, Junior League and Little League – has already been well-documented. It is an achievement that reflects upon the effectiveness of the Little League structure that has been embraced and enthusiastically supported by Australian baseball interests only in recent years.
“The pathway opportunities offered by Little League have been great for the game,” Baseball Australia High Performance Manager Glenn Williams said. “The concept continues to grow in this country and the quality of baseball has benefited accordingly. The incentive to play for your local club in international competition is unique – and it is a great thing for the kids.”
“Our entire national team program is excited about the opportunity for these players to experience international baseball at a young age,” Glenn Williams said. “I have no doubt the result will be more and more players on national teams who have had the chance to play in meaningful international competition before they become mature-aged baseballers.”
Delighted by the performance of the Southern Mariners – who recently came within a whisker of snaring the Senior League World Series – Glenn Williams will be following the progress of the Cronulla and Hills teams with intense interest.
“That was a great effort by the team and staff of the Southern Mariners,” he said. “It is really good to see another two groups of Australian kids getting a chance to compete overseas.”
Australian Baseball Alumni congratulates the players and the staff who will be representing the Cronulla and Hills organisations at their respective Little League World Series. We extend our very best wishes to both groups for an enjoyable, memorable and successful trip.
While we will seek to provide regular updates, families, friends and supporters will be able to follow team progress for Cronulla and Hills through Baseball Australia and the various links provided herein – including the Facebook pages for both teams.
CRONULLA JUNIOR LEAGUE WORLD SERIES FACEBOOK
