–––––– Championship Day ––––––

South Carolina does it again!

S.C. Host - 2005 World Champions

Let the celebration begin as SC Dist. 1 defeated California Dist. 13 10-5 in the Big League World Series championship game in Easley, SC Saturday. Photo Gallery (Photo provided by Conrad LaRosa)

S.C. District One wins 3rd straight title
The win marks S.C. District One's third consecutive title in the Big League World Series, the most since 1996. More

A crushing defeat
Thousand Oaks All-Stars can't hold early 5-1 lead and lose to South Carolina in title game of Big League World Series. More

T.O. comes up short in title game
After D.J. Smith (Royal of Simi Valley), Eric Guillen (Thousand Oaks) and David Fonseca (Thousand Oaks) each drove in runs with hits in the top of the first inning, it looked like Thousand Oaks was on its way to defeating South Carolina District 1 in the championship game of the Big Little World Series. More

–––––– Day 7 ––––––

SC Host second baseman J.D. Burgess throws a runner out while on his knees during the Big League World Series semifinal game against Latin America in Easley, SC Friday. SC District 1 defeated Venezuela 7-5 in one of the best-come-from-behind win in BLWS history. (Photo provided by Conrad LaRosa)

Host team comes back to top Venezuela
Big League World Series officials should consider putting buckets near the exits at the J.B. "Red" Owens Recreation Complex, just for special occasions like Friday night. More

West takes extra innings to top Florida
Clichés become clichés because there is a good bit of truth behind them. We've all heard people say that "neither team deserved to lose" a certain game, but few have actually seen such a situation. More

T.O. zeroes in on win
Smith pitches four-hit shutout to lead All-Stars to victory over Florida and into title game of Big League World Series. More

–––––– Day 6 ––––––

Venezuela's Jesus Caldera celebrates after smacking a three-run home run against US East during the Big League World Series in Easley, SC Thursday. Photo Gallery (Photo provided by Conrad LaRosa)

Latin America rolls past U.S. East, 11-3
Somebody forgot to give the players for the Latin American team the memo that said Saturday afternoon's game didn't mean anything. More

Southeast finishes pool play with perfect record
There didn't seem to be too much rust after the U.S. Southeast took two days off from the Big League World Series. More

Late runs lead California into semifinals
With the West trailing the Southwest 3-1 going into the final two innings, the fans from Thousand Oaks, Calif., were looking for a real nail-biter. More

T.O. adds drama to win
Ed Kitchen has seen his Thousand Oaks Big League baseball team stage more than its share of comebacks, but that doesn't mean he was overjoyed by his team's 3-1 deficit entering the sixth inning of Thursday night's Big League World Series game against Mississippi. More

New Castle County ousted with loss to Latin America
The New Castle County All-Stars were knocked out of the Big League World Series on Thursday, falling to the Latin American representatives from Maracaibo, Venezuela 11-3. More

Easley welcomes the world with open mitts
After an 11-hours bus ride and a two-day airport adventure through Puerto Rico, Miami and Dallas, the Venezuelan baseball team arrived in Easley a week ago, weary but ready to compete in the Big League World Series. More

–––––– Day 5 ––––––

S.C. District One's Pitts no-hits Guam
In just 28 at-bats, the players for the host team S.C. District One slapped out 13 hits and scored 10 runs. More

U.S. Central sends EMEA home winless
For the U.S. Central team, hailing from Chicago, Ill., the pressure of the 2005 Big League World Series pretty much evaporated after an emotional loss to the host team Tuesday night. More

Southwest tops Canada for first win
The Southwest team from Biloxi, Miss., came into the Big League World Series and suffered a loss on each of the first two days.
Worse yet, the schedule dictated that the team would have to wait three days after its last loss before going back to the field to find revenge. More

Big deal for Crusaders at Little League championships
It was David vs. Goliath ... and it shouldn't have been close. More

–––––– Day 4 ––––––

Asia/Pacific Neil Gabhard pitching a complete game against EMEA and giving up just three hits as Guam defeated Poland 6-3. Photo Gallery (Photo by Conrad LaRosa)

Asia-Pacific picks up win over EMEA
Let's face it. Up until Tuesday, the Big League World Series had been little fun for the teams from Guam and Poland. More

Latin America clinches Pool B crown
With the big show on the small field, most people thought that Tuesday afternoon's game between unbeatens Latin America and the U.S. West would be a replay of Friday night's home run derby. More

Host team bounces back with 5-3 win
S.C. District One bought into that theory, bouncing back from Sunday night's 4-1 loss to Southeast with a 5-3 victory over Central Tuesday night. More

T.O. hit with loss
Thousand Oaks' title-winning aspirations in the Big League World Series took a hit Tuesday evening. More

–––––– Day 3 ––––––

West sets up showdown with 11-1 win
The West set the tone for the game in the top of the first inning, and the first two batters David Fonseca and Phil Boscarino each hit solo home runs. More

California beats New Castle County
New Castle County fell into a quick, deep hole in their game against the Big League World Series West representatives from Thousand Oaks, Calif., Monday, falling behind 4-0 after the first inning. More

T.O. wins second in Series
Eric Blackwell provided the offense and D.J. Smith was solid on the mound for Thousand Oaks Little League's Big League baseball team Monday in an 11-1 romp over Dover (Del.) in a Big League World Series pool-play game in Easley, S.C. More

Latin America pounds Canada 12-2
Monday was "statement day" teams in Pool B, as two once-beaten teams took on two teams who had won the only game they had played so far in the tournament. More

Southeast clinches spot in semi-finals
One of the four spots in the semifinals has now been spoken for.
Batters for the Southeast rattled off 10 hits, including three home runs, as Florida defeated EMEA 11-2 Friday afternoon. More

T.O. uses secret weapon in rout
Eric Blackwell, who manager Ed Kitchen describes as having "flown under the Division I radar," is flying high at the Big League World Series. More

California seek championships
New Castle County fell into a quick, deep hole in their game against the Big League World Series West representatives from Thousand Oaks, Calif., Monday, falling behind 4-0 after the first inning. More

–––––– Day 2 ––––––

A member of the South team celebrates after scoring against the defending world series champions US SC Dist. 1. South defeated the host team 4-1. Photo Gallery (Photo by Conrad LaRosa)

Rogers ends host team's winning streak
Sunday night, Florida representing the Southeast ended the host team's two-year-plus winning streak in the Big League World Series. More

Latin America takes 9-1 win over Southwest
The natural reaction when a sports fan sees a 9-1 score is to think, "What a blowout." More

Central unloads bats on Asia/Pacific, 13-4
Saturday was a miserable day for the U.S. Central team, and it wasn't just because of the weather. More

Canada tops U.S. East in extra innings
The team from Ontario, Canada is not one that believes in giving up after a setback. More

Canada tops New Castle in 9th Delaware team 1-1 in pool play
On a hot, muggy afternoon, the New Castle County All-Stars were confident going into their second game of the Big League World Series. More

–––––– Day 1 ––––––

Host team opens with win over EMEA
With only a few players returning from last year's S.C. District One host team that won the Big League World Series, there are not many familiar faces in the lineup. More

Home runs key East's 5-3 win over Southwest
A shower Saturday morning caused a substantial rain delay in the first game of the day. Since all of the games were scheduled back-to-back, any delay in an early game automatically set the schedule back for the remaining games of the day. More

U.S. West guns down Canada, 7-2
Thousand Oaks, Calif., is not exactly the "Old West," but the area is known for its "guns." More

T.O. has winning combination
Chris Auten stole the show Friday night, winning the Big League World Series' version of "Home Run Derby" during fun and games on the eve of the tournament. On Saturday afternoon, Auten surrendered the spotlight to Eric Blackwell, who went 3 for 3 with a two-run home run to power Thousand Oaks to a 7-2 opening-round victory over Canada. More

Rain doesn't cool U.S. Southeast bats
Our out-of-town visitors do not realize it, but many of the local folks welcomed Saturday's cool rain after a week of near-record high temperatures. More

Bryson stars in Del. victory Pitcher overcomes jams, injury in opener
One rain shower. One local dance squad. Three paratroopers. Five countries. More

–––––– July 2005 ––––––

New Castle Co. baseball team takes on world
District II, representing the U.S. East region, will play the Southwest champion (Biloxi, Miss.) in the World Series at the J.B. “Red” Owens Recreation Complex at 3:30 today. Big League Baseball is Little League Inc.’s division for 16- to 18-year-olds. More

District 12's focus on winning it all
When it finally came time to play at regionals last weekend, the District 12 Big League All-Stars had no trouble proving they belonged. More

New Castle County win, heading to World Series
The District II All-Stars from New Castle County found out just how much it costs for an airplane ticket to the Big League World Series in Easley, S.C. -- seven buckets of ice water, three gallons of sweat and an unlimited amount of determination. More

T.O. Big League All-Stars win region
Eric Blackwell hit a two-run homer in an eight-run fourth inning and the Thousand Oaks Big League 16-18-year-old All-Stars held on to win the West Region championship 10-7 over Milpitas at American River College in Sacramento. More

District I falls short in tourney
Heading up against Delaware's District II, Kent County's District I Big League baseball squad was on the cusp of taking its first Eastern Regional tournament since 1999. More

BLWS File Photo

All-Star focuses on baseball as Big League District 9 advances
Last year's team reached the Big League World Series in Easley, S.C., for the first time since the early 1990s. Only one of those players, Andy Borek, is back on this year's squad, so he has been fielding plenty of questions from the other players. More

Gamblers punch their ticket to South Carolina
The Gamblers won four straight games to earn a trip to the Big League World Series, which starts Saturday in Easley, S.C. More

Thousand Oaks Big League stars reach title game
Thousand Oaks will play in today's 5 p.m. championship game with the winner advancing to the Big League World Series beginning Saturday in Easley, S.C., and running through Aug. 6. More

Kent all-stars face New Castle team in regional finals
The Gamblers advance to the Big League World Series, which begins Saturday in Easley, S.C. The team leaves for South Carolina on Thursday. More

Gamblers baseball team wins regional, heads to World Series
The Gamblers advance to the Big League World Series, which begins Saturday in Easley, S.C. The team leaves for South Carolina on Thursday. More

District 9 falls to Illinois in tournament opener
The Michigan District 9 Big League baseball team may have seen a preview of the Central States regional championship game play out Friday night at Pinery Park. More

T.O. Big League All-Stars getting hot at right time
Thousand Oaks swept four straight games at Norco Little League to capture the California Division 3 All-Star Tournament championship with a 3-0 victory Thursday night over Orangecrest of Riverside. More

District 9 begins quest for World Series
The District 9 Big League baseball team's quest to reach its second consecutive World Series. More

District 1 set for regional
Turner, who is coaching the District I team, hopes he can help his players obtain some of the same memories as the Eastern Regional commences today. More

T.O. making another run at Big League World Series
Thousand Oaks is seeking to return to the Big League World Series in Easley, S.C. More

Guam 1st to advance to the Big League World Series
In the late game, Mateo Matanane went the distance to lift Guam to a 5-3 win over the CNMI in the 2005 Asia-Pacific Big League Regional Tournament final. More

Guam advance to finals
The pressure was on from the start, but Guam responded and scored enough runs to advance to the 2005 Asia-Pacific Big League Regional Tournament title game. More

Big League has big reason to succeed
Three squads of Saipan's boys will board the ferry in Puerto Rico this morning destined for the shores of Tinian to take the next step of their journey to the Little League World Series in cities across the mainland, but none have more to prove than this year's Big Leaguers. More