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 | ||
The 2011 Little League World Series took place in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania between August 18 and 28. 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.
Contents
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.
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.
Teams
Of the 16 teams, 11 made their first LLWS appearance. Most notable among these is 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.
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 game were labeled Game A and Game B.
World Championship
The consolation game was cancelled due to the expected arrival of Hurricane Irene.
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. Reportedly, the visas were denied because some players provided false information, specifically related to their ages. The runner-up, Saudi Arabia, was invited to the Little League World Series in their spot.
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), and Billings Big Sky LL (from Montana).