Take me out to the ball games

The District III Little League All-Star tournaments are well under way. The Pat Knight competition got swinging this week. And three All-Star tournaments had already reached a conclusion as of Coastal Point’s press deadline on Wednesday, July 18.

Coastal Point • R. Chris Clark
Chase Hall plows through the catcher as the ball arrives near homeplate.

Last Friday, the 9- and 10-year-old Baseball All-Star tournament saw a hard-fought battle between Woodbridge and Lower Sussex end at 7-6, with Woodbridge taking the crown. Lower Sussex’s 9-10 team was bested by Woodbridge in the opening round but strung together five straight wins to face them in a rematch for a shot at the title. Woodbridge went undefeated in the tournament.

For the girls’ 9-10 softball tournament, Laurel bested Nanticoke twice in the double-elimination tournament to take the championship.

The Major League All-Star softball tournament saw Cape Henlopen Little League take down Laurel for the crown earlier this month. They then advanced to the 2012 Delaware State All-Star Major Softball tournament, which they proceeded to win, over District 1 champs MOT and District 2 victors Canal.

The Cape Major League Softball team will represent Delaware this weekend in Bristol, Conn., as they kick off the Eastern Regional tournament in hopes of going to the Little League Softball World Series, hosted in Portland, Ore.

Back in Delaware, the Millsboro/Georgetown team was one win away from the Junior League All-Star softball title this past Wednesday as they faced Nanticoke, while action was just getting started in the third day of the Junior League Baseball All-Stars.

The Major League All-Star baseball tourney will crown a champion this weekend, as undefeated teams Millsboro and Lewes were scheduled to square off on Thursday, July 19, in the quarterfinals.

The Senior League All-Star baseball tournament saw an early exit for Lower Sussex, as action continued through this week for Cape, Georgetown, Woodbridge, Nanticoke, Laurel and Millsboro.

The 9-10 Lower Sussex Pat Knight baseball team is leading the way, though, going 3-0 against opponents in the opening days of their tournament, allowing only two runs and three hits in their first three games.

The 9-10 Pat Knight team from Lower Sussex Little League is hoping to make it back-to-back seasons taking home the first-place spot, after doing so last year, along with an undefeated tournament record. They were scheduled to face Millsboro on Wednesday, July 18, and were set to face off against Nanticoke at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 19, against Laurel at 8 p.m. on Friday, July 20, and against Milton at 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 21.

All games for the 9-10 Pat Knight tournament are held at the Georgetown Little League fields. The 9-10 Pat Knight Championship game will be held at 7 p.m. on Sunday, July 22 in Georgetown.

In other Pat Knight competition, Lewes scooped up the title for the 11-12 baseball tournament, and Nanticoke took top honors in the Junior league division. The Pat Knight softball tournaments for 9-10 and 11-12 will begin on Aug. 5 and 6, respectively. For more information about the District III All-Star and Pat Knight tournaments, as well as State All-Star competition, visit www.dedistrict3.org.