Meet the eight state champions that played in the
2009 Little League Baseball Southeastern Regional

ALABAMA - Jackson Little League (Jackson, AL)
FLORIDA - Rockledge Little League (Rockledge, FL)
GEORGIA - Warner Robins American Little League (Warner Robins, GA)
NORTH CAROLINA - Coulwood Oakdale Little League (Charlotte, NC)
SOUTH CAROLINA - Greenwood Abbeville Little League (Greenwood, SC)
TENNESSEE - Tullahoma National Little League (Tullahoma, TN)
VIRGINIA - Chantilly American Little League (Chantilly, VA)
WEST VIRGINIA - Hurricane Little League (Hurricane, WV)

Georgia Wins 2009 Southeastern Regional Tournament

On December 8, 2008, Stephen D. Keener, President and Chief Executive Officer of Little League Baseball and Softball, announced that the 2009 Little League Southeast Regional Tournaments in baseball and softball will be played at Mitch Stadium in Ceredo-Kenova, WV. 

Since 1967, the Little League Baseball Southern (later Southeastern) Region Tournament had been held at the Regional Headquarters in St. Petersburg, Fla.  The former Regional Headquarters was sold to the local school board, and Warner Robins, GA was selected as the new site for the Southeastern Regional Headquarters and will annually host the regional tournaments starting in 2010.  While the new facility in Warner Robins was being prepared, Mitch Stadium served as host for the regional tournament in 2009.

However, the team from Warner Robins laid claim to the regional tournament one year early, defeating Chantilly American Little League of Virginia, 6-3, in a contest that aired in primetime Friday night on ESPN.  Warner Robins American won both the baseball and softball regionals - a historic first in Little League History.  This group of players from Warner Robins also won the 2007 Tournament of State Champions at Mitch Stadium - by a similar 6-3 score in the championship.

Teams arrived on Friday evening and were greeted with a message from two-time World Series champion and Gold Glove winner Doug Flynn.  After a parade through both Ceredo and Kenova, teams gathered for food and a pool party at Dreamland Pool.  On Saturday morning, the Opening Ceremonies included the introduction of all the teams, and all mothers in attendance were acknowledged for all the work that they do and were presented roses by the children.  The Ceredo-Kenova Alumni Band performed a live rendition of the national anthem and other baseball songs.

On the first day of pool play, Brady Smith notched the first home run of the tournament in the second inning and South Carolina would tack on an insurance run in the fourth inning to blank Tennessee, 2-0. The two runs were all that South Carolina pitcher Noah Hinzman would need, pitching 4 2/3 innings and allowing only three hits to collect the win. In the second game, Florida's Ryan Hinz was dominant on the mound, finishing with 15 strikeouts in a complete-game, four-hit shutout against Alabama. Florida broke the game open in the fourth inning with four runs during a two-out rally. A two-run single by Austin Dennis in fourth pushed the Florida lead to four before an Alabama throwing error allowed two more runs to score, making it 6-0.

Warner Robins smacked eight total home runs (seven to the opposite field) in a 17-0 victory over North Carolina. Seven of nine starters smacked home runs in the win, with Conner Smith leading the way going 3-for-4 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI's. In the nightcap, Virginia jumped out to a quick 4-0 advantage on West Virginia in the first inning after a pair two-run homeruns, including a shot from Eason Recto that ricocheted off the centerfield scoreboard. West Virginia's Henry Sorsaia hit a three-run home run in the third inning to make it a 5-3 ballgame. Grant Bain's RBI single in the fifth was the difference as Tate Brock added a two-run shot for West Virginia to set the final score at 6-5.

Sunday was the warmest day of the year in the Ceredo-Kenova area, but the pitching performances were just as hot as the day included a combined no-hitter, two complete game shutouts, and one of the best pitching duels in Little League history.

Georgia opened up day two of pool play by shutting down Florida, 12-2. Five Warner Robins pitchers combined to no-hit Florida in a game shortened to four innings. Georgia's Justin Jones and Black Jackson each homered from the top two spots in the batting order. West Virginia's J.T. Rogoszewski tossed a complete game and earned the win against South Carolina, 4-2. Trey Dawson's fourth inning homerun and Bear Bellomy's RBI single in the fifth provided the insurance runs that West Virginia would need to take the victory.

Virgina's Easton Recto and Tennessee's Justus Sheffield treated the Mitch Stadium crowd to a memorable pitching duel. With both aces throwing in the mid-70's, they combined for 30 strikeouts and matched each other pitch for pitch. Tennessee missed converting some scoring opportunities throughout the game, but Virginia took full advantage of those missed chances with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. With a runner in scoring position, Grant Bain lifted a 1-2 offspeed pitch low in the zone to left field, but the leftfielder took a couple of steps in and tried to recover but lost his footing, allowing the winning run to score and giving Virginia the 1-0 hard-fought victory.

In the nightcap of Day 2, Alabama's Christopher Taylor did the work at the plate with an RBI single in the first and a solo home run in the third, and Daniel Smith did the work on the mound as he tossed a four-hit complete game shutout in a 2-0 victory over North Carolina. At the conclusion of Day 2 of pool play, every team still had an opportunity to advance to the semifinals or to be sent home based on Day 3 results.

Virginia finished pool play undefeated with a 7-4 victory over South Carolina. Aaron Osborne, Matthew Hogle, and Alex Tsai had two RBI's each to pace Virginia. Jacob Childress and Jonathan Wright each homered for South Carolina. North Carolina had to hold off the rain and a bottom of the sixth Florida rally for the 5-4 victory. Back-to-back homers by Mitchell Nowicki and Tim Thompson in the fourth inning helped North Carolina build a 5-1 lead. After a 20 minute rain delay, Florida rallied in the bottom of the sixth inning with three runs. Ryan Hinz hit an RBI single and Tommy Varecka had a run-scoring sacrifice fly. With the tying run on third base with one out, North Carolina's Kendon McLaurin pitched out of the jam and earned the save. Georgia would score 5 runs in the top of the first and add another in the second, but a heavy rain storm in the bottom of the second would force the suspension of the game to be resumed the following afternoon.

Georgia resumed their stellar pitching and shut down Alabama for the 9-0 victory to finish pool play undefeated. Despite the loss, Alabama would still advance to the semifinals by virtue of the run ratio to break the three-way tie at 1-2 with Florida and North Carolina. The final game of pool play saw Tennessee jump out to a quick 3-0 lead thanks to a three-run home run by Justus Sheffield. Tullahoma would add an insurance run in the third before West Virginia tied the game thanks to a pair of two-run home runs by Tate Brock and J.T. Rogoszewski. Tennessee pushed the go-ahead run across the plate when Sheffield scored on James Daugherty's sacrifice fly to center field in the fifth. West Virginia would have to deep fly balls caught at the wall, but Tennessee held on to the victory and would advance to the semifinals.

In the first consolation game, Florida's Ryan Hinz blasted two of the hardest home runs hit in the tournament while striking out 11 of 12 batters and tossing a no-hitter in a 10-0 four-inning win over West Virginia. Varecka went 2-for-3 with a home run for Florida. In the final consolation matchup, North Carolina scored three runs in the first inning and added insurance runs in the fourth and sixth innings. Trailing 5-0, South Carolina scored six runs in the bottom of the sixth — the final two coming on an 0-2 single off the wall by Cagney Butler — to earn a 6-5 win in the final consolation matchup.

Warner Robins American Little League of Georgia defeated Chantilly American Little League of Virginia, 6-3, in a contest that aired in primetime Friday night on ESPN.  This group of players from Warner Robins- who also won the 2007 Tournament of State Champions at Mitch Stadium - will now advance to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA.