Day 1 Highlights:

Flanders got off to a great start in the first 4-team Belgian Little League Championships.

With two convincing wins, it showed that, for now, it appears that the best youth baseball in the country remains in Antwerp.
It was a day pf pageantry. U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Faucher made a speech and threw out the first pitch. One of the first baseball games in the 19th century, he pointed out, "was played in Hoboken, New Jersey, which gets its name from Hoboken, Belgium." The four teams marched in a parade. Kids from each said the Little League pledge, each in his own language.

In the afternoon opener, Flanders West beat Wallonia 16-3. The latter was handicapped by two kids who were blocked by traffic from making the game. Damien Sadki Todd went 2-for-2 with a walk and scored twice. Flanders West used four pitchers, saving arms for the two games on Saturday.

In the nightcap, it was Flanders East powering its way to a 10-0 win over Brussels. Celine Janssens set the tone by striking out the side in the first inning. Celine was also the star at the plate, going 3-for-3 with 3 runs scored. Flanders East employed the same pitching strategy as its sister team, conserving wings for the weekend.

The teams are competing for the right to represent Belgium in the 2010 European Little League championships in Kutno, Poland. The winner of that tournament will play in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

J.M.

Day 1 Picture Gallery (Pictures courtesy of http://www.event-pics.be/)

Day 1 Video Footage

Day 2 Highlights:

Flanders will be sending its first ever team to Little League's European headquarters in Kutno, Poland, after the two Flanders teams dominated Day 2 of the Belgian Little League championships.
 
Flanders East (3-0) and Flanders West (2-1) captured first and second place and will now play in the championship game Sunday at 3 p.m.
 
On a balmy morning in this port city, Flanders West rallied for 9 runs in the 5th to defeat Brussels, 11-7.
 
Damien Sadki Todd and Iwaki Maegawa battled into the 5th. Maegawa fanned 9 and gave up only 4 hits. Sadki Todd struck out 6 and gave up only 3 hits. Brussels scored 3 in the 3rd on three walks and big singles from Emilien Staf and Maegawa.
 
Going into the 5th, Brussels led 3-2. Staf came on to pitch and threw strikes, but a couple Brussels errors ignited a rally. Flanders West benefitted from 5 walks in the inning and finished with 7 runs.
 
Brussels rallied in the top of the 6th, scoring 4 runs on 5 walks, a hit and a catcher's interference with the bases loaded.
 
Wallonia kept its championship hopes alive with a crisp 10-0 dismissal of Brussels. Cyprien Dussenne threw 4 shutout innings, striking out 9 and allowing only 3 hits. Benjamin Goffaux led the Wallonia attack with 4 hits in 4 at-bats, and 3 runs scored. It marked the end of a disappointing 0-3 tournament for Brussels, which sent 2 teams to the World Series in the past decade.
 
In the battle of the Flanders, East scored 8 runs in the 5th to beat their West-side rivals 16-5. Ashley Thys scored three times to lead East on offence. Jordy Van Nuland sealed the win with three strong innings for the East. He struck out 4 while throwing only 30 pitches.
 
In the nightcap, Flanders East sealed its spot in the final with a 20-17 win over Wallonia. The game was stopped by lighting and thunder with two outs in the bottom of the sixth.
 
Wallonia finished third in the tournament and Brussels fourth.

Day 2 Picture Gallery (Pictures courtesy of http://www.event-pics.be/)

Day 3 Highlights:

In the battle of the Flanders, it was East taking the first set of what is sure to be a big rivalry in the years to come.
 
On another spectacular day, over 150 people came out to watch the championship game.
 
Celine Janssens worked into the 3d, throwing 52 pitchers, before turning the ball over to Rob Lewis. The big righty shut down a scrappy West team to send East to the European championships. The final score was 15-6. After the last out, the kids stormed the field to the tune of "We Are The Champions."
 
It was a fitting finish to a splendid weekend of baseball that saw Little League return to Belgium. The country didn't send any teams to any European championships in 2009. This year, for the first time in memory, the entire country is set up so that every kid and every region has a chance to participate.
 
The Merksem Greys proved a great choice to host the first-ever tournament. It will move to another location next year.
 
Now Flanders East moves on to the European Championships in Kutno, Poland, July 27 to August 4.

Day 3 Picture Gallery (Pictures courtesy of http://www.event-pics.be/)