The rains cleared in the morning, and the Hoboken Pioneers’ grounds crew wiped water and dried the earth for baseball, and the 2011 Belgian Little League Championships were underway.

In game 1, Wallonia defeated Brussels 11-6.
Benjamin Goffiaux and Johan Jordens each had two hits to lead the Blue Devils. Like other teams on Friday, Wallonia chose to share its pitching duties by committee, so it would have its forces all available for Saturday. (Little League rules allow pitchers to throw back-to-back days if they keep their pitch counts under 21.)
Brussels took a big lead by scoring five in the second, keyed around Gwen Rybowski’s three-run homer over the leftfielder’s head. At 11, Rybowski is one of the youngest players at the tournament, and one of only a few girls. But she hammered a high fastball, and dove home headfirst with the first round-tripper of the day.
Brendan Roach was the other offensive star for Brussels, going two for three with a run scored.
Both teams struggled to find the plate. Brussels walked eight, and Wallonia seven.
Last year, Wallonia also defeated Brussels to finish third overall.

After a smooth opening ceremony, it was time for the Flemish darby.
And Flanders West took revenge for last year’s defeat in the championship game by running away with a 17-6 triumph.
Lucas Rizzi led the Flanders West attack with a 4-for-5 performance, scoring four runs. His teammate Hendrik Verspecht also scored four runs, and notched three hits and a walk.
On the other side, Jordy Steur had a big two-run double in the fifth to get Flanders East back into the game after they had trailed 6-1 for most of the game.
Control was again a problem in this game, Flanders East walked 11 and Flanders West walked seven.
Going into the sixth, the score was tied 6-6. But the first seven batters for Flanders West all reached base and scored, leading to an 11-run inning to put the game away.
Both teams also ran pitchers by committee. Brendan Verspreet of Flanders West stood out by striking out the first four batters of the game, before being removed.

The tournament picks up again Saturday, with Flanders East-Brussels at 9am, Flanders West-Brussels at noon, Flanders East-Wallonia at 3pm, and Flanders West-Wallonia at 6pm.

Flanders East 7 – Brussels 4
In the first game, on Saturday morning, Flanders East edged out Brussels, 7-4. Kantaro Ryelandt-Fujino and three Flemish pitchers hooked up in a pitcher’s duel after each giving up four runs in the first two innings.
For Flanders East, Celine Janssens homered, and Sam Van Nuffel and Van Den Brande each singled and scored. Brendan Roach tripled for Brussels in the first. Then, in the second, the capital city team put together a rally with three singles and two walks. Ryota Tanahashi, Theodore Rusch and Roach paced the attack with hits.
But after that, Janssens came on and shutting out Brussels through three innings and striking out seven. Jordy Steur led Flanders East to victory, doubling in runs in the third and the fifth inning, for three RBIs, and the win.

Flanders West 21 – Brussels 4
At noon, Flanders West blew by Brussels 21-4. Damien Todd continued his exceptional tournament performance with three hits and four runs scored. Lucas Rizzi had three hits, two walks and five runs scored.
Gregg Mareels, Brendan Verspreet, Quinten Huttener and Gavin Raets each pitched an inning for Flanders West.
For Brussels, Ryota Tanahashi and Gwen Rybowski hit their way on. Rybowski was again the offensive star, doubling in the third after she had homered on Friday.

Flanders East 18 – Wallonia 5
In the afternoon contest, Flanders East beat Wallonia 18-5, thanks to a 15-run fourth inning as Wallonia ran out of pitching and walked 10 batters in the inning.
Hudson Winslow had a day, with four hits and three runs scored. Drew Janssen had two hits, including a homerun, and three runs scored to lead the East attack.
Wallonia scored four in the third to briefly take the lead. Loris Locquet and Martin Migeot each tripled. Yanni Lamotte, Benjamin Goffaux and Leo Cruppi also had hits.

Flanders West 25 – Wallonia 2
In the finale, Flanders West rolled over a pitching-deplenished Wallonia, 25-2.
Damien Todd led the attack, hitting for the cycle with two triples. He was thrown out at the plate in a dramatic play featuring a leaping, diving tag by Wallonia catcher Martin Nikolay.
Hendrik Verspecht was the other star, hurling a complete game victory and going four-for-five with two doubles, two homeruns and four runs scored. Xander Verspreet had four walks and three runs scored.
Benjamin Goffaux, Johan Jordens and Maxime Pourtois had hits for the French-speakers.
The victory prevented Wallonia from advancing to the final on Sunday, putting the two Flemish teams once again in the championship game.

Flanders West Captures First-Ever Belgian Championship

In Hoboken, home of the Pioneers, Flanders West beat Flanders East 11-4 in the finals to capture the 2011 Belgium Little League Championships. It was revenge for last year, when East captured the title by triumphing over West in the final in Merksem.
Lucas Rizzi led the attack with a two-run triple in the third inning and the West rolled from there. East was one strike away from going down on mercy rule in the fifth, trailing 11-0. But it rallied with two homeruns, including a three-run shot by Yann Van Den Brande.
Gregg Mareels and Damien Todd handled the pitching duties for the victorious West.
After the final out, the winning team ran around the field to the tune of We Are The Champions.
Overall, it was another great tournament for the Belgian Little League.

Full Tournament Results:

Friday, July 1
Wallonia 11 – Brussels 6
Flanders West 17 – Flanders East 6

Saturday, July 2
Flanders East 7 – Brussels 4
Flanders West 21 – Brussels 4
Flanders East 18 – Wallonia 4
Flanders West 25 – Wallonia 2

Round-Robin Standings:
Flanders West 3-0
Flanders East 2-1
Wallonia 1-2
Brussels 0-3

Sunday, July 3
Championship Game
Flanders West 11 – Flanders East 4

CHAMPION: Flanders West

Pictures