July 27, 2010

New pools and new schedule for ’10 series

The standings board will take on a different look for the 2010 series.

A few teams will be on the move when the 2010 Senior League Baseball World Series gets under way on Aug. 15. Asia-Pacific will be moving from Pool A to Pool B, with Europe-Middle East-Africa moving from Pool B to Pool A to take its place. In addition, U.S. Southeast and U.S. West will be joining Asia-Pacific in Pool B after eight years in Pool A. U.S. East and U.S. Southwest, which have been in Pool B for eight years, will move to Pool A.

Maine District 3 and Canada will remain in Pool A, where they have been ever since the series moved to Bangor in 2002. Latin America and U.S. Central will remain in Pool B, where they have been since 2002.

For EMEA and Asia-Pacific, the pool swap will be a homecoming of sort, as EMEA was in Pool A in 2002 and 2003 while Asia-Pacific was in Pool B.

“I’ll be honest and say that I did keep Maine and Canada in the same pool because I like that opening day match-up,” Tournament Director Mike Brooker says. “I think it draws a lot of interest into the World Series, and it’s just a good thing, Maine vs. Canada.”

As they have since 2005, Maine District 3 and Canada will open series play, with the first pitch set for noon on Aug. 15. From 2002 through 2004, the two teams didn’t play until 8 p.m. on opening day.

Another major change in this year’s schedule will be the starting time for the championship game. For the last three years, the game has begun at 3 p.m. This year, the game will begin at noon, kicking off ESPNU’s live coverage of World Series championships for the Senior and Junior divisions of baseball and softball.

2010 Senior League Baseball World Series schedule