August 13, 2010

Field of 10 finally set for the 50th Senior League World Series

Volunteers working hard to make last-minute preparations

Shadows encroach upon the Mansfield Stadium turf while a groundskeeper mows the outfield Wednesday.

Several thousand Senior League Baseball teams began the tournament season almost two months ago with the dream of making the trip to Bangor to play in the Senior League World Series. Now, with the last two regional champions having been crowned Thursday, the final 10 teams that will play for the world title are set.

Thursday’s winners were South Vineland L.L., from Vineland, N.J., in the U.S. East regional and East Park L.L., from Edmonton, Alberta, in the Canadian national championship. On Wednesday, Palm Bay East L.L., from Palm Bay, Fla. (U.S. Southeast), Holmes County L.L., from Holmes County, Ohio (U.S. Central), and defending World Series champ West University L.L., from Houston, Texas (U.S. Southwest), won their regionals.

Manhattan Beach L.L., of Manhattan Beach, Calif., won the U.S. West regional Tuesday.

The five U.S. regional winners and Canadian national champion join World Series host Bangor East/West L.L., of Bangor, Latin America champ Aruba South L.L., of San Nicolas, Aruba, Europe-Middle East-Africa champ Lazio L.L., of Lazio, Italy, and Asia-Pacific winner Saipan L.L., of Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

For Aruba South and South Vineland, this year’s series will be a chance to improve upon their performances in last year’s series, in which Aruba South went 3-1 in pool play before losing in the semifinals. South Vineland, making its fourth appearance in Bangor, finished 2-2 last year – the same record the league had in both its 2002 and 2003 appearances.

For West University, this year’s series is a chance to do what no other team has done in a Bangor World Series: win consecutive titles. 2006 series champ Paraguana L.L., of Falcon, Venezuela, came the closest to winning, advancing to the 2007 title game, where it lost to Cartersville L.L., of Cartersville, Ga.

While the U.S. regionals were wrapping up, volunteers were busy touching up Mansfield Stadium, applying fresh coats of paint, setting up concessions, putting out souvenirs, and grooming the field. Away from the field, the bulk of the souvenir program was running off the press. The team and umpire pages will run early Sunday morning.

Teams began arriving in Bangor Thursday night, beginning with Aruba. Preparations will continue throughout today and culminate with a last-minute push Saturday to get all of the teams photographed for the program.