Chinese Taipei; Vancouver, British Columbia; New Castle, Ind.; Kearney, Neb.; Willemstad, Curacao; Fairfield, Conn.; Tokyo, Japan; San Antonio, Texas; Aguadulce, Panama; Goodlettsville, Tenn; Lugazi, Uganda; Petaluma, Calif.; Ramstein, Germany; Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas; Gresham, Oregon... and PARSIPPANY, NEW JERSEY.



These are the 16 teams in the world that will participate in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., from Aug. 16-26.



The team from Par-Troy East became the 16th and final entrant by defeating Delaware 1-0 on Sunday to win the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship in Bristol, Conn.



However, the Par-Troy East players and coaches were winners even before they stepped onto the field on Sunday.

Prior to the game, the Mid-Atlantic Region awarded the Par-Troy East team a prestigious award given to the team that best demonstrates sportsmanship throughout the regional tournament. The coaches and parents of these players have instilled in the boys that showing respect to their teammates and to their opponents is the highest calling of an athlete.

Manager Mike Ruggiero was presented with a crystal award prior to the game. Congratulations to the players, the coaches and the parents for this well-deserved recognition.



On the field, the boys earned their spot in Williamsport. They defeated a Delaware team that was the top seed in the region, a team that had participated in the Mid-Atlantic Regional just last year.

The Delaware pitchers gave up a total of six runs through their first six games, so the Par-Troy East boys knew they had their work cut out for them.



This was a pitchers' duel between Clayton Hansen (Delaware) and Emil Matti (Par-Troy East). These pitchers allowed just five hits combined during the game. Matti did not allow a runner to advance past second base. Both teams played stellar defense throughout the game with Bener Uygun (shortstop), Emil Matti (pitcher) and David Ton (third base) making several excellent defensive plays to thwart Delaware. But the game came down to a home run in the fourth inning. With the score tied 0-0, Bener Uygun stepped to the plate and saw a hanging curveball from Hansen. He ripped a high shot about 20 feet over the left field fence to give the boys from Par-Troy East a 1-0 lead. Uygun knew he had put one out while still in the batter's box as he raised his arm in victory just as he dropped the bat while heading to first base. His teammates mobbed him at home plate in celebration of the home run.



From there, Matti made sure the lead held up. He shut down the Delaware lineup 1-2-3 in the fifth inning. He then retired the first two Delaware batters in the sixth inning.