Emilia Romagna Little League (Bologna, Italy) will compete in the 75th Anniversary of the Little League Baseball® World Series next month after defeating South Czech Republic Little League, 4-1, in the Europe and Africa Region Championship. After narrowly falling to the team from Czech Republic, 1-0, earlier in the Region Tournament, Emilia Romagna LL was able to rebound in the championship game and clinch Italy’s sixth trip to Williamsport with a 4-1 overall record in the event.
In their first game of the tournament, Emilia Romagna LL had the opportunity to play against the team out of the Ukraine, who were granted permission by the Little League® International Tournament Committee to participate in the event despite not having a regular season due to the ongoing war. Following the game, the two teams joined together for a picture and created memories throughout the tournament that would last a lifetime.
With the win, Emilia Romagna LL has now earned five out of Italy’s six appearances in the LLBWS and has represented the Region in all but one event since 2016. Emilia Romagna LL most recently played in the 2019 LLBWS with a team that featured four players under 12 years old, including two ten-year-olds, the youngest players in the entire tournament.
The league from Bologna, Italy, swept the Europe and Africa Region in the Little League Division this year, as the baseball team joins the Emilia Romagna softball squad that recently punched their ticket to the Little League Softball® World Series in Greenville, North Carolina.
Emilia Romagna Little League will square off against the Asia-Pacific Region winners, Fu-Lin Little League (Taipei City, Chinese Taipei), in Game 5 of the LLBWS on Thursday, August 18, at 1 p.m. ET in Volunteer Stadium.
The 75th Anniversary celebration of the LLBWS will continue through August leading up to this year’s World Series. More information about the 2022 Little League World Series tournaments, including full schedules and downloadable brackets, can be found at LittleLeague.org/WorldSeries.