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Sports

District II Little League Tournament Gets Under Way Saturday

Two Fairfield teams -- National and American - competing for spot in state sectionals

For Little League players throughout Connecticut, the summer-long journey to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania begins with the District tournaments.

The state is broken up into 11 districts, and every one conducts a tournament that runs through mid-July.

This is but the first step on the road to Williamsport. The 11 district champions advance to one of two Connecticut sectional tournaments. The sectional winners than clash in a two-out-of-three series to determine the state champion,

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The next tier of playoffs is the New England Regional, which takes places annually at the Bart Giamatti Little League Complex in Bristol, Connecticut. The 2010 tournament, featuring the six New England state winners, is set for August 6-14.

Eight regional winners from around the country eventually comprise the United States division in the 64th Little League World Series, which begins on August 20. Eight teams from outside the U.S. will form the International division.

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Two Fairfield teams -- National and American - will compete in the District Two tournament, which begins Saturday and also includes Westport National and American, Trumbull National and American, Easton, Monroe and Stratford and Bridgeport's Park City and North End.

All games in the District Two tournament are set for Bridgeport's Blackham Field, and pool play continues through July 10.

Each Little League sends a team of All-Stars to the District tournament. The players are chosen in a vote among their piers, managers and coaches.

Fairfield American plays the first game of the tournament on Saturday against Easton at 11 a.m. on Blackham Field No. 1. Fairfied National opens Saturday at 3 p.m against Trumbull National, also at Field No. 1.

Considering there are thousands of Little Leagues in the country, the odds of a Connecticut team making it to Williamsport seem astronomical, but it's not as far-fetched as one might imagine.  Shelton National played in the Little League World Series just two years ago.

Overall, Connecticut teams have won the LLWs four times, tied for the second-most of any state behind California's six.

Perhaps the most famous U.S. champion was the 1989 Trumbull team, led by a future National Hockey League star named Chris Drury. That year, Trumbull defeated Chinese Taipei, 5-2, in the final in what is considered one of the bigget upsets in LLWS history.

Other Connectiuct LLWS winners are: Stamford, 1951; Norwalk, 1952; and Windsor Locks, 1965.

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