Central PA pastor hosting Cuba's first ever Little League World Series team [View all]

by Tyler JeskiMon, August 14th 2023, 4:46 PM CDT


WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (WHP) — A Central Pennsylvania pastor will host Cuba's first ever Little League World Series team.

Reverend Gary Weaver from Lewisburg has been a LLWS for 24 years. He said the job is making sure the team is where they need to be, when they need to be there.

The host guides a team throughout the process. Making sure that they are ready for interviews, uniform fittings, and even responsible for doing laundry.

"We go from greeting them the first time on the bus, to putting them on the bus last time they leave, and everything in between," said Rev. Weaver.

More:
https://local21news.com/news/local/little-league-world-series-williamsport-cuba-little-league-team-reverend-gary-weaver-lewisburg-united-methodist-church-pastor-playing-host-for-24-years

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Bayamo Little League Becomes First Cuban Program to Qualify for Little League Baseball® World Series
March 5, 2023

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https://tinyurl.com/3mdwyd9w

As the national champion, Bayamo Little League has qualified for direct entry into the 2023 Little League Baseball® World Series Tournament



With its 2-1 series win over Habana del Este Little League in the best-of-three country championship, Bayamo Little League has made history by becoming the first league from Cuba to qualify for the Little League Baseball® World Series.

“Since establishing our partnership with the Cuban Baseball Federation four years ago, we have continued to find ways to provide memorable experiences to children in 180 municipal communities all across the country, and we applaud Bayamo Little League on becoming Cuba’s first national champion with direct entry to the World Series,” said Stephen D. Keener, Little League® President and CEO. “We look forward to working with U.S. government authorities, our league volunteers, and Cuban officials to help bring the team to Williamsport and to be able to experience the memories, excitement, and joy that the World Series provides to children from all over the world each summer.”

Bayamo Little League finished the Cuban Tournament with an 8-2 record en-route to the championship title. In the best-of-three championship series, Habana del Este Little League picked up the opening game victory, 7-5, but Bayamo Little League was able to bounce back in the second game of the doubleheader to seal a 10-4 victory and force a game three for the championship on Sunday, March 5. After a back-and-forth championship finale that went into extra innings, it was Bayamo Little League who came out on top in the end, claiming a 6-2 victory with four runs in the top of the seventh to win the series.

Cuba’s direct entry to the World Series comes as part of the Little League Baseball World Series expansion that was announced in 2019 and went into effect in 2022. With its direct entry into the 2023 event, Cuba qualifies to become the 29th international country to earn a spot in the Little League Baseball World Series and will once again qualify for direct entry in 2024 as part of the international rotation.

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The 2023 Little League Baseball World Series is scheduled for August 16-27. The official schedule for the tournament is available now with the first-round pairings set to be randomly drawn in June, all of which will be shared at LittleLeague.org/WorldSeries as it becomes available. To learn more about planning a visit to Williamsport for the World Series, go to LittleLeague.org/Visit and check back frequently as the event nears for additional information.

More:
https://www.littleleague.org/world-series/2023/llbws/news/bayamo-little-league-becomes-first-cuban-program-to-qualify-for-little-league-baseball-world-series/