The Little League baseball district tournaments start Sunday for local teams in two age groups.
The 9-10-year-old District 3 tournament will be played at Centralia's Fort Borst Park, and will feature six teams — including, locally, Centralia, Chehalis and Larch Mountain. Centralia faces Larch Mountain at 1 p.m. Sunday in a first-round game, which will be followed by Chehalis' first-round game against Aberdeen at 3:30 p.m.
Games will continue through Friday, July 10 and, if needed, a final game will be played on Saturday, July 11. The tournament champion will advance to the state tournament, which begins July 18 in Spokane.
The 10-11-year-old District 3 tournament will be played on Montesano's Nelson Field, with Centralia, Chehalis and Montesano competing. Chehalis and Montesano face off at 6 p.m. on Sunday, with the winner taking on Centralia at 6 p.m. Monday night. The tournament will run through Wednesday and, if needed, Thursday. The champion moves on the state tournament, which starts July 18 in the Vancouver area.
The 11-12-year-old District 3 tournament features six teams and will be played at Aberdeen's Pioneer Park, starting on Saturday, July 11. Chehalis faces Larch Mountain at noon, while Centralia has a first-round bye and will face either Aberdeen or Montesano at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday in its opener. The tournament is scheduled to run through Thursday, July 16, and will wrap up Friday, July 17 if necessary. The winner will play in the state tournament, starting July 25 at Northshore Athletic Fields in Woodinville.
Babe Ruth 15s Start Monday
The 15-year-old District 3 Babe Ruth Baseball Tournament starts Monday in Chehalis, though the format is a bit different this summer.
District 3 has been allocated two spots to the Southern Washington Babe Ruth State Tournament, which will start July 14 at Hoquiam's Olympic Stadium. As the host team, Grays Harbor is already entered into the state event. That leaves two 15-year-old All-Star teams — Twin Cities and Willapa Harbor — competing for the final spot to state.
The teams are scheduled to play a best-of-three series for the final berth. The action starts Monday at 5 p.m., with the Centralia-Chehalis cooperative facing the Pacific County squad at 5 p.m. at Bearcat Baseball Stadium at W.F. West High School.
