An offensive game from beginning to end with seven home runs between the two teams battling it out for the National American Tournament of Champions (N.A.T.C.) title. It was the team with one more round tripper that took the title, 10th-seeded Team South Carolina. Team South Carolina topped fourth-seeded Corona Yankees (Corona, CA), 10-8. Team South Carolina, who finished the regular tournament 6-1 with 4.29 runs averaged allowed per game for the 10th seed, quickly jumped out to a two-run lead. Team South Carolina knocked out their first two home runs in the top half of the first. McCrae Norton and Matt Pegler, the number one and two batters, respectively, each hit solo home runs. Corona was able to tie the game in the first with a single by Matt Lollis followed by Adam Salazar's home run to left center. Corona took a 4-2 lead in the second with a two-run home run. In the top of the third, Team South Carolina jumped ahead by one with Norton's second solo round tripper and Luke Tollison's two-run home run. However, Corona answered with three singles that produced two runs to regain the lead, 6-5. With three runs on four hits in the fourth, Team South Carolina held an 8-6 advantage. Evan Darr, TJ Young and Norton each singled and scored. McLagan had the final hit of the inning. Again, Corona came back, tying the game in the bottom of the fourth. Extra hitter Kevin Williams reached first on an error by the first baseman. Top of the line-up, on a 1-0 count, Brandon Magee hit a two-run home run, putting the game at an 8-8 deadlock. Both teams held each other defensively in the fifth. The sixth and final inning was the tie breaker. Team South Carolina recorded two more runs to take the final lead and the N.A.T.C. title. Blaine Dalton, the eighth batter, led off the inning with a single. Two batters later and one out, Norton singled to right center. Both Dalton and Norton scored on McLagan's third hit of the game. Team South Carolina's offense was led by Norton who went 4-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI. McLagan finished 3-for-4 with one run scored and three RBI. Credited with the win was Madison Younginer. He recorded three strikeouts. Starting pitcher McLagan struck out five.

As the number one seed, the Southern Nevada Vipers (Henderson, NV) easily took home the week 10 championship. It only took three innings for the Vipers to hit three home runs and score 13 runs to defeat the 14th-seeded Boys of Baseball National Travel Team (Auburn, AL), 13-1. Due to the 12-run mercy rule, the game was called after 3-1/2 innings of play. Southern Nevada's Keifer Williams drove in two of the runs with the first home run of the game in the first inning. The Vipers continued their strong offensive game with three runs in each of the second and third innings. Chase LaComp and Joey Rickard hit back-to-back solo home runs in the second. The Vipers offense was led by LaComp. He went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBI. Rickard, Williams and winning pitcher Steve Manthei each had two hits. The Boys of Baseball National Travel Team scored their lone run in the top of the third. With one out the number nine batter, Chance Lawrence, singled to center field for the team's first hit. Lucas Herbst followed with a ground out to the mound, which moved Lawrence to second. Lawrence moved into scoring position on Hayden Hillyer's single and then put the Boys of Baseball on the board when Andrew Sublett hit a hard ground ball to right field. Boys of Baseball recorded one more hit in the fourth off the bat of William Scott.

Despite quickly falling behind in the championship game the 11th-seeded Balls N Strikes Bunch (St. Louis, MO) battled back to tie the game and then use a walk-off suicide squeeze to defeat the 12th-seeded Chicago North Shore Stars (Chicago, IL), 7-6, for the week nine title on Friday morning, August 15. The championship game, originally scheduled for Thursday night, was played on Friday due to the black out throughout the Northeast that occurred late Thursday afternoon and interrupted power until the early Friday morning hours at Cooperstown Dreams Park. The Chicago North Shore Stars quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first inning. Starting pitcher Anthony Kopp and short stop Graham Wolf each singled and scored. Down 2-0 the Balls N Strikes Bunch answered with four runs in the second. Left fielder Kenny Nelson, fifth in the line-up, started with a walk. Once Nelson was at first, third baseman Nick Molloy took the first pitch he saw over the fence for a two-run home run. The Bunch pulled ahead when Jake Powers and Ryan Richardson crossed home plate. Both Powers and Richardson collected singles and centerfielder Brian Denning hit a RBI-ground rule double in the inning. The Stars put a third run on the board in the third inning. Centerfielder Joe Moran reached first on an error by the Bunch's short stop. He advanced to second on Kopp's ground out to third and then stole third base. With two outs, second baseman Will Neal sent a line drive into centerfield to score Moran. Short stop Keenen Maddox gave the Bunch a two-run lead again with a solo home run on the first pitch. The Bunch held a 5-3 advantage after three innings. Both teams were scoreless in the fourth. The Stars pulled ahead by one in the fifth with three runs by starting pitcher Anthony Kopp, short stop Graham Wolff and second baseman Will Neal. Kopp and Neal each it singles while Wolff recorded a two-run round tripper. Balls N Strikes Bunch was unable to close the gap in the bottom of the fifth. As the Bunch's defense held the Stars in the sixth, the offense utilized a couple of hit by pitches and walks to produce the two winning runs. Second to bat and one out, Molloy was hit in the back to advance to first. First baseman John Dicken and Powers each followed with a walk. Bases loaded, Richardson was also hit by a pitch, which walked in the tying run. Bases still loaded extra hitter Steven Thomas took the signs from his coach. On a 1-1 count, Thomas placed a perfectly placed bunt between the plate and the mound for the squeeze play, which scored Dicken and ended the game. Molloy and Richardson led the Bunch offense, each batting 1-for-2, two runs scored and two RBI. Kopp, Wolff, Neal and Mark Lopez each collected two hits for the Stars. Jake Powers recorded the win in relief. Joe Burk started for the Balls N Strikes Bunch and pitched four innings. He had two strikeouts. This was the first game in the eight year history of Cooperstown Dreams Park that was played on a Friday.

The one-seeded Central Jersey Patriots (Warren, NJ) became the first team out of the Garden State to walk off the field champions at Cooperstown Dreams Park as they defeated the 15th-seeded Fresno Blue Devils (Fresno, CA) 7-1. Not only does the win mark the first champion from New Jersey, it was also the first time in 2003 the top seeded team was crowned champions. The Central Jersey Patriots, who finished the regular tournament 7-0 with 1.67 runs allowed per game, got on the board in the first inning when shortstop Jesse Ross smacked a double into leftfield and catcher Christian Spurr lined a pitch over the centerfield fence to make it 2-0. Blue Devils' Nick White led off the second with a solo shot to cut Central New Jersey's lead in half. However, center fielder Travis Zilg crushed a pitch well over the leftfield barrier to put the Patriots up by two once again in the third. Spurr led off the fourth with another solo jack to make it 4-1. After third baseman Adam Bergman walked and stole second, substitute hitter Dave Hammonds hit a soft shot to first base that took an odd bounce off the bag allowing Bergman to score and give the Patriots a 5-1 cushion. A pair of fielding errors by Fresno allowed the first two runners on base in the bottom half of the fifth. After Zilg struck out, Ross walked to load the bases for Spurr, who already had a couple of round trippers. Spurr struck out to ease the threat of a grand slam, but starting pitcher Jason Knapp singled into centerfield to score right fielder Jared Rogers. Knapp, with his head up, saw Fresno's center fielder miscue the ball and took second on the play. Extra hitter Mike Hansford also scored on the error to put Central New Jersey well in control, 7-1. Patriot relief pitcher Jeff Green silenced the Blue Devils' bats in the fifth and the sixth by striking out six of the last seven batters, including the final Fresno hitter to seal the championship for Central New Jersey. Green earned the win for Central New Jersey. He struck out seven Blue Devils in his 3-1/3 innings of work and walked one lone batter. The last six outs Green recorded were strikeouts. He went 1-for-2 in the contest with a single. Fresno pitcher Will Gleason suffered the loss. In his three-inning effort, he struck out five and gave up four runs on four hits. Gleason went 0-for-2 with a strikeout. Owning the plate in the week eight championship game was Christian Spurr. He went 2-for-3 with a couple of homeruns and three RBI. Travis Zilg went 1-for-3 in the game with his homerun and one RBI. Zilg also stole second in the bottom of the first. Substitute hitter Dave Hammonds went 1-for-1 with his fourth inning RBI-single. Catcher Nick White produced Fresno's lone hit on his solo homerun in the second inning.

It only took five innings for second-seeded Beaver Valley Red (Cranberry Township, PA) to knock off fifth-seeded South San Francisco Fog (San Francisco, CA), 18-6, in the championship game. Beaver Valley scored in all five innings, including 14 in the first two. The win marks the third consecutive week seven title for the Beaver Valley Red organization at Cooperstown Dreams Park. Beaver Valley Red responded, after going down 1-0, in their half of the first by scoring seven runs. Third baseman T.J. Kuben got the ball rolling with a two-run homerun to give Beaver Valley the lead. After starting pitcher Zak Sinclair walked, left fielder Ryan Nussbaum connected on a two-run shot of his own to put Beaver Valley up by three. After a couple of RBI singles by Evan Bukowski and J.C. Figueiredo, Beaver Valley Red was up 7-1 at the end of one inning. In the second, Beaver Valley's offense came out just the way they left. With runners on second and third, and nobody out, South San Francisco hurler Dominic Hoyt balked to score courtesy runner Ryan Owens. Later in that same inning, Brad Goedeker crushed another two-run homerun into deep centerfield. A pair of singles by Bukowski and Dylan Wartluff set the stage for Figueiredo, who blasted a three-run shot into right-center. At the end of two complete innings, Beaver Valley had a massive 14-1 stranglehold. A five-run third for the Fog tightened things up momentarily, however, the Beaver Valley Red used their next three innings to produce four more runs and force the mercy rule. Ryan Owens lined a single into rightfield, which scored Goedeker and officially ended the tournament for South San Francisco. In their three straight championships at Cooperstown Dreams Park, the mercy rule has resulted. Goedeker went 2-for-3 in the game, including his second inning two-run round tripper. He scored three runs for Beaver Valley and collected three RBI. Also going 2-for-3 was Figueiredo. His second inning three-run homer gave him three of his four total RBI for the game. Beaver Valley Red produced 15 hits in the championship game, four of which were round trippers. Earning the victory for Beaver Valley was Coulten Bunney. In his 2 2/3 innings of work, he struck out seven, all of which were consecutive. Bunney struck out the side in the fourth and fifth innings. He gave up two runs (one earned) on one hit and went 0-for-2 at the plate. Zak Sinclair started the game for Beaver Valley and lasted 2 1/3 innings. He struck out five and surrendered one hit and four runs, all of which were unearned. Sinclair went 1-for-2 in the championship game, with a single and a pair of walks. Pinned with the loss was South San Francisco's Eren Miravalles. He pitched just 2/3 of an inning, giving up seven runs (six earned) on four hits. He struck out none and walked two before being relieved. The Fog used four pitchers in the game.

A slow offensive start for the fourth-seeded Mountville Indians (Mountville, PA) did not hinder the spirits of the 12-member team. The Indians scored six runs between the third and fourth innings to clinch the week six championship. Mountville defeated 10th-seeded Hilton Head Island Storm Baseball Club (Hilton Head, SC), 6-3. The Mountville Indians, who finished the regular tournament 7-0 with 2.83 averaged runs allowed for the 12th seed, found themselves behind 1-0 after the top of the first. Hitless and scoreless after two innings, the Indians' bats turned on in the third inning. Seventh in the line-up, Indians' second baseman led off the third with a walk. Left fielder Nick DeLaleu followed with a ground ball single to left field on a 1-0 count. Nine batter, Steve Remley, the centerfielder, hit a ground ball to the mound, moving Schanz and DeLaleu to third and second bases, respectively. Mountville's first run was scored when during third baseman's Eric Macik - top of the line-up, batting after Remley - at bat. A passed ball opportunity at the plate allowed Schanz to score. Macik struck out on the next pitch. Indians' short stop Chris Markel was next to bat. He walked. Runners on first and second, catcher Nate Beck singled to centerfield, scoring DaLaleu and Markel. After three innings, Mountville led 3-1. The Indians took a 6-1 lead in the fourth inning. With two hits and one walk, three runs were scored by right fielder Patrick Welsh, Schanz and DeLaleu. The two hits were off the bats of DeLaleu and Macik. DeLaleu singled on a bunt to the mound, while Macik doubled to centerfield. DeLaleu finished the game batting 2-for-2 with two runs scored and one RBI. Despite a five-run deficit, Hilton Head wasn't finished. The Storm managed one run in each of the fifth and sixth innings. Mountville's defense was headed up by D.J. Reams' performance on the mound. He pitched a complete six inning game, striking out 12 and picking-off two batters at first base. Hilton Head's offense was led by first baseman Dylan Talyor, who went 2-for-3. Hilton Head's starting pitcher Ian Anderson threw for four innings and recorded five strikeouts.

It only took one inning for the 12th-seeded Tampa Bay Crush (Tampa, FL) team to break away from a tight contest and win the week five championship title. The Crush defeated second seeded South Florida Raptors (Pembroke Pines, FL) 10-1. The game remained scoreless until the fourth inning. Jamie Mallard, Tampa's third baseman and clean-up hitter, put the first run on the board when he hit his first of three home runs of the game in the top of the fourth. However, the Raptors were able to tie the game in the bottom of the inning with a solo shot by third baseman Eric Acevedo. A pitching change by the Raptors in the fifth inning changed the momentum of the contest. Number nine batter for Tampa, centerfielder Dimitri Nunez, started off the inning with bunt that was perfectly placed between home plate and the mound for a single. Top of the order, second baseman Nick Lockwood followed with a walk. With runners on second and third - Nunez stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch while Lockwood stole second - Tampa pulled off a well planned squeeze play with catcher Christian Lopez. Nunez scored, Lockwood moved to second and Lopez reached first. Two runners on, no outs, first baseman Jamiel Smith went to the plate. On a 0-1 count, Smith sent the ball well over the centerfield wall for a three-run home run and a 5-1 Crush lead. Two pitches later, Mallard hit his second round tripper over the left field fence. Tampa finished the fifth inning with two more runs from pitcher Ray Delphey and right fielder Jordan Cooks for an 8-1 advantage. As solid as Tampa's offense was in the fifth inning, the defense was just as strong on the mound. Delphey finished the night with 14 strikeouts in a complete game, including all six outs of the fifth and sixth innings. The Crush added two more runs on the board in the sixth inning. Mallard hit a two-run home run, his third of the game and 10th for the week. Combined, Mallard and Smith recorded six of Tampa's nine hits and had seven RBI. Also collecting hits for Tampa were Lopez, Lowe and Nunez. Raptor's starting pitcher threw eight strikeouts in 5-2/3 innings of work.

A mixture of forecasts at Cooperstown Dreams Park provided fans from the all over the country with some interesting youth baseball. The 21st seeded Coughlin Chargers (Clinton Township, MI), after upsetting the number four seeded Tampa River Dogs out of Florida and the number one seeded Cherokee Reds from Georgia, went on to beat the seventh seed Team Easton (Orlando, Florida) 10-8 in a rainy and soggy championship game. It was the lowest seeded team to ever win a championship at Cooperstown Dreams Park. The Chargers finished the regular tournament 5-2 with 4.43 runs allowed per game for the 21st seed. The clouds rolled over Cooperstown Dreams Park, as the final game of the week was about to begin. Team Easton took the field, as fans kept looking skyward to make their weather predictions. John Martinez walked to start the ballgame and pitcher Jim Martinez then connected on his first pitch, sending it over the right field wall to make it 2-0 Chargers. Team Easton responded with a five run first to take a three run lead and added two more on a two-run blast by Jordan Mays in the second inning. The Chargers put their first two batters on the bases in the top of the third when the rain picked up a heavy consistency. The umpires called for a waiting period as fans hurried to shelter and the Cooperstown Dreams Park field maintenance staff busied themselves trying to save the infield from flooding. After a 30-minute rain delay, the Chargers were ready to reclaim control of the contest. Lead off hitter John Martinez nailed a double to the wall scoring two. Jim Martinez and Matt Woods each singled to bring in Martinez and close the gap to three runs. A throwing error by Team Easton's shortstop and a wild pitch allowed Martinez and Woods to score and tie the game. Finally, Mike Romanchik was caught in a run down to end the inning, but not before Cameron Walker snuck home to salvage the lead. When it was all said and done in the top half of the third, the Coughlin Chargers were back on top 8-7 in a wet and wild championship game. Team Easton's Brian Johnson, the extra hitter, hit a solo drive into the stands in the bottom of the fourth to retie the contest, but in the fifth inning the Charger bats got back to work. After the first two hitters were sent back to the dugout empty handed, Woods and Matt Conway hit back-to-back singles. Walker was then drilled by a pitch to load the bases, after Woods stole third and a wild pitch sent Conway to second. John DiLaura singled on a full count to score Woods and Conway and take the 10-8 lead, but Walker was thrown out at third trying to improve his base positioning. Team Easton's best chance to recover was in the latter half of the fifth. Two base runners reached scoring position after a fielding error and a double. Pitcher Matt Conway, who replaced Martinez in the second after the two-run homerun, saw the next hit fly right into his glove. He then quickly threw to third to catch the Team Easton base runner for the double play. Conway then struck out the next batter to end the frame. The Chargers went three up, three down in the sixth giving Team Easton one last chance to steal the game. Conway allowed a one out single to bring up Brian Johnson who had a tying homerun in the fourth. Conway, however, struck him out on three pitches followed by a pop up to shortstop Cameron Walker to seal the victory and put the Coughlin Chargers in the Cooperstown Dreams Park record books as the lowest seeded team ever to exit the field champions. Conway was credited with the win as he struck out four Team Easton batters. He went 1-for-3 in the game with a run scored. Matt Woods went 2-for-3 in the contest, with a pair of runs scored and two stolen bases. Jim Martinez provided a large chunk of the offense as he went 2-for-2 with a single and a two-run homerun. Martinez had three RBI in the championship.

The week was sweltering and the baseball was outstanding as Cooperstown Dreams Park once again provided fans, from the area and those from the rest of the United States, with unforgettable match ups during the third week of the season. After a patriotic fireworks display, the number three-seeded Chandler Express (Chandler, AZ) went on to upset the number one-seeded Mac-N-Seitz Indians (Blue Springs, MO), 2-0, in the championship game. The Express offensively failed to get the ball rolling early, but stellar defense quieted the Indians threats throughout the game. After going three up and three down in the first trio of innings, Chandler broke the scoreless tie in the fourth. Pitcher Ryan Klem led off the inning with a hard single into centerfield and advanced to second on catcher Justin Rosales' sacrifice bunt. Back to back walks loaded the bases for the Express, who still had one out. Tyler Gianatti stepped up to the plate next and ripped a single up the middle. Klem scored on the play, however Matt Helm, who walked earlier in the inning, was thrown out at home plate by the centerfielder. In the top of the sixth, and the score still 1-0, Klem led off the inning with a solo homerun, on a count at one ball and no strikes. A one run hill suddenly became a two run mountain to climb for Mac-N-Seitz. This past week the Indians have managed to pull last second dramatic finishes to reach the championship game, and they had the top of the order to work with in the final frame. Nevertheless, Klem struck out the first two Mac-N-Seitz hitters and Garrison McLagan, the Indians' pitcher, popped out to left fielder Johnny Strickland to clinch the championship for week three at Cooperstown Dreams Park. Klem, coming through both offensively and defensively, pitched a beautiful game. In his six innings of work, Klem struck out 10 Mac-N-Seitz batters to earn the victory. He gave up just two hits and pulled the Express out of a fifth inning threat that could have put Mac-N-Seitz in the lead. The bases were loaded after two walks and a hit batsman when the Indians pressured to steal the lead in the game. Mac-N-Seitz's extra hitter lined one straight back to Klem, who calmly snagged it in his mitt and promptly threw back to third base to complete the double play and send the Indians back to the field empty handed. A pitchers' duel took place at Cooperstown Dreams Park on the eve of July 4th. Indians' hurler Garrison McLagan was credited with a great game of pitching as well. McLagan struck out 11, including seven in the first three innings. Gianatti went 1-for-2 with the all important first RBI and Klem went 2-for-3 in the contest, with one RBI. Heading up the bats for the Indians were left fielder Jake Knott and McLagan. Both hit singles.

The fourth-seeded North Alabama Vipers 12 and under youth baseball team (Huntsville, AL) squeezed out a victory, 3-2, against the Georgia Roadrunner Green (Alpharetta, GA) in for the week two championship. The Vipers, coached by Ricky Diehl, knocked off the second-seeded Roadrunner squad in a nail-biting championship game to earn the title. Earning the win for North Alabama was starting pitcher Darron Barry. In his four innings of work, he struck out six Roadrunner players and gave up just two hits. He walked none and his lone mishap was a solo homerun hit by Georgia's Jordan Neese in the fourth inning. Center fielder Taylor Edwards fronted the offense for the Vipers. In the top of the second he crushed a pitch to deep left field to break a scoreless tie. It was his sixth homerun of the week. Taylor then put North Alabama up 3-1 in the final frame after a throwing error by Georgia's right fielder missed the cutoff man at first and rolled all the way to the backstop. Taylor, head up all the way, saw the play developing as he sprinted to third base and capitalized on the Roadrunner mistake to post the inevitable game-winning run. Taylor went 2-for-2 in the contest, with two runs scored, including his second inning homerun, and a stolen base. Catcher Joe Ivey came through in the clutch for North Alabama in the top of the sixth. With the score tied at one apiece, Ivey led off the top of the final inning with a towering homerun to centerfield that left Cooperstown Dreams Park's Field Three. Ivey went 1-for-3 in the championship game and his last inning heroic homerun was his seventh of the week. First baseman Clay Wales had the all-important RBI in the sixth, when he singled to right field, to score Taylor and put the Vipers up by two. He went 1-for-2. Bruce Maxwell relieved Barry in the fifth inning and struck out one batter, but set up Georgia to make a last minute comeback after giving up two singles and a wild pitch. This placed the tying run in scoring position and the go ahead run at the plate. Maxwell went 1-for-3 in the game, with a single. Cooper Mosley replaced Maxwell with one out in the sixth. After an intentional walk, Georgia's Jordan Neese stepped up to the plate with thoughts of his fourth inning homerun still in his mind. Neese grounded into a fielder's choice play, however it managed to cut the Vipers' lead in half and put the game-winning run on second. Mosley then struck out the final batter to clinch the championship and end a memorable championship game at Cooperstown Dreams Park.

The second-seeded San Diego Stars North (San Diego, CA) won their fourth consecutive 10 and under championship at Cooperstown Dreams Park. The Stars, coached by Lyle Gabriel, knocked off the number one-seeded Broward Bulldogs from Pembroke Pines, FL, 7-1, for the title. Leading the Stars was pitcher Bryce Harper, who struck out 11 Bulldogs and had a perfect game spoiled in the bottom of the final inning. After retiring the 15 batters in five innings, Harper gave up his first hit of the game after a bouncing ball grazed off second baseman Clayton Royer's shoulder to give the Bulldogs their lone offensive threat. Later in the same inning Harper gave up another single, which led to the Broward's only run, but concluded the championship game by striking out the Bulldogs' final hitter. Harper walked none and struck out over half the batters he faced. The hurler also came through at the plate, singling twice to right-center field with one RBI. First baseman Josh Anderson led the offense for the Stars. He went 2-for-3, including a two-run homerun in the top of the fifth inning; his fifth homerun of the week. He finished with four RBI. Clayton Royer and Brandon Berry also went 2-for-3, each with a couple of singles. The Stars blasted nine hits in the contest to Broward's two and plated seven runs, most of which came in the game's opening inning. San Diego collected over half of their hits in the top of the first and scored four runs to set the tone of the game early. Harper then pitched a classic to seal the victory for the defending Stars.