Less than a year after the Australian Baseball Federation elected to affiliate many of its programs with Little League Baseball, some 30-odd Aussie leagues began competing for the right to represent the Great Southland in the Asia-Pacific Region tournament, and a chance to compete in the Little League World Series.

As many U.S.-based leagues have learned over time, the Road to Williamsport is as much endurance test as it is a sprint. Toms River East American (New Jersey) Little League, for instance, lost an average of four games per year prior to reaching South Williamsport during their three Little League World Series appearances in the 1990s. The powerful Sean Burroughs-led Long Beach (Southern California) Little League juggernaut lost one game by a head-scratching 16-1 score during its run to a second consecutive world championship in 1993. And even eventual 2008 Little League World Series champion Waipio Little League (Waipahu, Hawaii) claimed its crown only after absorbing losses in both state and region tournament play.

As a newcomer to the Little League family, Sydney's Hills North Little League may not have been fully versed in the nuances of the organization's rich history. But they did know that flat chat wasn't the only approach that would secure success in the 2008 international tournament.

In six games at the Australian national championship tournament, Hills North scored 26 runs, while allowing 36. A negative run differential would normally be cause for alarm, but Hills knew that not all games at the tournament were of equal importance, and the Sydneysiders saved their best efforts for the games that mattered most. In the first-ever Australian Little League national tournament at the Redlands Baseball Club complex in Sheldon, Queensland, four wins -- coming by a combined eight runs -- helped Hills North to claim the country's inaugural national championship crown.

"I particularly liked the way the team executed the strategy," said Hills Baseball Association president Peter Schmidt after the national tournament. "Winning when required, often by just a run or by getting one out at a critical time, and not crying over losses that meant nothing... Regardless of how good an individual bunch of kids are, nobody gets through a tournament like this without the players having the right attitude and mindset."

Hills North knew that the first day of the tournament was of paramount importance, and if all went well, the second would be essentially meaningless. That's because the three teams that won their pools with strong opening day performances would each lay claim to semifinal round berths. Those three teams would spend the tournament's second day merely jockeying with one another for seeding position, while the three pool runner-ups battled for the final semifinal slot.

Hills North took a major step toward securing first place in its pool with a win in its opening game. Brisbane Metro Little League came into the national tournament having scored no less than seven runs in any of its state tournament contests, and reached double-digits in seven of their eight games. But Hills North ace Zac Shepherd kept the Queenslanders' offense bottled up, allowing just two runs, and the New South Wales contingent rallied for a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to claim a 3-2 win.

When Hills won their second game, 9-5 over Mount Gambier Little League, they were essentially on equal footing with Waverley Little League and Perth Metro East Little League, which muscled through their pools with 43-0 and 44-0 run differentials, respectively. And when Hills North dropped games against both teams on the tournament's second day, 13-6 to Perth and 13-2 to Waverley, the only consequence was that they were slotted into the semifinal round as the number three seed rather than first or second.

Pitchers Morgan Giffen, Hayden Bray, and Scott Richards then lifted Hills into the championship game by combining to hold Perth Metro East's potent offense to a single run in a 3-1 semifinal round win. The game was tied 1-1 in the fifth inning, when Hills North struck for a pair of runs to take the lead. The game ended when, with Perth threatening, Bray reached over the center field fence to pull back a would-be game-tying home run.

Adelaide Southern Districts Little League prevailed in the second semifinal round meeting, avenging a 14-0 defeat in their tournament opener and surprising Waverley, 3-2. Adelaide carried a 2-0 lead for most of the game before the Wildcats tied it in the fifth, but the South Australians pushed across a run in the sixth to earn their fourth consecutive victory following the opening loss.

Hills North again relied on Shepherd in the championship game, and the right-hander responded by striking out nine batters and allowing just two runs in a 3-2 victory over Adelaide Southern. Hills North snapped a 2-2 tie with a run in the fifth, and reliever Cameron Power held Adelaide Southern scoreless while closing out the team's second one-run victory of the tournament.

"It's just a dream. It's not even a dream come true. When I started coaching, I never had any idea that this might happen," said Hills North manager Greg Giffen in an interview with Australia's Baseball Radio National shortly after the national tournament. "I'm out there for the kids. I love seeing the kids play. To have this opportunity (advancing to the region tournament) is just second to none."

Hills North had also registered a pair of one-run victories at the New South Wales state tournament, defeating eventual third-place finisher Hills South Little League 13-12 at a critical juncture in the tournament, and avenging a loss with a 4-3, eight inning victory over Cronulla South Little League in the tournament's final game.

"That was a very big and stressful weekend which we got through," said Greg Giffen of his team's seven-game slate at the state tournament.

"It's a lot of constant training and developing," the Hills North manager said . "And (hoping) I could bring the kids along to actually ... peak at the right time, which they did."

Hills North held their own at the Asia-Pacific Region tournament in Hong Kong, defeating Saipan, 2-1, for the nation's first-ever win at the region tournament level, and later overcoming New Zealand's reprise of the All-Black rugby team's traditional pre-game Haka to earn a 9-4 victory over their ANZAC rivals in a South Pacific derby. But Hills North faced an unfamiliar obstacle -- the curveball, which is prohibited by the Australian Baseball Federation at the major baseball age level -- and fell out of contention after dropping a 4-2 decision to Tanauan Little League (Batangas, Philippines). The Australian champions closed out their pool schedule with a 5-0 loss against eventual Little League World Series qualifier Southern Guam Little League (Yona, Guam), and finished the tourament with a 2-3 record, good for third place in the Pacific pool.

Semifinal Round	1	2	3	4	5	6		R	H	E
Hills North	1	0	0	0	2	0		3
Perth Metro East	0	0	0	1	0	0		1
Semifinal Round
Adelaide Southern	1	1	0	0	0	1		3	7	1
Waverley	0	0	0	0	2	0		2	4	1
Championship Game
Hills North	1	1	0	0	1	0		3
Adelaide Southern	0	1	0	1	0	0		2

Toward the present

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