It is almost impossible to be further away from Howard J. Lamade Stadium in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, than the city of Perth in Western Australia. Perth sits alongside the Indian Ocean some 11,490 miles from South Williamsport -- and would be just 13,411 miles away if you circled the globe in the opposite direction. At best, it is a 35-hour journey across two continents, two hemispheres, twelve time zones, and the largest ocean on earth.

But in a sporting sense, South Williamsport sits much closer to Perth -- particularly in 2013, when, as a result of Little League Baseball's strong growth in Australia, the country's champion was granted direct access to the Little League World Series, and Australia's national championship tournament was elevated to region tournament status. That put the journey from Perth to South Williamsport into a different context: perform well in a state tournament and win the Australian championship, and you are on your way to South Williamsport.

For the Perth Metro Central Little League, that itinerary became a reality.

Perth rode a pair of home runs and the power pitching of right-hander Chase Diggins to an 8-2 victory over Adelaide Southern Districts Little League in the Australian championship game a the Alleygators Baseball Club complex in Tallebudgera Valley, Queensland. The victory was the seventh in as many games for the Firebirds at the 20-team tournament, and clinched Perth Metro Central's first Australian Little League championship.

Perth grabbed an early lead in the Australian championship game, as three of the team's first four hitters reached safely as part of a three-run first inning. Michael Tovey led off the game with a single to left field. After a pop out, Diggins fouled off a pair of two-strike pitches before lining a triple into the left center field gap that scored Tovey with the game's first run. Jake Sheldon then followed with a single to center that scored Diggins, and Sheldon later scored on a two-out wild pitch.

The Firebirds extended their lead with a pair of runs in the fourth. Kieran Hall led off with a bloop single to short left field, and two outs later, Diggins slammed a two-run homer beyond the right center field fence.

Adelaide closed the gap when reserve Samuel Bennett doubled down the left field line in the bottom of the frame to score Will Day, and Harrison Knuckey followed with a run-scoring single. But Perth then handed the ball to reliever Maverick Hamilton, who ended the inning with a strikeout before recording a perfect sixth inning that sealed the win.

Sheldon provided Perth's final runs in the top of the sixth, when he launched a three-run homer that scored Hamilton and Diggins.

Diggins struck out ten batters in 4-2/3 innings for Perth, and scattered six hits. He retired nine of the first ten hitters he faced while Perth was building its early lead.

Knuckey paced the Adelaide attack with three singles, while Tovey, Diggins, and Sheldon all had two hits for Perth.

Perth Metro Central's victory kept the championship flag in Western Australia for the second consecutive year. The Firebirds were competing in the Australian national tournament for the first time. Adelaide Southern, which won Aussie titles in 2010 and 2011, reached the championship game for the fifth time.

Perth reached the championship game by blitzing past four pool opponents, then edged a pair of opponents from New South Wales in elimination games to reach the grand finale. The Firebirds outscored its pool opponents by a 69-6 margin, with each game ending early due to the mercy rule. Perth then rode a pair of Diggins home runs to a 4-1 victory over Ryde North Little League in the quarterfinal round, and topped Cronulla North Little League, 3-1, in the semifinal round.

Tovey and Hamilton's pitching paced the Firebirds to the win over Cronulla North. Tovey, a left-hander, allowed just a pair of singles over five innings of work, and Hamilton registered a perfect sixth inning to seal the win. After Bo White singled and Benny Carroll walked to open the Cronulla third inning, Tovey and Hamilton combined to retire the final twelve Cronulla North hitters, dismissing seven via strikeout and five via infield grounders.

Perth tallied a run in the first inning, then added a second on Zane Tavinor's bases loaded walk in the third. In the fourth, Hamilton doubled with two outs and scored following a pair of wild pitches.

Adelaide Southern split its four pool contests, and advanced to the quarterfinal round after winning a tiebreaker. The South Australia powerhouse then toppled top seeded Perth Metro North Little League, 9-8 in seven innings. Ky Hampton, Thomas O'Connell, and Ethan Marchiod each had three hits for Adelaide, while Bailey Short, Knuckey, and Curtis Mead each chipped in two hits. Later that afternoon, Adelaide ousted Victoria's Yarra Rangers Little League, 14-0 in four innings. Callum Park struck out six and allowed just one hit. Kempton homered twice and drove in four runs for Adelaide, while Knuckey homered and drove in six runs.

Perth Metro Central became the first Australian team to compete at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Australia's inaugural entrant meant that leagues from every continent except Antarctica have now competed at the Little League World Series. Perth dropped its first two games in the double-elimination tournament, losing to Municipal de Tijuana Little League (Tijuana, Mexico) and Samaritana Little League (San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico). The Firebirds then led briefly in a consolation game against Universal Little League (Corpus Christi, Texas West), before falling 5-2.

Pool 'A' - Game 1	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8		R
Newcastle	1	3	1	0	0	0				5
Swan Hills	0	0	0	0	4	2				6
Pool 'C' - Game 1
Alice Springs	0	0	0	0						0
Southern Mariners	11	1	8	x						20
Pool 'C' - Game 2
Yarra Rangers	2	0	0	2	1	0				5
Hills South	1	2	0	3	0	x				6
Pool 'B' - Game 1
Brisbane North	2	0	1	0	1	0				4
Ryde North	6	4	0	0	1	x				11
Pool 'D' - Game 1
Perth Metro North	2	0	1	0	2	1				6
Adelaide Southern Districts	0	0	0	0	1	3				4
Pool 'A' - Game 2
Perth Metro Central	0	20	5	3						28
Hedland	0	0	0	0						0
Pool 'C' - Game 3
Far North Coast	0	3	0	0	0	0				3
Yarra Rangers	6	1	0	0	0	x				7
Pool 'B' - Game 2
Gold Coast	0	1	0	1						2
Ryde North	3	6	5	x						14
Pool 'D' - Game 2
Sunraysia	5	10	0	0						15
Mount Gambier	0	0	0	0						0
Pool 'B' - Game 3
MacArthur	0	0	2	0	0	0				2
Cronulla North	0	5	0	1	2	x				8
Pool 'A' - Game 3
Perth Metro Central	3	7	1	0						11
Canberra	0	0	0	0						0
Pool 'C' - Game 4
Far North Coast	3	3	1	1	0					8
Southern Mariners	2	4	5	5	3					19
Pool 'A' - Game 4
Swan Hills	8	6	2	1						17
Hedland	0	0	0	0						0
Pool 'D' - Game 3
Sunraysia	0	0	0	0						0
Perth Metro North	4	7	7	x						18
Pool 'B' - Game 4
MacArthur	2	0	0	0	0	0				2
Brisbane North	3	0	0	2	0	x				5
Pool 'B' - Game 5
Cronulla North	3	6	5	0	0	3	1	1		19
Ryde North	2	0	4	7	0	5	1	2		20
Pool 'C' - Game 5
Southern Mariners	1	5	2	0	0	9				17
Hills South	2	4	0	6	3	0				15
Pool 'A' - Game 5
Perth Metro Central	1	0	6	3	5					15
Newcastle	0	1	0	0	0					1
Pool 'C' - Game 6
Alice Springs	0	0	0	0						0
Yarra Rangers	8	2	3	x						13
Pool 'A' - Game 6
Canberra	3	1	1	9						14
Hedland	0	0	1	0						1
Pool 'D' - Game 4
Mount Gambier	3	1	0	0						4
Adelaide Southern	0	1	15	x						1
Pool 'B' - Game 6
Brisbane North	10	0	4	0						14
Gold Coast	1	1	2	0						4
Pool 'D' - Game 5
Perth Metro North										13
West Coast										2
Pool 'D' - Game 6
West Coast	2	2	8	0						12
Mount Gambier	0	1	0	0						1
Pool 'B' - Game 7
Cronulla North	4	2	0	0	1	2				9
Gold Coast	1	0	2	0	1	0				4
Pool 'C' - Game 7
Far North Coast	3	3	1	2	17					26
Alice Springs	0	0	1	3	5					9
Pool 'A' - Game 7
Swan Hills	1	0	0	3	1					5
Perth Metro Central	0	7	1	5	2					15
Pool 'A' - Game 8
Newcastle	0	0	0	0	0	0				0
Canberra	0	1	2	0	5	x				9
Pool 'B' - Game 8
MacArthur	3	0	6	2						11
Gold Coast	0	0	0	1						1
Pool 'C' - Game 8
Hills South	6	4	4	0						14
Alice Springs	0	0	1	0						1
Pool 'D' - Game 7
Sunraysia	0	0	7	0	0	0				7
West Coast	0	0	2	0	0	3				5
Pool 'D' - Game 8
Mount Gambier	0	0	0	0						0
Perth Metro North	14	5	0	x						19
Pool 'C' - Game 9
Southern Mariners	0	0	2	0	0	0				2
Yarra Rangers	1	0	0	6	2	x				9
Pool 'A' - Game 9
Newcastle	8	1	1	6						16
Hedland	0	0	0	4						4
Pool 'A' - Game 10
Swan Hills	5	1	0	0	1	5				12
Canberra	0	2	3	0	2	0				7
Pool 'C' - Game 10
Hills South	12	2	0	2	2					18
Far North Coast	1	0	5	2	0					8
Pool 'B' - Game 9
Brisbane North	0	0	0	1	0	2				3
Cronulla North	0	1	0	4	2	x				7
Pool 'B' - Game 10
Ryde North	2	1	0	3	3	2				11
MacArthur	0	1	1	1	9	x				12
Pool 'D' - Game 9
Adelaide Southern										38
Sunraysia										3
Pool 'D' - Game 10
Adelaide Southern	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0		2
West Coast	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1		3
Quarterfinal Round
Adelaide Southern	3	3	0	1	1	0	1			9
Perth Metro North	2	1	0	2	0	3	0			8
Quarterfinal Round
Yarra Rangers	1	0	5	1	0	0				7
Hills South	0	0	1	0	1	4				6
Quarterfinal Round
Perth Metro Central	0	1	2	0	0	1				4
Ryde North	0	0	1	0	0	0				1
Quarterfinal Round
Swan Hills	1	2	0	0	2	0				5
Cronulla North	0	0	4	1	1	x				6
Consolation Game
West Coast	0	0	1	3	1					5
Southern Mariners	1	5	6	1	2					15
Consolation Game
Newcastle	0	0	0	0	1					1
MacArthur	2	6	1	2	x					11
Consolation Game
Brisbane North	1	0	1	6	4	0				12
Canberra	3	0	0	0	0	0				3
Consolation Game
Sunraysia	0	0	0	1	3	0				4
Far North Coast	0	0	0	0	0	3				3
Semifinal Round
Adelaide Southern	3	0	7	4						14
Yarra Rangers	0	0	0	0						0
Semifinal Round
Perth Metro Central	1	0	1	1	0	0				3
Cronulla North	0	0	1	0	0	0				1
Consolation Game
Hills South	0	0	0	2	0	1				3
Perth Metro North	0	0	3	0	3	x				6
Consolation Game
Swan Hills	0	1	0	0	2	0				3
Ryde North	2	0	2	0	0	x				4
Consolation Game
Mount Gambier	4	0	5	7	0	0				16
Alice Springs	4	3	0	4	0	0				11
Consolation Game
Gold Coast	0	3	1	5	1					10
Hedland	0	0	0	0	0					0
Consolation Game - Nineteenth Place
Alice Springs	0	1	1	0	3	2				7
Hedland	0	0	2	0	0	0				2
Consolation Game - Seventeenth Place
Gold Coast	3	6	2	1						12
Mount Gambier	0	0	0	1						1
Consolation Game - Fifteenth Place
Newcastle	0	0	0	0	0	0				0
Far North Coast	0	0	0	0	1	x				1
Consolation Game - Thirteenth Place
MacArthur	0	0	0	2	0	0				2
Sunraysia	0	0	0	0	0	5				5
Consolation Game - Eleventh Place
West Coast	1	0	2	5	0	4				12
Canberra	1	0	1	0	1	0				3
Consolation Game - Ninth Place
Southern Mariners	0	2	1	4	5	0				12
Brisbane North	2	2	0	0	2	0				6
Consolation Game - Seventh Place
Swan Hills	1	2	1	0	6	4				14
Hills South	1	0	0	0	0	0				1
Consolation Game - Fifth Place
Ryde North	2	0	3	1	0	1				7
Perth Metro North	1	0	0	0	1	1				3
Consolation Game - Third Place
Cronulla North	1	0	6	0	2	2				11
Yarra Rangers	3	0	0	7	4	x				14
Championship Game
Perth Metro Central	3	0	0	2	0	3				8
Adelaide Southern	0	0	0	0	2	0				2

Toward the past

Toward the present