As the 2014 Australian Region tournament arced toward its finish, the margin of difference between the teams advancing deep into the tournament was razor thin. So when Perth Metro North Little League's Nicholas Riley saw a narrow opening, he did not hesitate to dart toward it. And Riley's sixty-foot dash meant his team would make an 11,000+ mile journey.

Riley scored on a delayed steal of home with two outs in the top of the seventh inning of the Australian championship game at the Alleygators Baseball Club complex in Tallebudgera Valley, Queensland. The sprint made the difference as Perth Metro North edged Manly (New South Wales) Little League, 3-2, to claim its second Australian championship in three years.

With the win, Perth Metro North advanced as Australia's representative at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Riley had two hits earlier in the championship game, including a fourth inning double that helped Perth Metro North to level the score after an early 2-0 deficit. He struck out on a 2-2 pitch in the sixth, but the third strike pitch skipped past the Manly catcher, and Riley was able to reach safely. Tarrent Reimers then walked, and Callum Schipp was hit by a pitch to load the bases with nobody out. Perth's next two hitters fanned, but after the second strikeout, Manly's catcher strayed several feet in front of home plate, and the pitcher turned to return to the mound after receiving the ball back from his batterymate. Seeing that home plate was uncovered, Riley sprinted home with the go-ahead run.

In the bottom of the inning, Manly threatened to tie the game. Ky Jackson led off with a single, and a fielding error gave Manly a pair of baserunners with one out. Hibiki Tsutsui sacrificed the runners into scoring position, but reliever Blake Monaghan induced a ground ball toward short, and when the Manly baserunner collided with the Perth infielder making a play on the ball, the game ended on an interference call.

"They're a remarkable bunch of young fellows who work hard," said Perth Metro North manager Brian Armstrong of his team after the game. The Metros scored the winning run in the sixth inning of both their semifinal and championship round wins. "Their ethic is second to none, and they never give up."

Manly, which reached the Australian Region tournament for the first time in the tournament's seven-year history, led for much of the title game after scoring a pair of unearned runs in the first inning. Liam Spinks doubled with one out, then a dropped third strike and Jackson's walk loaded the bases. Perth Metro North forced the lead runner, but a fielding error on Jaylin Rae's bouncer to third allowed Aidan Torpey to plate the game's first run, and Jackson then scored on a wild pitch.

The Metros tied the game in the fifth. Pinch hitter Benjamin Hewett reached on a bunt single, and pitcher Callum Johnson followed with a single to center field. Hewett raced to third on the single, and came around to score on a wild throw on the play. Riley then drove a 2-0 pitch down the right field line to score Johnson with the tying run.

Johnson, the Perth starter, settled down after allowing the first inning runs, holding Manly scoreless for the balance of his outing and pitching into the seventh before hitting his pitch count limit. The right-hander struck out five and walked two. Monaghan recorded the game's final two outs to earn the save.

Manly received stellar pitching from both starter Yuri Kuriyama and reliever Soki Kusuhata. Kuriyama -- the first female pitcher to throw in the Australian championship game -- posted four shutout innings and changed speeds often to hold a potent Perth offense to just three hits. She struck out seven and retired five of the last six hitters she faced. Kusuhata fanned eight and allowed just one earned run in four innings of work.

Riley (two doubles) and Monaghan paced the Perth offense with two hits apiece, while Kusuhata and Jackson each collected two hits for Manly.

Six of the seven games played in the quarterfinal, semifinal, and championship rounds of the Australian championships were decided by two runs or less, and the tournament featured far fewer mercy rule scorelines than in years past. Just seven of the 47 games played in pool or elimination rounds were ended early due to the scoreline. 21 of these games ended early in 2013, and 27 in a slightly larger schedule at the 2012 Australian championship tournament.

Each of the semifinal round games were one-run games, and both winning runs scored in the final inning. Perth Metro North claimed the first semifinal, edging defending Australian champion Perth Metro Central Little League, 4-3, and advancing to the Australian championship game for the third time in four years. Monaghan produced the winning run, doubling to right field with one out in the bottom of the sixth. He moved to third on a passed ball, and after a strikeout, dashed home following another passed ball.

The Metros broke to an early 3-0 lead, as Monaghan slammed a two-run homer in the second, and Riley doubled and scored in the third. But Perth Metro Central narrowed the gap with a pair of runs in the fourth, then leveled the score by scratching for a sixth inning run after the inning's first two batters were retired.

Third baseman Benjamin Moncrieff's solo home run provided the Firebirds' first run, and pinch hitter Riley Cross singled home a second run later in the inning. In the sixth, Evan Perera singled through the left side of the infield, and then raced around from first base when Cross lined a single that slipped past the Metro right fielder.

Riley -- who along with Schipp was a returnee from the Metros' 2013 all-star team that reached the Australian quarterfinal round -- scattered five hits over five innings of work. The left-handed thrower struck out six and allowed one earned run. Calvin Eissens earned the win after pitching the sixth inning.

"Central are an awesome side," said Armstrong of his team's semifinal round foe. "(They're) WA's best."

Perth Metro Central had defeated Perth Metro North twice earlier in the tournament, including in an early-round Western Australia qualifying round, and again in the championship game of the Western Australia state tournament. WA leagues turned in a strong showing at the region tournament, with the state's five entrants finishing a combined 16-4 in pool competition. (That record involved one game played between two Western Australia leagues that were drawn into the same pool.)

Four Western Australia leagues reached the quarterfinal round, and three advanced to the semifinals. Perth Metro East Little League was eliminated in the quarterfinal round after falling 4-2 against Perth Metro Central.

"WA leads the way with our young Little Leaguers," said Armstrong of the strong showing by his state's teams. "It's proof in the pudding with what's happening out here today and also over the whole week."

Manly clipped the other Western Australia entrant, Swan Hills Little League, by rallying at three different points in a 7-6, extra inning victory in the other semifinal round matchup. Manly rallied from an early three-run deficit to tie the game, forced extra innings with a sixth inning run after again trailing, and overcame a two-run deficit in the seventh by scoring three times in the bottom of the inning.

Mitchell Bacon's first inning single gave Swan Hills an early lead, and James Leivers added a two-run single to right in the third inning. But Manly tied the game in the fourth. Rae tripled over the right fielder's head to open the inning, and then scored when Tsutsui reached on a fielders' choice. Tsutsui later scored on an error, and Kusuhata tied the game by splashing an opposite field single just past the shortstop's head to score Zachary Murphy.

Kurtis King homered in the top of the sixth to give Swan Hills the lead again, but Manly evened the game when Kusuhata singled and scored on Torpey's one-out double in the bottom of the inning.

In the seventh, Matthew Martin doubled home a run and Leivers added an RBI single to give Swan Hills a 6-4 edge. But Manly made one final push to rally for the win. Rae opened the bottom of the seventh with a ground single up the middle, and Manly gained a second baserunner on a throwing error following Tsutsui's fielders' choice. After a sacrifice bunt advanced both runners, Rae scored and Tsutsui moved to third on a wild pitch. Kuriyama followed with a chopper to short. Tsutsui was initially trapped in a rundown but scored when Swan Hills left the plate uncovered. Kuriyama sprinted to third during the rundown, and she outraced the throw home following Kusuhata's chopper to provide the winning run.

Perth Metro North dropped its opening round game at the Little League World Series, but rebounded to earn Australia's inaugural win at South Williamsport with a 10-1 victory over South Moravia Little League (Brno, Czech Republic). The Metros then fell, 6-2, to Mexico's Guadalupe Linda Vista Little League to finish the tournament with a 1-2 record.

Pool 'A' - Game 1	1	2	3	4	5	6	7		R
West Coast	2	0	1	0	0	2			5
Brisbane South	0	2	4	0	0	x			6
Pool 'A' - Game 2
Canberra	0	0	0	0	0	0			0
Manly	0	3	1	0	2	x			6
Pool 'D' - Game 1
Gold Coast	1	1	0	1	0	2			5
Northern Diamondbacks	0	0	0	0	1	0			1
Pool 'B' - Game 1
MacArthur	2	2	1	1	1	5			12
Hills North	2	0	0	0	0	0			2
Pool 'C' - Game 1
Brisbane Metro	1	2	0	0	5	2			10
Sunraysia	0	0	0	1	3	0			4
Pool 'C' - Game 2
Ryde North	0	4	3	7					14
Adelaide Northern Districts	0	0	1	3					4
Pool 'B' - Game 2
Yarra Rangers	0	5	5	0	0	1			11
Brisbane North	8	0	9	0	0	x			17
Pool 'A' - Game 3
Perth Metro North	3	0	2	0	0	2			7
Brisbane South	1	0	0	0	0	0			1
Pool 'B' - Game 3
Perth Metro Central	0	0	1	3	0	0			4
MacArthur	0	1	0	0	0	1			2
Pool 'C' - Game 3
Perth Metro East	0	0	0	0	1	0			1
Brisbane Metro	0	0	0	1	1	x			2
Pool 'D' - Game 2
Swan Hills	4	1	1	0	0	2			8
Gold Coast	0	0	0	0	0	0			0
Pool 'D' - Game 3
Adelaide Southern Districts	0	0	1	0	0	0			1
Cronulla North	2	3	2	0	3	x			10
Pool 'A' - Game 4
Perth Metro North	3	5	6	8					22
Canberra	0	0	2	0					2
Pool 'B' - Game 4
Perth Metro Central	4	0	2	6	2	0			14
Brisbane North	0	2	1	1	3	1			8
Pool 'C' - Game 4
Perth Metro East	4	2	16	5					27
Adelaide Northern Districts	1	3	0	0					4
Pool 'D' - Game 4
Swan Hills	1	0	5	3	0	2			11
Adelaide Southern Districts	0	0	0	0	1	0			1
Pool 'A' - Game 5
Canberra	0	2	3	4	2	0			11
West Coast	2	4	2	1	3	x			12
Pool 'B' - Game 5
Yarra Rangers	1	0	1	0	3	1	0		6
MacArthur	3	1	1	0	0	1	1		7
Pool 'B' - Game 6
Brisbane North	1	0	1	1	1	0			4
Hills North	0	0	3	3	1	x			7
Pool 'A' - Game 6
Manly	4	5	5	6					20
Brisbane South	0	0	1	0					1
Pool 'C' - Game 5
Ryde North	1	0	1	1	1	0			4
Brisbane Metro	0	0	3	3	1	x			7
Pool 'D' - Game 5
Gold Coast	0	0	2	0					2
Cronulla North	6	4	1	2					13
Pool 'D' - Game 6
Northern Diamondbacks	0	0	0	0	0	1			1
Adelaide Southern Districts	0	0	0	0	1	1			2
Pool 'C' - Game 6
Adelaide Northern Districts	0	1	0	6	1	2			10
Sunraysia	0	4	0	2	6	x			12
Pool 'A' - Game 7
Perth Metro North	0	1	0	0	0	2			3
Manly	3	1	2	0	4	x			10
Pool 'B' - Game 7
Perth Metro Central	2	0	0	0	6	0			8
Hills North	0	0	0	0	0	1			1
Pool 'D' - Game 7
Swan Hills	2	0	3	4	0	0			9
Cronulla North	0	0	0	2	0	0			2
Pool 'C' - Game 7
Ryde North	0	2	1	0	6	2			11
Perth Metro East	4	0	1	3	5	x			13
Pool 'B' - Game 8
Perth Metro Central	1	4	0	0	2	1			8
Yarra Rangers	0	0	0	1	1	0			2
Pool 'A' - Game 8
Manly	1	0	1	0	1	1			4
West Coast	4	0	5	0	2	x			11
Pool 'A' - Game 9
Canberra	3	0	1	1	0	0			5
Brisbane South	1	0	3	0	5	x			9
Pool 'B' - Game 9
MacArthur	0	0	0	0	0	0			0
Brisbane North	1	2	1	0	0	x			4
Pool 'D' - Game 8
Gold Coast	0	0	4	1	2	0			7
Adelaide Southern Districts	3	0	0	3	5	x			11
Pool 'D' - Game 9
Swan Hills	0	4	2	1	0	1			8
Northern Diamondbacks	1	0	0	1	0	0			2
Pool 'C' - Game 8
Brisbane Metro	4	0	0	5	0	1			10
Adelaide Northern Districts	7	0	0	2	3	x			12
Pool 'C' - Game 9
Sunraysia	0	2	0	2	0				4
Perth Metro East	1	0	3	4	6				14
Pool 'C' - Game 10
Ryde North	1	7	4	7					19
Sunraysia	2	1	0	0					3
Pool 'D' - Game 10
Cronulla North	0	0	9	0	3	0			12
Northern Diamondbacks	3	0	0	1	1	0			5
Pool 'A' - Game 10
Perth Metro North	4	0	0	0	5	1			10
West Coast	1	0	2	0	0	0			3
Pool 'B' - Game 10
Hills North	0	0	0	0	3	4			7
Yarra Rangers	3	0	0	1	2	0			6
Quarterfinal Round
Swan Hills	3	0	2	0	1	1			7
MacArthur	2	0	2	0	0	1			5
Quarterfinal Round
Perth Metro Central	0	1	3	0	0	0			4
Perth Metro East	0	1	0	0	1	0			2
Quarterfinal Round
Perth Metro North	4	0	0	0	0	0			4
Cronulla North	0	0	0	2	0	0			2
Quarterfinal Round
Brisbane Metro	0	0	0	0	0	0			0
Manly	0	3	3	0	0	x			6
Consolation Game
West Coast	2	0	0	6	0	0			8
Brisbane South	4	0	3	1	0	2			10
Consolation Game
Gold Coast	1	0	0	2	4	0			7
Adelaide Southern Districts	1	0	4	0	0	0			5
Consolation Game
Ryde North	1	0	1	0	3	2			7
Brisbane North	0	2	2	4	1	x			9
Consolation Game
Northern Diamondbacks	4	0	6	3					13
Adelaide Northern Districts	0	2	0	0					2
Consolation Game
Hills North	0	0	0	2	5	0			7
Sunraysia	0	0	1	0	0	0			1
Consolation Game
Canberra	2	0	0	2	0				4
Yarra Rangers	3	2	4	3	2				14
Consolation Game
Cronulla North	2	0	0	1	1	3			7
Perth Metro East	2	0	0	0	0	0			2
Consolation Game
MacArthur	0	1	0	0	0	0			1
Brisbane Metro	0	1	4	0	0	x			5
Consolation Game
Brisbane South	0	0	0	0	0	0			0
Hills North	1	0	1	0	0	x			2
Consolation Game
Gold Coast	0	3	0	1	0	3			7
Brisbane North	0	0	2	0	0	0			2
Consolation Game
Sunraysia	0	0	0	0					0
West Coast	3	3	0	4					10
Consolation Game
Ryde North	2	0	7	2	0				11
Adelaide Southern Districts	0	9	2	1	9				21
Consolation Game
Adelaide Northern Districts	7	2	1	1	2	0			13
Canberra	1	1	4	0	1	0			7
Consolation Game
Yarra Rangers	2	1	2	3	0	0			8
Northern Diamondbacks	0	0	2	1	1	0			4
Semifinal Round
Swan Hills	1	0	2	0	0	1	2		6
Manly	0	0	0	3	0	1	3		7
Semifinal Round
Perth Metro Central	0	0	0	2	0	1			3
Perth Metro North	0	2	1	0	0	1			4
Consolation Game
Canberra	0	0	0	2					2
Northern Diamondbacks	1	5	0	6					12
Consolation Game
Adelaide Northern Districts	0	2	2	2	2	0	0		8
Yarra Rangers	0	2	0	3	0	3	1		9
Consolation Game - Fifteenth Place
Sunraysia	5	0	0	0					5
Ryde North	9	8	3	x					20
Consolation Game - Thirteenth Place
Adelaide Southern Districts	4	0	0	0	0	0			4
West Coast	2	3	5	2	1	x			13
Consolation Game - Eleventh Place
Brisbane South	10	0	0	0	0	0			10
Brisbane North	1	1	0	0	0	1			3
Consolation Game - Ninth Place
Gold Coast	0	0	0	2					2
Hills North	10	0	0	2					12
Consolation Game - Seventh Place
Perth Metro East	0	1	0	2	0	0			3
MacArthur	1	0	2	0	6	x			9
Consolation Game - Fifth Place
Brisbane Metro	0	0	0	0	0	2	0		2
Cronulla North	0	0	0	1	0	1	1		3
Consolation Game - Third Place
Swan Hills	0	6	1	5	1	0			13
Perth Metro Central	6	2	1	0	2	0			11
Championship Game
Perth Metro North	0	0	0	0	2	0	1		3
Manly	2	0	0	0	0	0	0		2

Toward the past

Toward the present