An appearance by two former major league standouts highlighted the 72nd Little League World Series Luncheon held last week at the dining hall at International Grove at the Little League International complex in South Williamsport. Former New York Mets All-Star, Mookie Wilson and Giants, Cubs and Phillies All-Star Gary “Sarge” Matthews were there in conjunction with the MLB-Little League Classic involving Wilson’s former team, the New York Mets, and Matthews’ former team, the Philadelphia Phillies at Bowman Field on August 19. World Series pairings of the drawing of teams for the various team hosts was also conducted.

Full First-Round LLBWS Pairings

Game One (Thursday, August 16 at 1 p.m.): Caribbean Region vs. Asia-Pacific Region at Volunteer Stadium.
Game Two ( Thursday at 3 p.m.): Mid-Atlantic Region vs. Midwest Region at Lamade Stadium
Game Three (Thursday at 5 p.m.): Mexico Region vs. Australia Region at Volunteer Stadium
Game Four (Thursday at 7 p.m.): New England Region vs. Southwest Region at Lamade Stadium
Game Five ( Friday, August 17 at 2 p.m.): Europe and Africa Region vs. Japan Region at Volunteer Stadium
Game Six (Friday at 4 p.m.): Great Lakes Region vs. Northwest Region at Lamade Stadium
Game Seven (Friday at 6 p.m.): Latin America Region vs. Canada Region at Volunteer Stadium
Game Eight (Friday, at 8 p.m.): Southeast Region vs. West Region, Lamade Stadium.
2018 Little League Baseball World Series Team Hosts Assignments (individual years of service in parentheses):
Asia-Pacific Region – Mick Cioffi (42), Denny Logan (16)
Australia Region – Joe Girio (21), Lee Miller (18)
Canada Region – Gary Weaver (21), Frank Missigman (14)
Caribbean Region – Marlin Cromley (20), Stan Helt, Sr. (14)
Europe and Africa Region – Pete Lupacchino (26), Josh Lupacchino (6)
Great Lakes Region – Bill Castle (30), Scott Metzger (10)
Japan Region – George Girio (31), Larry Missigman (27)
Latin America Region – Carol Zysset (18), Doug Alexander (14)
Mexico Region – Ron Frick (16), Mike Lundy (10)
Mid-Atlantic Region – Denny Loner (20), Lynn Datres (18)
Midwest Region – John Eastlake (20), Jeff Tompkins (8)
Northwest Region – Jim Kriner (16), Bruce Sechrist (15)
New England Region – Tom Rachael (20), Van Ransom (14)
Southeast Region – Dick Reitz (35), Willy Weber (12)
Southwest Region – Chuck Snyder (20), Rick Smith (9)
West Region – Gary Whiteman (3), Terry Parker (1)

Utility Hosts

Carol Weinhoffer (12), Gary Mayers (9), Josh Lupacchino (5), Mike Miller (3), Chuck Deluca (3), Gary Whiteman (2), and Ryan Miller (2)

Some additional news from this year’s luncheon includes the following:

MLB Little League Classic Ticket Lottery – Similar to last year, Major League Baseball will once again be hosting a ticket lottery for legal residents of the Williamsport area to attend the 2018 MLB Little League Classic on August 19.

Special Guests: 1998 Toms River East American LL Team– Along with Todd Frazier’s return to Williamsport for the MLB Little League Classic, Little League International will be welcoming back members of the 1998 Toms River (N.J.) East American Little League team to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their Little League Baseball World Series victory on August 19, 2018.

Golf Outing Guests: On Monday, July 30, Little League will once again be hosting its annual Golf Outing at the Williamsport Country Club. This year’s special guests will be Hall of Fame Broadcaster, Tim McCarver, and former New York Mets third baseman, Howard Johnson.

The 72nd Little League Baseball World Series begins on Thursday, August 16 and continues through Sunday, August 26.