Record: 7-0

Last State Title: 2025 (0-2 in Mid-Atlantic tournament)

Miles from Bristol: 332

Team batting average/Team ERA: .389/1.83

Players to watch: Andrew Courtney – 17RBI, 6HR; Everett Choi – 10RBI, 12.2IP 3BB 25K; James Robertson – 3 hits in 9.1IP, 0ER 22K

Capitol Hill Little League won its third straight D.C. title after sweeping pool and bracket play for a 7-0 record. CHLL will look to become the first ever D.C. team to make the Little League World Series. Pool play began against Mamie Johnson and CHLL took a 10-0 victory. Andrew Csednik struck out ten over 3.2 innings pitched, allowing just one hit. James Robertson and Lucas Munoz each knocked in two runs and 11 of 12 batters reached base. Everett Choi hit a bases clearing triple in the second game of pool play, a 9-2 win over Northwest. Capitol Hill built a 7-0 lead before surrendering two runs late. Choi also pitched 2.2 innings and struck out six. Robertson struck out five more over 1.2 innings. Henry Congdon also got his first action on the mound and fanned three more over 1.2 innings. It was the same story in the third pool game, a 10-2 victory over Capitol City, in which Capitol Hill rolled out to a 7-0 lead. Andrew Courtney notched his first home run of the postseason, a 2-run shot to left. Munoz and Finn Ratner each chased home two runs. Robertson and Choi each struck out four and surrendered a hit a piece. The team finally faced some adversity in their final pool game against Banneker City, as BCLL took the early 7-2 lead after two innings. But Capitol Hill battled back Ten wild pitches, seven walks and three errors, though, helped Hill come back and take the 12-9 win. A ball put in play by 12-hole hitter James Dickinson back to the pitcher was tossed away, allowing the eventual game winning run to score. Everett Choi’s 2RBI double back in the third helped start the rally, pulling CHLL within 7-4. Henry Congdon gave CHLL the lead for good when he made it 9-7 on a 2RBI double to left. Andrew Courtney had the most success on the mound, striking out seven over 3.1 innings. 

With a perfect pool play round, Capitol Hill moved on to bracket play, three wins from Bristol. They returned to form against Capitol City, taking an 8-0 third inning lead and routing their first opponent 13-3 in five innings. A pair of wild pitches allowed two to score in the fifth to end the game. Choi and Courtney hit back to back blasts in the third to push the lead to 5-0 at the time. Courtney homered three times in the game. Robertson, Choi and Henry Smedile then combined to strikeout Banneker City batters an astounding 16 times in a 7-0 victory, allowing two hits. Courtney popped off for a 2-run and 3-run bomb, each over the fence in deep center. The two met one final time in the title bout, as Capitol Hill came away with a 11-1 win in four innings. Choi pitched the abbreviated complete game, fanning six and giving up four hits. Congdon came through early with a first inning 2RBI single. Courtney didn’t homer, but did have a bases clearing double and amassed 4RBI. 

East Side(West Chester, PA) (WATCH the PA State Title Game or LISTEN)

Record: 13-1

Last State Title: N/A (were state runners-up in 2023 to Media) 

Miles from Bristol: 229

Team batting average/Team ERA: .366/2.14

Players to watch: Ryan Donnelly – 3HR, 9RBI, 4BB 40K pitching; Cole Warner – .533, 3HR; Darren Molineux – .429 3HR

East Side lost early in the PA state tournament, but rallied for five straight victories to take the title. You can read more about East Side in our 2026 State Tournament Preview. The team opened states with a 2-1 victory over fellow heavyweight Hollidaysburg. Darren Molineux’s 2-run home run in the top of the sixth was just the fourth hit of the game, but just enough to get the 2-1 victory, as Colton DiGrazio had reached on a leadoff single. Ryan Donnelly and Cole Warner combined to strikeout 11. Molineux and Paul Copwerthwait homered in the sixth inning of East Side’s next game, but the team fell 6-4 to Blue Mountain. The team come out quickly in their first elimination bracket contest against West Point, scoring four times in their first turn at bat. Dillon DiGiulio knocked a 2-run single, followed by a hard hit ball by Cowperthwait. Jack Cassidy scored on a wild pitch in the third, providing the eventual game winning run in a 5-4 victory. East Side then met up with Hollidaysburg again. East Side took advantage of seven walks and two home runs by Ryan Donnelly to eliminate Hollidaysburg 9-2. Cole Warner pitched a complete game, walking one and striking out six. Warner and Donnelly both homered in the fifth inning. In a Sunday morning elimination matchup billed as one of the best games of the tournament, East Side demolished Newtown-Edgmont, a team many thought would win the state, 10-0. DiGiulio banged a 3-run home run out to deep center in the first, followed up by a solo shot from Cowperthwait. Donnelly and Ryan Hennessey combined on a 33-pitch no-hitter, moving East Side to the title series against the team giving them their only loss of the postseason. Blue Mountain. In the first game, East Side took advantage of six errors by BMLL, getting a 5-0 stranglehold on the game through four innings. Molineux tacked on an RBI single in the fifth on their way to the 8-2 win, forcing a decisive title game. 

The title game saw East Side take a 7-0 lead in the fourth, in what appeared would be a snoozer. Patrick Corliss, the 12-hole hitter in the lineup, hit one off the wall in right to bring home a run in the third, turning the lineup over for four of the next five batters to reach, building a 6-0 lead. Ryan Hennessey accounted for a 2RBI hit. Mike Nolan then added a solo home run in the fourth. Then, Blue Mountain responded by sending 14 to the plate, hitting a grand slam, and taking an 8-7 lead with the bases loaded and one out. Patrick Corliss took the mound for a key strikeout and ESLL finally got out of the inning suddenly trailing. Two batters later, though, Donnelly homered to tie the game up. Blue Mountain got the first two on with walks to open the fifth against Mike Nolan. East Side turned to its final pitcher available, Jack Cassidy, who had pitched all of a third of an inning in the all-star season. Cassidy struck out two and got out of the jam with the game still tied. After DiGiulio and Hennessey singled to open the sixth and Cowperthwait walked, Cassidy came up with the bases full and nobody out. He hit a fly ball to deep center that kept carrying, possibly ticking off the top of the fence, and over for a grand slam. He then returned to the mound and struck out two more, helping secure a 12-8 state title victory. East Side became the first PA team to win the state title coming from the elimination bracket since Hollidaysburg in 2022 against Greencastle. 

Berlin(Berlin, MD)

Record: 8-0

Last State Title: 2018 (Lost 4-0 to Mid-Island NY in Mid-Atlantic title game)

Miles from Bristol: 338

Team batting average/Team ERA: .426/2.66

Players to watch: Jonah Isett – .667 leadoff bat, 1.68ERA over 18IP; AJ Nelson – .661, 7RBI; Corbin Derr – 7RBI; Cooper Smith – 7RBI

Berlin makes its first Mid-Atlantic appearance since 2018, featuring the highest batting average of the four teams in the tournament. They got it done early in their district, defeating Snow Hill 14-0. The top three in the lineup that day, Jonah Isett, AJ Nelson and Cole Brown, combined to go 6/6 with 5RBI. Cooper Smith pitched four innings of shutout ball with 11 strikeouts. In their next district game, Berlin defeated Fruitland 10-6. Berlin led 5-2 into the final inning, where they plated five runs to take a 10-2 lead. Isett and Nelson were again perfect on the day, going a joint 5/5. Isett struck out seven over 3.2 innings of work. The team got more great pitching in a 5-2 victory over West Salisbury, as Gus VanKlompenberg fanned seven and allowed only two hits over three innings. Jackson Howell’s 2RBI double in the fourth provided key insurance runs. Nelson doubled twice and knocked in two runs. Jackson Baraby knocked a 2-run home run over the fence in Berlin’s 12-0 district title winning game over the same West Salisbury squad. Eight runs came across in the fourth inning to push the margin to one that invoked the mercy rule. Nelson was again 3/3 and batted in two runs. The lineup rattled off 17 hits in the game and Isett pitched four innings of five-hit ball with six strikeouts.

Berlin opened the Maryland state tournament against Brunswick. Brunswick took a 5-1 lead in the game before the bats came alive for Berlin. RBI hits by Howell, Kolten Hoffman and Isett moved the team ahead 6-5 in the fourth. The game went to a seventh inning, where AJ Nelson was placed on second base and bunted over to third. He scored in a walkoff passed ball to earn the 8-7 victory. The team rode the opening victory momentum into their eventual 6-4 win over Hub City. Corbin Derr stroked a 2RBI double to right and a pair of RBI groundouts by Cooper Smith and VanKlompenberg staked the team to a 4-0 lead. The duo of Isett and Nelson on the mound again came together to fan ten over 5.1 innings. Another strong start gave Berlin an early stranglehold on South Baltimore. VanKlompenberg put a ball in play to center field that resulted in two runs coming in and he scored on a Hoffman hit through short as part of a five run first that led to a 9-2 victory and spot in the Maryland state title game. Isett and Nelson were again called upon to take the mound. This time, they struck out six in a combined four-hitter and Berlin won the game 6-2. Isett double home two in a four run second inning, while Miles Abbott tacked on an an insurance RBI hit in the fifth. 

Naamans (Wilmington, DE)

Record: 6-0

Last State Title: 2022 (Lost 7-3 to Hollidaysburg in Mid-Atlantic title game)

Miles from Bristol: 233

Team batting average/Team ERA: .349/1.50

Players to watch: Brady Winkelspecht – 5RBI, HR; 4ER and 15K in 10.1IP; Brian Miller – 11.0IP, 3ER, 18K; Jason Pontari – 14.1IP 1ER, 16K; Kole Dzwilewski – 12RBI, 2HR

The champions of Delaware claimed their first state title since 2022. The perennial power from District 2 only needed six games to reach Bristol, starting with a 9-4 win over Canal. Three runs in the fourth and fifth innings broke a 3-3 deadlock, kicked off by a Brady Winklespecht 2RBI single to left and a bases loaded walk to WIll Santora. Kole Dzwilewski cleared the bases with a double in the fifth as part of a 4RBI day. Winklespecht and Miller combined to strike out eight and only allowed one earned run in the contest. It was a similar out come against Pike Creek, as Naamans helped itself to a 5-2 lead after three and tacked on four more in the fifth for the 9-2 win. Taj Amobi had the only multi-RBI hit of the day, bringing home the final two runs of the game with his flyball double that dropped in in right. Brian Miller again took the mound and pitched four innings of three-hit ball. He and Jason Pontari struck out a total of seven Pike Creek batters. In the district title game, Naamans scored three in their first tunr at bat on their way to a 7-3 win. Dzwilewski knocked a solo home run and Amobi drove in two runs. Winklespecht and Pontari combined to fan 11. 

In the state tournament, Naamans opened against perennial Delaware power M-O-T. After four scoreless innings from both sides, Naamans sent M-O-T to the elimination bracket by way of a four run fifth inning and 5-1 victory. A bases loaded E1 and two passed balls allowed three runs to come home. M-O-T loaded the bases in their final turn at bat, but Pontari worked around three walks to only allow one run. Winkelspecht was again up to the challenge on the mound, tossing five innings of one hit ball. Kole Dzwilewski had a 2RBI double and 3-run home run in the team’s 11-2 victory over Milton, advancing Naamans to the Delaware state title game. After allowing two runs in the first inning, Brian Miller settled down and struck out eight in 3.2 innings of work. The two teams faced off again for the title and Milton took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth, three outs away from forcing an if-game. To that point, Naamans had had only three batters reach base, including a leadoff triple in the second by Taj Amobi. Brady Winklespecht launched a leadoff home run in the sixth on the third pitch he saw, pulling Naamans within 2-1. With two on and two outs, down to their last hope, Will Santora put one into right, bringing home Miller and Pontari to walk it off for a state crown. Pontari pitched a complete game three-hitter, striking out six. 

Special thanks to Cody Brady of LSV Sports for providing the outstanding in-depth team analysis and research featured throughout this preview. Cody continues to deliver exceptional coverage of youth and high school athletics across eastern Pennsylvania. Be sure to check out and support LSV Sports for more outstanding local sports coverage.

Photos for Delaware, D.C. courtesy of team socials. Photo for Maryland courtesy delmarvaaces IG