The Atwood-Hammond Little League in Illinois is having some hard time. Their equipment is dilapidated and needs to be replaced. Last year’s fundraiser, a hog roast, only netted $10, so this year the organization went to some outside-the-box thinking to raise some money.

After partnering with a local sporting goods store, the league is set to raffle off an AR-15 rifle, which is worth about $2,000, complete with a 30-round magazine, to boot. The winner of the raffle will have to pass a standard background check before being awarded the gun.

According to one of the c0-owners of the sporting goods store, Charidy Butcher, the raffle has had an unprecedented response, with phone calls placed as early as 4:30 a.m. to get information. Likewise, Butcher would like the public to know that guns are, in fact, safe.

“It’s a piece of metal, basically. They’re not gonna do the harm unless you’ve got the person holding them,” said Butcher.

Check out a news report on the raffle below.

Photo of the Night

Take me out to the ballgame, indeed.

Quote of the Night

“You can’t do what Ozzie Smith does. No cartwheels and no backflips. That’s it. Other than that, just do what you gotta do.”
–Joe Girardi to Derek Jeter on the eve of the latter’s first spring game at shortstop

Tweet of the Night

This fan wrote to the Miami Marlins, and they wrote her back with this reply. Suffice it to say, no one outside of this fan and the team likely thinks this is a good idea.

"Thank you for writing. We do not have a mini-replica of our Home Run Feature in cf but it is a good idea. I will pass it on to Marketing."

—
myjah (@KirbysLeftEye) March 13, 2013

Video of the Night

I know next to nothing about lacrosse, but this is supposed to be a very, very impressive play.

For the next week or two, however, those Little Leaguers will be fans of both clubs.

The Bay Area big league clubs, along with Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, have teamed up to donate $15,000 to the Petaluma Little League club, as they get ready to head to Williamsport, Pa., for the Little League World Series.

Little League pays for the players' and coaches' accommodations, but families and friends are left to foot their own bills. That's obviously never easy, but fundraising efforts have helped lighten the load. As have the help from the pros.

"We look forward to cheering on the Petaluma Nationals and are hopeful that they will bring back a Little League World Series championship to Northern California," Comcast SportsNet Bay Area president Ted Griggs said, according to NBC Bay Area.

Petaluma defeated a team from Hawaii over the weekend, earning the right to represent the West region at Williamsport. They are the first team from Northern California to reach the World Series since 2002.

Screen shot via NBC Bay Area

Ryan Lavarnway faced several questions Sunday afternoon before Boston's game against the Indians — but they weren't from a group of beat writers.

Rather, players from the 10-year-old district Little League team from Southborough, Mass., were the ones firing away. The team was in the NESN studio as part of Little League Sunday and had the opportunity to ask the Red Sox catcher some questions.

Lavarnway talked about what it was like growing up playing baseball, and he also had advice for the youngsters on how to reach the Eastern Region Little League Tournament. See that and more in the video above from Red Sox GameDay LIVE Presented by UNO.

The fight broke out behind the outfield fence and caused at least a dozen other parents to rush to break up the scrum. Of course, it wasn’t an easy scuffle to stop, and those who rushed in to pull the two apart ended up exchanging some words of their own.

The entire situation was a mess, but no arrests were made. The two heavyweights involved in the initial melee were cited for disorderly conduct.

With the Little League World Series fast approaching, this incident should serve as a reminder to kids and parents everywhere that it’s just a game. A little league game, no less.

Check out the entire fight in the video below.

Elizabeth Lloyd

Meanwhile, 11-year-old Matthew Migliaccio was warming up his teammate in the bullpen along the third base line. Unfortunately, he overthrew the pitcher and the errant throw hit Lloyd in the face.

She suffered multiple fractures and Migliaccio clearly felt guilty about it at the time.

"I ran over to see if she was all right," he told the Asbury Park Press. "She said she was OK. I was just on with warming the pitcher up, and I was not horsing around."

Now, Lloyd has decided that some horseplay in court is warranted and is suing Migliaccio for $500,000 in damages — two years later.

According to her lawyer, Lloyd has decided to sue the family because Little League's insurance policy only covers injury to players and coaches — and not spectators.

"The litigation itself is disgusting," the Migliaccio family's lawyer said. "Because a kid was throwing a baseball in a bullpen session, he is forced to retain counsel."

The family's lawyer went on to call the suit "frivolous," but the good news is Migliacco will keep playing.

"He never stops playing," Matthew's dad said. "Baseball is what defines him at this time."

So good for you, Matthew. Even if you are a Yankees fan.

Photo of the night

A Subban in a Bruins jersey? That's going to take some getting used to.

Quote of the night

"A serial predator has been held accountable for his crimes."
–Attorney General Linda Kelly, addressing reporters after Jerry Sandusky's guilty verdict

Tweet of the night

Shh! Someone might figure out the team's weakness.

STAT: #RedSox this season against pitchers with tipped hats … not very good. @NESN

— bil (@geckocinco) June 23, 2012

Video of the night

Exclusive video of the Miami Heat victory party:

Thumbnail photo via Facebook/ESPN Little League World Series

When no parents or adults came forward to coach the team, 15-year-old Chris Puckett and 14-year-old Cameron Shelley stepped up to the plate and took on the job.

The two coaches, who aren't much older than their players, were winless in their first two games at the helm. However, the team quickly turned things around, winning the District 68 Tournament of Champions.

Check out the video below to see game footage, and to hear from the young coaches themselves.

NESN called in a new level of analysts before the Red Sox' game against Toronto on Sunday.

The J.G. Lord softball team from Alfred, Maine, packed into the studio. The young players asked Dennis Eckersley some hard-hitting questions and even had their own special send-off cheer for the Sox.

See what they had to say with Tom Caron and the Red Sox First Pitch crew.

That being said, when the batter fails to get on base, the disappointment can sting a little bit. Well, one Little League umpire tried to make sure one batter would never forget striking out.

After the Little Leaguer takes a pitch over the plate, the umpire brought all the attention to himself with one of the most exaggerated strike three calls ever made.

Watch the video below, with a hat tip to Deadspin.

But this must be an isolated event, right? Just when you thought there can't possibly be other umpires at this level who act out a strike three call like this, this man proves us wrong.

Watch the video below.

The Red Sox took on the White Sox on Sunday. But before the game, a different White Sox squad had some questions for Boston hurler Rich Hill.

The Parkway National White Sox — a Little League team from West Roxbury, Mass. — dropped by the NESN studio. During their visit, they asked Hill questions that ranged from his favorite sport growing up to which players he admired.

Check out the video above to hear all that and more.

The Parkway National White Sox — a Little League team from West Roxbury, Mass. — dropped by the NESN studio on Sunday as part of the season's first Little League Sunday.

In addition to interviewing Boston pitcher Rich Hill, the Little Leaguers got a chance to chat it up with NESN analysts and former major leaguers Jim Rice and Matt Stairs.

Rice and Stairs discussed their playing days, including what it was like playing for the Red Sox. They also talked about Roger Clemens, who struck out 20 Mariners 26 years ago, and compared his intensity to Josh Beckett's.

Check out the video above to hear more.

But win or lose, the Sox are always ready to spend time with fans, and they'll be fielding the tough questions before Sunday's series finale against the White Sox.

And who is more qualified to interview Red Sox players than the Parkway National White Sox — a Little League team out of West Roxbury, Mass.?

The Parkway National White Sox will be in the NESN studio for Sunday's Red Sox Pregame coverage, and they'll have a chance to ask Red Sox players questions as part of Little League Sunday.

Coverage begins at 1 p.m. on NESN, and you won't want to miss it.

Nick Pratto singled in the winning run with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of sixth inning to give the boys from Huntington Beach a 2-1 victory Sunday over Hamamatsu City, Japan, and a championship.

With runners on first and second, an error by Japan's shortstop on what could have been an inning-ending double play loaded the bases for California. After a force play at the plate, the 12-year-old Pratto smacked a solid liner to center off reliever Kazuto Takakura that brought pinch-runner Eric Anderson home with the winning run.

Pratto tossed his helmet into the air after rounding first before his teammates mobbed him in the infield.

"USA! USA," yelled fans before Pratto's single. A U.S. team has now won six of the last seven World Series, with Japan's win last year the exception.

The teams exchanged handshakes at the plate before California's giddy players posed at the mound with their new championship banner.

It was a fitting end to a tense game marked by excellent pitching and timely defense.

Braydon Salzman pitched a complete-game three-hitter for the win, striking out nine. Japan starter Shoto Totsuka struck out five over 4 1/3 innings. Totsuka gave up a homer to right to California slugger Hagen Danner.

First pitch was delayed more than three hours after the outer bands of Hurricane Irene brought more rain than expected to the Williamsport area. The clouds finally started parting midway through the game, and sunshine draped the complex by the time the California players left the stadium to cheers by friends and family.

Neither team could convert on several chances to break open the pitcher's duel earlier in the game.

With runners on first and second in the top of the sixth, third baseman Dylan Palmer blocked the bag from sliding Japan runner Ken Igeta on a bunt play to help get California get out the inning.

California put runners on first and second with two outs in the fifth, but Takakura got a flyout to end the inning.

Playing right field in the second, Takukara also made a running catch on a flyball down the line to save an extra-base hit with a runner on second.

In a gracious postgame gesture, Japan's players and coaches lined up and exchanged high-fives with the California kids after Huntington Beach did the traditional victory lap around the stadium warning track.

It was Japan running all over the place in the top of the second, flashing trademark hustle to scratch out the game's first run after Seiya Fujita's solid single to left. Pinch-runner Kaito Suzuki moved to second on a bunt and raced toward third with no one covering. The throw bounced into foul territory, allowing Suzuki to score easily.

East Coast sports fans were rocked by some unexpected excitement Tuesday when a 5.8-magnitude earthquake centered in Virginia sent tremors from South Carolina to New England.

Play was stopped and the venue evacuated at the New Haven Open. The Washington Nationals delayed the start of their matchup with Arizona by 20 minutes.

Reporters noticed when the press box shook, but the game went on as if nothing had happened in Cleveland, where the Indians beat the Mariners, and at the Little League World Series.

The Hammond family was celebrating son Liam's 10th birthday with his first Indians game — one he'll never forget.

"I thought it was the wind," said Tim Hammond, Liam's dad. "I know the stadium is made to move, but I didn't know what was moving it. I was thinking maybe they blew something up on that movie set."

Filming for The Avengers is taking place near the ballpark.

At the tennis tournament on Yale's campus, 71-year-old John Ricci's first thought was of the stage collapse at a concert in Indianapolis earlier this month. More than 4,000 people were evacuated during a match between Jelena Jankovic and Elena Vesnina. Spectators felt three waves of shaking, as water bottles sloshed back and forth.

Vesnina was leading 2-0 and about to serve, facing two break points. Jankovic looked up in amazement as spectators rushed from their seats. Seconds later, the chair umpire suspended play.

"On the court, we didn't feel anything, but I saw the upper level, and it was shaking. I said, `Oh, my God, what is going to happen?'" Vesnina said. "I was really scared."

New Haven firefighters carrying axes walked in and out of the stadium to the applause of fans waiting outside the main court. The fire marshal later deemed the structure sound and let fans back in more than two hours after the tremors hit.

Play resumed at 4:15 p.m. when chair umpire Sandie French said, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the resumption of play of a match suspended because of an earthquake." Fans in the stands chuckled, and Vesnina prepared to serve.

New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum was sitting at his desk when the team's training facility in Florham Park, N.J., shook for a few seconds.

"Usually when the building shakes, Rex is laughing, so that was my first instinct," Tannenbaum joked later.

But it wasn't guffawing from the Jets' boisterous coach, Rex Ryan. When Tannenbaum peered out into the hallway, about 50 people were standing there, "with everyone kind of looking at each other like, `Was that really an earthquake?'"

In South Williamsport, Pa., Lamade Stadium briefly rattled during the LLWS consolation game between Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Cumberland, R.I. Players from Cumberland gasped when told in an interview with reporters after their 8-7 win that there was an earthquake.

At home before the Yankees played Oakland, Nick Swisher said he was "wondering why things were moving in my living room" on the 21st floor. His thought: "Hey, I'm getting down on the ground." Once he reached the street, Swisher ran into teammate and neighbor Dave Robertson.

Greensboro, N.C., native John Isner was upstairs in the stadium at the Winston-Salem Open men's tennis tournament when his mother said it felt like an earthquake.

"And I was like, `Come on, Mom, there aren't earthquakes in North Carolina,'" he said.

"I thought somebody was doing construction nearby, so I got on the Internet, and it was up and down the East Coast," Isner added.

At The Barclays golf tournament in Edison, N.J., Trevor Immelman "felt like the putting green was on jelly."

Steele, who grew up in Idyllwild, Calif., has been through bigger earthquakes.

"But this is the first time I ever felt one on a golf course," he said.

Chad Campbell was in the clubhouse, and it felt like being on water.

"That was my first one," the Texas native said. "Didn't think it would be in New Jersey."

Editor’s note: Each week, NESN.com’s editorial staff will debate a topic via email in a feature called “Field Judges.” We’ll post the conversation and the ruling on NESN.com.

This week’s question: Is the national spotlight too much for kids playing on national TV in the Little League World Series?

Michael Hurley, Senior Assistant Editor, 11:01 a.m., Tuesday

Hi everyone, it’s that time of the week again where we take a topic in the sports world and have ourselves a debate. This week, it’s something that probably all of us can relate to: Little League. With the Little League World Series on our televisions this month, there’s the age-old question of whether it is right and whether it is OK for these 12-year-old kids to have the pressure that comes with being on national television placed upon their little, bitty shoulders.
 
Obviously, any baseball-playing kid would kill for the opportunity to make it to Williamsport, as it’s really a once-in-a-lifetime event. Realistically, maybe less than 1 percent of these kids will go on to have careers playing baseball, so it may be the highest level they ever reach.
 
That being said, there is tremendous pressure that comes with it. These kids can play in front of 30,000 fans, something the Tampa Bay Rays can’t even say on most nights. They are on ESPN. Everyone they know is watching. If they succeed, it’s great; if they fail, it’s horrible. While it might be fun to watch Alex Rodriguez make an error, it’s anything but enjoyable to watch a kid boot a grounder and start crying. I mean, unless you’re sick and enjoy watching that kind of thing.
 
So here we are. We’ll be watching, but is the national spotlight too much pressure to put on these kids?

John Beattie, Associate Editor, 11:11 a.m., Tuesday

How can it even be considered a bad thing that these kids are in the national spotlight? First of all, these boys are all 12 or 13 years old, so the daily pressure they’re about to embark on as teenagers is going to be far more than a few cameras and thousands of screaming … scratch that — encouraging — fans. At least the national spotlight is shining on them for excelling at baseball and not for, oh, I don’t know, beating pregnant women, pretending to cruise cross-country in a homemade balloon or “doing hoodrat things with friends.”

If we continue to put Spelling Bees on national TV then there’s no reason why we shouldn’t put extraordinary young athletes on national TV. Plus, tears, taters and mascots dancing with overweight umps? Talk about compelling television.

Ben Watanabe, Assistant Editor, 11:27 a.m., Tuesday

The kids will be fine. It’s the adults I worry about.

Kids are remarkably resilient. They face adversity in ways a lot of grown-ups can’t. Not that baseball is life and death, but when you go to a funeral, look at how many young people are consoling the adults who can barely keep it together. Somehow, we grow out of our fearlessness. Unfortunately, many of us also grow out of our sense of keeping things in perspective.

For whatever reason, youth sports seem to bring out the worst in some parents. Perfectly reasonable human beings turn into hateful, spiteful demons when their children are on the field. They want their little ones to succeed. I get that. Screaming at the umpire, taunting the opposing players and sparking arguments with parents from the other team in the parking lot is unnecessary, though. (These are not isolated incidents, either. I’m willing to venture I’ve covered over 50 Little League games, and every game I’ve ever attended featured all three of the previously mentioned acts. When you attend these tournaments as a neutral observer, you realize the evil these events bring out in people.)

I’d suggest improving the Little League World Series this way: Ban all adults. Little League International can provide the parents with a private viewing area to watch the game with like-minded fans, where their invective can’t be heard by the other side, the umpires or impressionable kids. Bring in the players’ classmates and siblings to root them on positively. Even remove the ESPN announcers and replace them with precocious 12-year-olds who want to break into broadcasting. Kids make this event great. Adults merely ruin it.

Michael Hurley, 12:09 p.m., Tuesday

I’ll jump in here. I don’t disagree with anything either of you said. From covering high school sports for a while, I know how nasty and awful sports parents can get. I’m sure they’re all nice people away from the field (well, no I’m not), but sitting in the stands, they can become truly grotesque individuals.

That being said, I think back to my days in Little League. I was always younger than everyone, thanks to my summer birthday, which meant when I was 11, I was considered 12. That means I had to overcome incredible odds, obviously, but I still hit .880 and won the town championship my final year (I made one of those things up. You decide which one.). I remember leading off that championship series and literally shaking because I was so nervous. There were probably 30 spectators total at the game, yet I remember feeling incredible pressure. Of course, I probably hit something like seven triples that game and cemented myself in Arlington baseball lore, but I’m just trying to picture what it’s like to step into the box at Williamsport with millions of folks watching you.
 
Maybe I was a sensitive child, and maybe I’m still a little soft, but think back to the most embarrassing moment in your life. How many people saw it or knew about it? Five? Maybe 10? Imagine that amplified thousands of times over, and imagine getting ridiculed or taunted from jealous classmates. It can definitely be a lot for kids as they enter vulnerable moments in their lives. Does nobody else feel this way?

Ricky Doyle, Assistant Editor, 4:54 p.m., Tuesday

Listen, these kids playing in Williamsport have the opportunity of a lifetime based on their baseball skill. While only a tiny percentage will go on to play professionally, those that do are going to have to get used to the bright lights and large crowds at some point. Why not start them young?
 
In some ways, the Little League World Series is a microcosm of today’s society as a whole — wait, what? Seriously, though, when you think of it, you’ll likely have to endure uncomfortable experiences at one point or another in order to get where you want to go in life. Like my boy Sly Stallone said in Rocky Balboa (which was terrible, by the way), “Listen kid, the world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows.”
 
I know it’s crazy, but taking away the opportunity for kids to play on television and on a national stage would show just how soft we’ve become.
 
It’s like your drunk uncle that talks about all the crazy crap he used to do when he was a kid, yet he’s still standing. This time in Williamsport is only a footnote in the lives of these kids, and I guarantee a majority of them will look back on the experience when they’re older and consider it a favorable one.
 
I understand the pressure isn’t easy to deal with. But there’s not a whole lot of things in life that are particularly easy — unless you hit the lottery (which I’ve lost all hope on). So these kids should relish the opportunity while they can and understand that they should focus on having fun (OK, now I’m starting to sound like that hip uncle). But to deprive them of the opportunity because it’s “too hard” would be ridiculous.

Dan Duquette Jr., Assistant Editor, 6:51 p.m., Tuesday

Let them play! Let them play!
 
It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these kids, and there’s no sense in depriving them of the chance to play in front of the bright lights just in case they might mess up.
 
When these kids look back and remember their time at the LLWS, will they focus on the ground ball that went through the wickets and allowed the team from Chinese Taipei to score three runs? I doubt it. They’ll just remember that they were lucky enough to make it that far. They’re going to forget the bad stuff and just think about what an awesome experience it was to be in Williamsport and have a chance to compete at the sport’s highest level.
 
Like Mr. Hurley, I was also once an athlete. And when I think back to the time my high school football team set the state record for consecutive wins, I don’t remember that I didn’t play a single down. I remember the electricity in the crowd and the celebratory pile-on that I nearly suffocated under while celebrating the clock running out.
 
Would you really want to deprive these kids a chance to fear for their lives in a celebratory pile-on? I certainly wouldn’t.

Tony Lee, Red Sox reporter, 7:22 p.m., Tuesday

I’ll piggyback on what John and Dan said, and draw upon personal experience. Everything that happened while I was in Little League, and even flirting with a Williamsport bid, was positive. But in a way, it was the end of the innocence. That summer finished with a lot of good friends heading in many different directions, only to meet again on a high school field three or four years later and already destroyed by acne jokes, braces and multiple snubs at prom-date requests (that was everyone, right?). Before all that, we had a chance to shine. Together.

When I was an All-Star (for, ahem, the third straight year), our team was loaded. We went to the finals of our section, which was a game from a state championship and then a trip to New England. As each game passed, the crowd grew immensely (in Vermont that means like three extra people and an additional cow showed up every time we played), and so did our excitement. When we eventually bowed out, it was a damaging blow, but the huge show of support made us realize we were part of something special.

We could only dream about how special that feeling was if we made it a few more rounds and reached a bigger stage.

Yours truly entered the last game we played to try to stem a fifth-inning rally by our opponents. We were down 3-1 but if I had held them there, a chance at a comeback in the top of the sixth was real. They scored three runs off me, although all came on a bases-clearing double on a ball that was foul. Trust me. Anyway, I don’t remember much beyond the horrendous call. I don’t remember the kid who hit it. I don’t remember how we eventually got out of the inning. I don’t recall what my teammates said to me once we returned to the dugout. What I do remember is almost every other moment of that incredible ride.

The kids in Williamsport have even more of those positive memories to draw from. They’ve already had so many remarkable triumphs to get to that point. Appearing on national TV is just icing on the cake. If you cry on camera after making a big error against Saudi Arabia, well, them’s the breaks. There will be tough times ahead. Lemons into lemonade … all that good stuff.

The sometimes painful climb to adulthood is a different one for each of these kids. But to have the opportunity to call yourself one of the best players on the best team in your state, region, country, etc., is something nobody can take away from you, no matter how many times you leave your zipper down. Let ‘em play on, enjoy their highs and learn from their lows.

As John said, it’s better than some of the alternatives.

Ricky Doyle, 7:38 p.m., Tuesday

My softball team got thrown out of the league this year if that adds any credibility to my previous statements.

Editor’s note: Thanks, Ricky, but no, it doesn’t.

Ben Watanabe, 8:24 a.m., Wednesday

We need to address three quick things:

1. Rocky Balboa was not terrible. It was hokey and inspirational, like every Rocky movie. And the original Rocky is one of the 20 greatest movies ever made. Maybe it’s the Philly in me, but my eyes always get moist when Rock’s spittin’ knowledge to his kid outside the restaurant in Rocky Balboa. You tell him, Rocko!

2. Contrary to what Dan implies, Chinese Tapei is not a bad team. It was one of the favorites heading into the tournament and the loss to Canada was one of the biggest upsets in LLWS history. Why do I know this? Because I’m a pathetic person with a sad life.

3. Let the record show that unlike my colleagues, I was never a Little League all-star. I was one of the worst baseball players to ever hold a bat. This makes me appreciate everything these kids do.

Michael Hurley, 8:50 a.m., Wednesday

All right, I was about to say “You’re all correct and I’m wrong,” but then I watched the SportsCenter Top 10 plays, and featured was the celebration of the Netherlands team after some kid hit a home run. The hitter jumped on the plate and when he landed, all his teammates around him fell to the ground. These kids are great athletes and their games are fun to watch, and that’s what makes the highlight reels? So we’re encouraging them to be showoffs? We want them to show up their opponents? We want them, at 12 years old, to show no respect for their opponents? What a bunch of losers.

Did I just call a bunch of 12-year-olds a bunch of losers? See — I told you there were problems here.

(The Netherlands, deservedly, ended up losing that game to Rhode Island. Like I said, losers.)

RULING

But look, when you’re beat, you’re beat, and everyone seems to be in agreement that the kids should play. I just hope one day all of you are fortunate enough to have a son make the Little League World Series, and I hope he blows it for his team — No! I hope he blows it for America – and then we can bring up this topic once again. We can also bring it up when LLWS becomes synonymous with NCAA in terms of corruption and exploitation. Yeah, I said it.

Next week, it looks like we’ll have to debate the merits of Rocky Balboa (my vote: horrible), though I’m not sure we can settle that one without resorting to fisticuffs.

An hour or so after the earthquake struck, another quake took place in Williamsport, Pa. — sort of.

The Netherlands and Cumberland, R.I., squared off in a consolation game at the Little League World Series on Tuesday afternoon. Following a home run from Netherlands' Phayson Antonio, the European representative to the World Series staged a pretty elaborate celebration.

As Antonio touched home plate, his teammates, who had gathered around the dirt surrounding home plate, all fell to the ground — as if Antonio had caused a tremor.

The timing is obviously great, but the celebration is more a take on Prince Fielder and the Brewers' similar celebration following one of his walk-off home runs in 2009.

If the Rhode Island team was upset about the celebration, they got their retribution where it mattered most — on the scoreboard. The home run put Europe up 7-3, but the tournament's New England representative battled back to put up five runs in the bottom of the sixth to win.

See video of the Netherlands celebration below, via Yahoo's Big League Stew blog.

Doubleheaders are tough affairs. Players have to grind out 18 whole innings of baseball and deal with any extra innings and rain delays to boot.

With David Ortiz out of the lineup with an illness and Marco Scutaro taking the first game off with some back soreness, NESN Nation's Krister Johnson has been watching the New England region qualifying for the Little League World Series on NESN, and he realized that some of the rules from LIttle League could be pretty useful for the Red Sox during Tuesday's day-night doubleheader.

And if those rules can help slow down Desmond Jennings and other Tampa Bay base stealers, well, then even better.

Check out Krister's ideas in the video and let us know if you can think of any Little League rules that would help the Red Sox in the comments below.

Check out the live chat on our in-game page: Join NESN Nation

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In just one week, Red Sox fans will get to see the players that may one day be playing in the shadows of the Green Monster when they are showcased at Futures at Fenway. This year, Sox fans will get to see both the Portland Sea Dogs and Pawtucket Red Sox take the field at Fenway, giving both fans and players a taste of what the future could soon behold.

The Little League World Series is also fast approaching. Every year in Williamsport, the game is presented in perhaps its most simplest way when Little Leaguers from across the world embark on a trip to Pennsylvania to remind fans what the game looks like when it is truly played for fun.

Some of those Little Leaguers could end up on Cape Cod in just a few years to play in the Cape Cod Baseball League. Considered by many to be the best amateur summer league in the country, the best college prospects in America make their way to the Cape every summer for a chance to impress scouts. Anyone who's ever spent a week down the Cape can tell you there are few combinations better than Cape Cod and good baseball.

And finally, there are the (big) boys of summer — the major leaguers. The best of the best bring their talents to the Midsummer Classic every year to play in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. In terms of pure baseball, it does leave something to be desired, but there's no denying the fact that it is the largest gathering of the best baseball players on the entire planet every year.

Which mid-Summer baseball event is most exciting to watch?

Tune in to NESN at 7 p.m. ET to catch the tail end of the New England Regional semifinals doubleheader as  New Hampshire's Goffstown, which captured the top seed after going 4-0 in pool play, takes on fourth-seeded Andover National out of Massachusetts.

Connecticut's Fairfield American and Rhode Island's Cumberland American battled earlier in the day at 3 p.m. ET. 

Be sure to tune in to NESN Daily on Thursday night at 10 p.m. to catch highlights from both games, as well as a full recap and analysis of the Pats' preseason opener against the Jaguars.

The first semifinal matchup will pit Connecticut’s Fairfield American (3-1 in pool play) against Rhode Island’s Cumberland American (2-2). The game is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET.

The latter game will feature New Hampshire’s Goffstown, which captured the top seed after going 4-0 in pool play, against fourth-seeded Andover National out of Massachusetts. First pitch is set for just after 7 p.m.

NESN will be airing both semifinal matchups, so tune in at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. to see the live action. Click here for NESN’s programming schedule.

The two winners will then square off in the championship game Saturday at 1 p.m.

Cumberland, R.I., needed to win to get into the New England regional semifinal and they didn't disappoint. Two home runs propelled Cumberland to a 12-4 victory over Barre Community, Vermont.

Ryan McCormick and Christopher Wright provided the blasts in the route, which consisted of Cumberland scoring in all six innings, including five runs in the fourth.

Goffstown, N.H., and Andover, Mass., played a very strategic game that NESN's Jack Edwards said was similar to a game of poker. Goffstown ended up prevailing 5-2, though.

NESN will once again be the home for Thursday's action. Fairfield, Conn., will take on Cumberland at 3 p.m., while Goffstown will take on Andover in the 7 p.m. game.

To see highlights of Wednesday's action, as well as analysis from Edwards and Ken Ryan, check out the video above.