WACO, Texas – Boerne Little League will not return to Waco for a regional championship game tonight and is instead preparing for the Little League Baseball World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, sources close to the situation tell News 4/FOX San Antonio.
The sources say Boerne has the full backing of Little League International’s legal team and will not be in Waco for the game that had been expected to determine the Southwest Region champion.
News 4 San Antonio Sports Director Don Harris reported on X that Boerne Little League and Little League International have no intention of honoring the temporary court order.
According to Harris, Little League International believes it has full authority to make decisions involving player eligibility and forfeitures and is prepared to defend its decision. Meanwhile, Boerne is preparing to leave for Williamsport later this week and is expected to begin play in the Little League World Series on Aug. 21.
It is the latest dramatic turn in a whirlwind 24 hours for a Boerne team that went from celebrating a regional championship, to being told it would have to play again, to now preparing once again for Williamsport.
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Boerne, representing Texas West, walked off the field Monday night believing it had won the Southwest Region championship and punched its ticket to the Little League Baseball World Series.
Boerne defeated Louisiana’s Ascension Parish Little League 4-1 Monday in what had become the de facto Southwest Region championship after Tulsa National Little League was removed from the tournament.
Little League International announced Monday that Tulsa National’s 12U baseball team had been disqualified from the Southwest Region Tournament after determining that a player who participated on the team was ineligible.
But hours after Boerne’s victory, the situation changed dramatically.
Parents and players from Tulsa National challenged the disqualification in court with the support of the league. Judge Ryan Luna of the 414th District Court granted a temporary restraining order Monday, according to a statement released by representatives supporting Tulsa National.
The ruling appeared to put Oklahoma back into the tournament and initially set up another championship game between Boerne and Tulsa National at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Waco, with the winner expected to advance to Williamsport.
That created an immediate logistical and on-field challenge for Boerne.
Many of the Boerne players had already left Waco following Monday’s apparent championship victory and would have been forced to return for Tuesday night’s game. The team also would have had to adjust its pitching plans after using some of its key pitchers Monday against Louisiana.
Now, sources close to the situation say that game will not happen and Boerne will not return to Waco.
Instead, the team is preparing for the World Series and has the backing of Little League International’s legal team, according to the sources.
Tulsa National had said following the court ruling that the decision would give its players an opportunity to settle the regional championship on the field.
“The winner of the game will be determined on the field where it should be decided,” Tulsa National’s statement said.
For Boerne, the developments have produced an extraordinary emotional swing in less than a day — from celebrating what appeared to be a Southwest Region championship, to facing the prospect of another must-win game, to once again preparing for a trip to Williamsport.
News 4 San Antonio is continuing to follow the rapidly developing situation.