They trailed Georgia 4-0 in the fifth inning before rallying to win their opener in extra innings. Spotted Mississippi a two-run lead in the first before rebounding to win. Needed a pair of late rallies to tie and then take the lead against Alabama in the winner's bracket finals. And again rallied from a 4-0 deficit to defeat Georgia in the bracket championship game.

Nothing came easy for the team from Bellaire, Texas as they made their way to the championship game of the Southern Region tournament. Bellaire hit only one home run in four games preceding the title game. They committed nine errors. Their scheduled starter in the championship game had only pitched two innings in the tournament to that point.

By contrast, Barboursville, West Virginia, hit sixteen home runs while rebounding from an early loss to win its bracket and gain a championship game berth. Barboursville's Mason Chapman would have tied the Southern Region record for most home runs in the tournament (five), except teammate Alex Whitt hit six. And Barboursville had its top two pitchers available for duty in the championship game bout.

No contest, right?

Well, no. Because the boys from Bellaire saved their best for last.

For the first time in five games, the Texas state champions did not have to play from behind. That's because they didn't allow their opponents anything. No runs -- and no hits. Behind the no-hit pitching of Ross Haggard and three-run homers from Alex Atherton and Michael Johnson, Bellaire overwhelmed Barboursville 10-0 in a championship game shortened to five innings by the mercy rule. Haggard, who struck out twelve, threw the first championship game no-hitter in Southern Region tournament history.

Haggard -- whose cool presence on the mound belied the magnitude of the game -- took control from the start. He struck out the side in the top of the first, fanning three players who combined for 13 home runs in Barboursville's seven prior tournament games. He struck out the side again in the third and the fifth, and allowed only two baserunners, neither of whom reached third base.

While Haggard kept Barboursville's offense bottled up, his teammates went to work offensively. In the bottom of the first, Drew Zizinia led off with a base hit. After a Barboursville error, Atherton drilled a three-run homer into the trees beyond the left-centerfield fence at Arnold White Stadium. Bellaire extended the lead on a walk, another Zizinia hit, and an error in the second, and Michael Johnson put the game out of reach with a three-run blast of his own in the fourth. When Bellaire added two more in the fifth (Zizinia -- again -- this time with an RBI single, and a throwing error that plated Mitchell Malone), Bellaire was on its way to the Little League World Series.

Bellaire's success stemmed in large part from the chameleon-like nature of the team: rather than riding the coattails of one or two key players, Bellaire relied on different contributors almost every game. In the opener, it was Michael Johnson, who drove in a pair of runs and survived two early Jonathan Hutto home runs to throw an eight inning complete game as Bellaire rallied past Columbus Pioneer (Georgia) 5-4. The next day, Zizinia and Ben Silberman each drove in a pair of runs and Zizinia scored three times as Bellaire defeated Picayune (Mississippi) 9-4. Bellaire scored in every inning and rapped out eight hits, while Zizinia and Haggard combined to stifle the Mississippi offense.

The next game, it was Atherton. He stumbled early, spotting Mobile Westside (Alabama) a first inning lead on Zack Cates' two-run single, then recovered to allow only one hit over the remaining five innings. He also turned the game around in the fourth inning. In the top of the frame, Mobile loaded the bases with nobody out but failed to add to their lead when Atherton registered three of his fourteen strikeouts. The Bellaire pitcher then helped his own cause in the bottom of the inning by driving in Hunter Johnson and Silberman with a double that tied the score. One inning later, Michael Johnson delivered Bellaire's only pre-title game homer, and the Texans moved into the championship game of their bracket with the 3-2 win.

In the bracket finals, Bellaire reprised their earlier comeback against Columbus Pioneer. The Georgia champions scored three times on wild pitches in the first three innings, and jumped to a 4-0 lead. Michael Johnson and Silberman delivered RBI singles in the third to halve the deficit, and Atherton tied the game with a two-run double in the fourth. That set the stage for Terrence McConn. Bellaire's catcher -- billed as "the Master of Disaster" by his teammates -- ruined Pioneer's afternoon with a two-run single that pushed Bellaire into the lead. Michael Johnson, who pitched five innings in relief of Zizinia, registered a strikeout with two runners on base in the top of the sixth to preserve the 6-4 win.

After defeating Barboursville in the tournament finale, Bellaire boarded a plane for the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. They were in safe hands. Once airbourne, Bellaire learned that their pilot had been a member of the Westbury American LL all-star team from Houston in 1966 -- the last Texas team to win the Little League World Series.

Bellaire's storybook season continued at the World Series. Behind four home runs (including two from McConn) and Haggard's four-hitter, Bellaire defeated Davenport East (Iowa) 8-0 in the United States championship game before finishing as the World Series runner-up.

Section 1 Winner's Bracket Finals	1	2	3	4	5	6		R	H	E
Mobile Westside	2	0	0	0	0	0		2	3	1
Bellaire	0	0	0	2	1	x		3	3	1
Section 2 Winner's Bracket Finals
Apopka National	3	2	1	0	0	0		6	14	2
Northwood American	0	0	2	1	8	x		11	12	2
Section 1 Loser's Bracket Finals
Columbus Pioneer	3	1	0	0	4	0		8	15	1
Mobile Westside	0	1	0	0	1	0		2	8	1
Section 2 Loser's Bracket Finals
Barboursville	0	0	5	0	0	0		5	7	0
Apopka National	1	0	0	0	0	0		1	5	1
Section 1 Championship Game
Columbus Pioneer	1	2	1	0	0	0		4	7	2
Bellaire	0	0	2	4	0	x		6	9	4
Section 2 First Championship Game
Barboursville	0	0	0	0	4	1		5	3	0
Northwood American	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	3	1
Section 2 Second Championship Game
Barboursville	0	0	4	0	3	2		9	9	5
Northwood American	1	0	2	0	0	0		3	6	1
Southern Region Championship Game
Barboursville	0	0	0	0	0			0	0	5
Bellaire	3	2	0	3	2			10	8	0

Toward the Past

2001 Gulf States Tournament

2001 Southeast Tournament