Cousins power their teams to Little League World Series appearances

When Cole Dalla-Zanna stepped onto the mound as pitcher for the Hastings Little League team at the 2012 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, he was following a family tradition. His first cousin Ryan Matsuda, also a pitcher, played for Hastings Little League and helped them advance to the World Series in 2009. Although Ryan pitches right and Cole pitches, both boys wear number 18. Other teams went on to win the championship (California in 2009 and Japan in 2012) but Jack & Takayo Matsuda are incredibly proud of both their grandsons for their achievements in helping get their respective teams to the World Series in the first place.

Although this year’s team was eventually eliminated by the Curaçao team, they aquitted themselves admirably and played well. Especially sweet was a 13-9 win over a formidable Mexican team.

The Little League World Series features players from 11 to 13 years old who compete in front of over 30,000 fans in games broadcast on ESPN.