Kerry Gilstrap/Courier
Curt Austin, the father of Army Pfc. Barrett Austin, throws out the first pitch at the Big League World Series in Easley last Wednesday.

EASLEY — From the emotional first pitch last Wednesday to tonight’s championship game, set to be televised live on ESPN2 at 6:30 p.m., the Big League World Series has once again brought attention from around the world to Easley’s J.B. “Red” Owens Complex.

BLWS organizers invited the family of Army Pfc. Barrett Austin, who died overseas in April from injuries sustained in an Afghanistan bombing, to throw out the tournament’s ceremonial first pitch. Surrounded by family, Austin’s father Curt tossed the ball to get the series under way.

The tournament has been full of surprises on the diamond, but perhaps none as big as the emergence of the Asia-Pacific champion Chinese Taipei squad, which bolted out to a 4-0 record on its way to the international semifinal game, played Tuesday after press time against Latin America.

Asia-Pacific teams had a combined 8-37 record over the first 12 years the tournament was played in Easley, but the Chinese Taipei squad beat its four opponents by a combined score of 32-4, including a 7-1 win over Latin America on Saturday.

S.C. District 1’s L.T. Tolbert slides safely into home to score a run past Texas catcher Gavin Grissom during District 1’s 15-5 tournament-opening win last Wednesday in Easley. The host team finished this year’s Big League World series with a 2-2 record. (Kerry Gilstrap/Courier)

Tuesday’s U.S. semifinal featured a matchup of a pair of former tournament champions, as the Southeast champion squad from Greenville squared off against the West champion from Thousand Oaks, Calif. The two teams earned their way into the semifinals with one-run wins over the S.C. District 1 host team.

The undefeated Greenville team toppled Thousand Oaks in the first meeting between the two on Friday by a 6-1 final.

The host team, comprised of players from Oconee, Pickens and Anderson counties, opened the tournament with a dominating performance in a 15-5 win over the U.S. Southwest squad from Texas on Wednesday and a walk-off 4-3 win over Central champion Michigan on Friday before its bats went cold in losses against Greenville and Thousand Oaks.

The winning run in each of the losses, 1-0 against Greenville on Saturday and 2-1 against Thousand Oaks on Sunday, came on a wild pitch.

In addition to the action on the diamond, the tournament featured a bit of controversy, as the U.S. East champion, representing Cumberland County, New Jersey, was disqualified from the tournament “for disciplinary reasons.”