North Carolina Little League team out of Southeast tourney after positive COVID-19 test

After winning its first game of the tournament, the Greenville (NC) Little League entry in the Southeast Region Tournament has been forced to forfeit its next games and exit the tournament after “at least one positive COVID-19 test,” according to an official release from Little League International.

The team from Greenville won the North Carolina tournament to qualify for the regional competition in Warner Robins, Georgia, defeating teams from across the state for a chance to represent the region at the national Little League tournament.

Things started well for the North Carolinians. They bolted out to a 4-1 lead through four innings and held off a West Virginia rally in the top of the sixth to earn a 4-3 win Friday.

Saturday, the team was scheduled to face Florida in a winner’s bracket game before Little League International intervened.

“In consultation with and at the recommendation of our medical advisors, Little League International has notified the team that it will no longer be able to participate in the tournament,” they wrote in a prepared statement. “The team members and their families have been informed of all appropriate health measures to help ensure all individuals are cared for, and that appropriate isolation and quarantine efforts are being followed.”

The tournament will continue, and the games they would have played will be considered forfeit victories for their opponents, including Florida the scheduled 4 p.m. game Saturday. That “loss” would then have put Greenville in the loser’s bracket, where it would have faced South Carolina. That game has also already been forfeited and a South Carolina win recorded on the tournament scoreboard.