Getting a read on the field for the Senior League World Series isn’t an easy undertaking, especially given the fact that half of the field just punched its tickets to Mansfield Stadium in Bangor within the last 72 hours.

But few upstarts emerged from the regional qualifying tournaments, as seven champions went undefeated en route to the SLWS – eight, counting Bangor’s unbeaten run in the Maine District 3 tourney that produces the host team for the weeklong event.

This year’s 10 SLWS participants combined for a 52-3 record in their regionals, and the five U.S. champions and representatives of Asia Pacific, Canada, Europe-Middle East-Africa and Latin America outscored their regional opponents by a collective 487-163.

Two familiar tourney entries highlight the field, defending SLWS champion Freehold Township, N.J., and U.S. Central winner Urbandale, Iowa. Freehold Township went 7-0 to win the U.S. East crown, marking the fifth straight year a New Jersey team has advanced to the SLWS, and outscored its opponents 99-20.

Urbandale, Iowa, was a semifinalist in 2003, and won six straight games in regional play this year to return to Bangor for the second time in three years. The Iowa team’s toughest tests during U.S. Central play came against the host team from Peru, Ill. Urbandale opened pool play with a 3-2, nine-inning survival of its host, then edged the Illinois team 2-1 in the semifinals.

Canadian champion Westfort International Little League of Thunder Bay, Ontario, also had to survive a host team’s challenge to reach the SLWS. The Ontario champions capped off a 7-0 tourney run with an 8-0 victory Thursday night over the host East Nepean Little League of Ottawa, Ontario.

U.S. Southwest champion Marksville, La., U.S. West titlist Pearl City, Hawaii, Asia Pacific winner Agana, Guam, and EMEA champ Tbilisi, Georgia all also enter the SLWS coming off unbeaten performances in their qualifying tournaments.

The Cinderella story in the field comes from the U.S. South. Clarkesville, Ga., lost its first two games in pool play to teams from Tennesee and North Carolina, then won its final pool game to gain a berth in the semifinals via a tiebreaker over two other teams with 1-2 records.

Clarkesville then knocked off a pair of undefeated teams, including Mobile, Ala., in the championship game, to finish with a 3-2 regional record – and a trip to the SLWS.

The only other SLWS qualifier to lose a game in its regional was Latin America champion Santiago Veraguas, Panama. That team lost its first game of pool play to Aruba 10-2, and nearly fell to 0-2 before nipping Venezuela 5-4. The Panamanian team added three more wins to reach the semifinals, where it edged Mexico 6-5 before avenging its only loss with a 6-2 victory over Aruba in the championship game.

Opening ceremonies for the 2005 Senior League World Series are scheduled for Saturday night at Mansfield Stadium, following an exhibition softball game featuring The King and His Court set to begin at 6 p.m. A fireworks display will follow the opening ceremonies. The program is free to the public.

The tournament begins at noon Sunday with Bangor facing Thunder Bay, Ontario, in the first of four games that day. Pool play continues with four-game sessions each day through Thursday, with the semifinals on Friday, Aug. 19, and the championship game and all-star game slated for Saturday, Aug. 20.