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<p>SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT &#8212; Madison Chacko is planning on a little quiet time &#8211; at least in terms of her own verbiage &#8211; late in the morning and early in the afternoon Friday.</p><p>Chacko expects to arrive at the Little League Baseball Complex at around 10 a.m. to enjoy the day there before singing the national anthem prior to the 4 p.m. U.S. bracket game between West Region champion Central East Maui from Hawaii and Southwest champion Eastbank from River Ridge, La.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m just going to try not to talk,&#8221; said Chacko, a 14-year-old from Larksville, who is preparing to enter her freshman year at Wyoming Valley West High School. &#8220;That&#8217;s going to be hard for me because I&#8217;m a talker.&#8221;</p><p>While taking in the scene, Chacko will drink a tea she uses to protect her throat and preserve her voice before performances.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to try to try to keep my voice,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Chacko is used to performing, but this will be a different type of stage with a crowd approaching 10,000 at the outdoor stadium possible.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m definitely nervous, but I&#8217;m really excited that I have the opportunity to sing,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Chacko attended several games during last year&#8217;s World Series and has plenty of &#8220;Southwest merch&#8221; after following the Post Oak team from Texas. That gives her a head start on which team to follow at this year&#8217;s tournament.</p><p>The idea to apply for a spot at the World Series came when a friend, Abbigail Schultz from Swoyersville, sang at the 2017 and 2018 tournaments.</p><p>&#8220;I had to send in a bio and a video of me signing,&#8221; Chacko said.</p><p>About a month ago, word come in.</p><p>&#8220;It was about 10 o&#8217;clock at night and I was checking my e-mails,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I was so excited that I ran into the living room to tell my mom (Dawn).&#8221;</p><p>Like any other performance, rehearsal followed, although sometimes in private.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve really been practicing a lot &#8211; in the shower mostly,&#8221; said Chacko, who was nominated for best teen actress in by the Northeast PA Theater Alliance for her performance in the title role in &#8220;Annie&#8221; at the Little Theater of Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>Chacko has been involved in musical theater since her family responded to a newspaper advertisement when she was 7. She also performs at the Music Box Dinner Playhouse in Swoyersville.</p><p>Singing the Star Spangled Banner is a fairly new addition.</p><p>Chacko has performed it during state tournaments at the bowling center her family owns in Wilkes-Barre and during National Junior Honor Society Induction at school.</p><p>It will be her first time singing before a baseball game.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m actually a big fan of baseball,&#8221; she said. &#8220;My dad (John)&#8217;s favorite team is the Phillies, and we&#8217;ve been watching since I was little.&#8221;</p><p><strong>SERIES UNDERWAY</strong></p><p>The World Series got off to a fast start, then came to a quick halt Thursday.</p><p>The first game ended early when Shendrion Martinus threw a four-inning, no-hitter to lead Caribbean Region champion Pabao from Willemstad, Curacao to an 11-0 romp over Cronulla, the Australian Region champion from Sydney.</p><p>Martinus walked one and struck out one.</p><p>Curley Martha hit a two-run homer and finished 2-for-3 with three RBI.</p><p>The remainder of the Thursday schedule was postponed, setting up seven first-round games for Friday, beginning at 10 a.m.</p><p>All pregame ceremonies were completed for the scheduled U.S. opener, but the game never started. After a three-hour wait that included showers and thunderstorms &#8212; and with more on the horizon &#8212; action was halted for the day.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Robinson</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div>

Larksville’s Madison Chacko set to sing national anthem at Little League World Series