This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press on Thursday, August 19, 2004.  KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Wednesday was the test for the District 51 team at the 2004 Big League World Series. District 51, called the West since they are representing Western Region of the United States, split its games in the first two days of action and if the team wanted to keep its shot at reaching Saturday's championship game needed a strong showing on the last day of doubleheaders. The team went 0-2, losing to Central, 1-0, and to Latin America, 4-2. West manager Walt Patison said on Tuesday that the team needed to win all of its games in order to make it to the championship of the round-robin tournament. The West headed into Wednesday's games with a .500 record after four games, but came out with a 2-4 record after suffering two tough losses. In the morning game, the West couldn't pull out a win with Golden League MVP Nickie Perez in the circle against the Central team from Grand Rapids, Mich., losing 1-0 in eight innings. Central, which is now 5-0 through three days of play, has shut out every opponent it has faced with its biggest win coming against the West. Central's biggest challenge comes today when it faces host District 2. District 2 played the West on the first day of action and beat the Antelope Valley-based team, 1-0. Latin America, which is now 3-2, edged out the West to stay above .500 in the tournament. The West has two games left, playing one today against Canada (3-1) and the other on Friday against the South from Debary, Fla., which is struggling with a 2-3 record. With other teams like the East, the defending World Series Champions from Maryland, host District 2 with only one loss, the West's chances of making the Sunday's televised championship game are slim.