Little League Baseball and Softball is modernizing the nation?s favorite pastime with a mobile scoring application.

The organization partnered with GameChanger to create an app and Web site that will keep stats and stream live updates for its biggest games. Little League families and fans will be able to follow the games from anywhere in the world.

?Mobile, in general, is important to us because our volunteer base, which is made up of our parents and players, is consuming an enormous amount on mobile,? said Elizabeth DiLullo Brown, vice president of marketing and strategic partnerships at Little League, South Williamsport, PA.

?We think it?s important to stay relevant with our parents and players,? she said. ?Having tools that they would be familiar with in a mobile environment is important to us.?

How it works
Scorekeepers will still maintain a hardcopy scorebook to follow Little League regulations, but they will also enter stats and scores into the GameChanger app, which is available on Apple's iPad and iPhone, Android and Amazon's Kindle Fire devices.

The system then turns the data into real-time content, including batting spray charts, animated play updates and instant game recap articles.

The technology is available for free for all of the 90,000 Little League teams around the world.

Local Little League teams have already started using the system. The organization claims great feedback.

For the nine World Series events and ten region championship tournaments, Little League scorekeepers will use 35 iPads to record every pitch across a number of age groups.

According to Little League, there are 2.3 million Little Leaguers around the world and one million adult volunteers. This new technology will aid communication between the players, families, volunteers, scorekeepers and coaches.

Enhancing the sport
While the app does not completely replace the hardcopy scorebook, it does allow a coach to easily look at players? stats and see where the player is succeeding and where the player needs improvement.

Because the league requires a hardcopy scorebook, the system will require another person to use the app.

The organization is keen to bring this technology to its players and inject a digital and mobile experience in baseball and softball.

Partnering with GameChanger
Since GameChanger launched in 2010, more than three million games have been scored on the app.

Little League also decided to work with GameChanger because the company catered its app specifically towards the youth sports program.

For example, the company updated the app to include special considerations and rules such as pitch count.

The app also allows coaches to easily find their own league with a zip code search in the app. Coaches can then brand their team page with the Little League logo.

"Our mobile app and Web site has allowed us to fundamentally change the way youth baseball and softball teams collect, manage and share their data," said Jeff Kamrath, director of grassroots marketing with GameChanger, Alameda, CA. "We're able to bring technology to Little League, and youth sports in general, that has, until recently, only been accessible to professional sports.

"GameChanger can save coaches, teams, and league administrators countless hours of time by automatically calculating 150+ stats and spray charts," he said. "Players will benefit from our custom stats, specifically designed to improve player development. And we help communities stay connected to their favorite teams and players with live GameStream updates, in-game alerts and recap stories."

Final Take
Rebecca Borison is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York