As I watched the Little League District 54 all-star tournament unfold last week, I was struck by the role luck plays in sports.

I am not talking about getting lucky on the field of play necessarily, but about the good or bad fortune that goes into the tournament format itself.

It does not matter if the format is pool play or double elimination, if you get a tough draw, you can be sent home sooner than expected.

A look at the final six teams in each division who survived pool play is as interesting because of which teams are not there as much as for those who are.

In the Major division, the pool-play elimination of Woodcreek was the most surprising, while Maidu’s exclusion in the Junior draw is also unexpected.

Both of those teams were in tough draws, and if either had been in another pool, they likely would have advanced, but that is not how it works in pool play. Either team also could have averted their fate had they taken care of business in the games they did play.

In the end luck plays a role, but it is always the things within our control that decide our fate.

Another thing that inevitably comes up as I cover Little League baseball games is an ongoing dialogue with parents who want to know about my scoring decisions. I am asked quite often why my story referred to this double as a single or that hit as an error.

When I cover games in person, I score them myself, and perhaps I am a bit strict in my scorebook. I did want to share a few things for those who are not familiar with scorekeeping.

When a ball is hit on which a play should be made, it is an error. When a player hits a single and then advances to second base on either an error or because the defense makes a play on another base runner, it is still a single, and when a run scores on a wild pitch, the batter does not get an RBI.

I know that a lot of people don’t care about this stuff, but for anyone who gets into the way baseball statistics work, the Web site for Major League Baseball does include the official rules of official scorekeeping.