California wins Little League World Series with walk-off HR

Louis Lappe was one of the stars of the 2023 Little League World Series, and he came through yet again for California in Sunday’s championship game. Curaçao tied the game up with a grand slam in the top of the fifth, but Lappe lifted El Segundo to a 6-5 victory with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the sixth.

Facing a four-run deficit, Curaçao loaded the bases with one out in the top of the fifth. California responded with a strikeout but Nasir El-Ossaïs countered with one of the most clutch moments of the Little League World Series, connecting on a grand slam to tie the game at 5-5.

El Segundo is now two innings away from a Little League World Series championship. California stretched its lead to 5-1 in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single by Crew O’Connor.

The team from El Segundo had an answer in the bottom of the third after getting its lead cut in half earlier in the inning. California drew a pair of two-out walks to load the bases, and Jaxon Kalish connected on a two-run single to make it a 4-1 game.

After squandering scoring opportunities in the first two innings, Curaçao strung together a two-out rally in the third to get in the run column. The Caribbean team recorded three straight singles, with Shemar Sophia Jacobus driving in Jay-Dlynn Wiel to cut California’s lead to 2-1.

Curaçao stranded a pair of runners on the base paths for the second consecutive inning, as California took a 2-0 lead to the bottom of the second. The international champions followed a lead-off walk with a single, putting runners on first and second, but Ollie Parks answered with a strikeout before California’s defense delivered a double-play to end the scoring opportunity.

California’s top two hitters—Louis Lappe and and Brody Brooks—delivered back-to-back singles to lead off the bottom of the first, and Lucas Keldorf launched a two-run double to the center field wall later in the inning to give the squad from El Segundo an early 2-0 lead.

Ollie Parks will serve as California’s starting pitcher for Sunday’s Little League World Series championship game.

California toppled Texas in the U.S. final on Saturday, while Curaçao took down Chinese Taipei in the international championship.

Sunday’s LLWS championship between California and Curaçao is scheduled to get underway at 2 p.m. CT, with ABC carrying the television broadcast. Below are highlights from the third-place consolation game, during which Chinese Taipei beat Texas 10-0.

Below is a list of every team to win a Little League World Series championship this century:

2022: Hawaii
2021: Michigan
2019: Louisiana
2018: Hawaii
2017: Japan
2016: New York
2015: Japan
2014: South Korea
2013 Japan
2012: Japan
2011: California
2010: Japan
2009: California
2008: Hawaii
2007: Georgia
2006: Georgia
2005: Hawaii
2004: Curaçao
2003: Japan
2002: Kentucky
2001: Japan
2000: Venezuela

While Sunday will mark El Segundo’s first appearance in the Little League World Series championship game, California is no stranger to the stage. The state’s seven LLWS titles—El Cajon (1961), San Jose (1962), Granada Hills (1963), Long Beach (1992-93), Chula Vista (2009) and Huntington Beach (2011)—are the most in the United States.

Curaçao has been to the championship game four times this century, beating California in 2004 to win it all. They lost to Hawaii in 2005 and 2022 and Louisiana in 2019.

While Texas’ run at the LLWS ended with back-to-back losses, the team from Needville provided the Lone Star State with plenty to be proud of over the past few weeks. After going 4-0 at the Southwest regional, Texas won four its first four games in South Williamsport, beating Pennsylvania, North Dakota, California and Washington to earn a spot in the U.S. championship game.

Watch Needville’s top highlights from the Little League World Series below.

Corbin Riddle roped a one-out, line-drive single over the third baseman, and Jagger McRae reached on an infield single that ricocheted off the pitcher’s glove to give Needville hope of extending its third-place showdown with Chinese Taipei. But back-to-back outs ended the contest, with Chinese Taipei securing a 10-0 win in the fourth inning. The Little League run rule requires the game to be called if a team is trailing by 10 or more runs after its fourth time up to bat.

Chinese Taipei, which had outscored its LLWS opponents 25-1 prior to Saturday’s international championship game loss to Curaçao, was led by a dominant two-way performance from Fan Chen-Jun. The starting pitcher struck out nine with just four hits allowed in four innings, while adding four RBI—including a three-run homer—in two appearances at the plate.

Texas’ struggles continued in the bottom of the third, as Fan Chen-Jun smacked a three-run homer to give Chinese Taipei an 8-0 lead. The Asia-Pacific Region champions added two more runs in the inning, which will bring the LLWS run rule into play if Needville is unable to score in the top of the fourth.

Needville got in the hit column in the top of the third, as Heath Filipp smacked a two-out double over the left fielder. Texas wasn’t able to make anything of the opportunity, though, and currently trails 5-0.

Needville got off to a rough start on Sunday, as the Asia-Pacific Region champion tallied five runs on five hits in the bottom of the first to open up a 5-0 lead. The Texas Little Leaguers have yet to record a hit through their first two times up to bat.