El Segundo little leaguers advance to championship game
The all-star team from El Segundo advanced to Saturday's U.S. championship game of the Little League World Series with a 2-1 victory over its counterpart from the Northeast Seattle Little League tonight in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Declan McRoberts limited Northeast Seattle to one run over the first four innings and singled in El Segundo's first run, and Brody Brooks pitched two hitless innings for the save as El Segundo fended off elimination for the third game in three days. Northeast Seattle had the bases loaded with two outs in the top of the sixth and final inning after Owen Luke reached first on a dropped third strike that was ruled a wild pitch.
On the next pitch, Larson Eng, Northeast Seattle's cleanup hitter, hit a grounder to Louis Lappe, the El Segundo shortstop, who dropped the ball, picked it up and tossed it to Colby Lee who stepped on second for the force out to end the game.
El Segundo will face the all-star team from the Needville (Texas) Little League, the Southwest Region champion, in the U.S. championship.
El Segundo lost to Needville, 3-1, on Monday, relegating it to the elimination bracket. The U.S. champion will face the winner of Saturday's international championship between teams from Taoyuan, Taiwan and Willemstad, Curacao, for the world championship Sunday.
McRoberts singled in Jaxon Kalish, who singled, with two outs in the top of the first at Howard J. Lamade Stadium. El Segundo combined Quinn Boehle's single, a passed ball, wild pitch and Finley Green's one-out single for a run in the second. Northeast Seattle scored its lone run in the fourth.
Nolan Chang hit a one-out double and scored on a single by the next batter, Trey Kirchoff. McRoberts allowed one run and six hits in four innings, struck out five and walked one and was credited with the victory.
Brooks pitched two hitless innings, struck out three and walked one. Trey Kirchoff pitched a complete game for Northeast Seattle, allowing eight hits, two runs, one earned, struck out four and walked one in five innings. Brooks had two hits as El Segundo out-hit Northeast Seattle 8-6.
