California hits walk-off home run to win Little League World Series
Curacao had tied game up with grand slam earlier
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}California infielder Louis Lappe accomplished something every 12-year-old athlete has dreamed about in their backyard or in practice – hit a walk-off home run to win a game for your team.
Not only did Lappe do it on Sunday, he did it on the biggest stage of his early career so far: the Little League World Series Championship Game. Lappe crushed the second pitch of his at-bat in the sixth inning, tossed his bat high in the air and leaped for joy as the El Segundo squad won, 6-5.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Louis Lappe of El Segundo, California, follows through on a three-run home run off Needville, Texas, pitcher Easton Ondruch during the fifth inning of the U.S. title game at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
It was his fifth home run of the series and the biggest.
"My mentality was just get the next guy up, and if we kept doing that, we would’ve won either way. But I’ll take the homer," he said.
Curacao made it a game.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Nasir El-Ossais played his role as the hero in the fifth inning. He hit a grand slam off California’s Max Baker in the fifth inning to tie the game after Curacao’s offense had been sluggish.
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Curacao's Jay-Dlynn Wiel (10) celebrates after scoring on a single during the third inning of the Little League World Series Championship game in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
But it came down to Lappe in the bottom of the final fame, and he delivered.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It’s the fifth consecutive time the U.S. side has defeated the international side of the Little League World Series final. Curacao has been represented in three of the last four championships but didn’t find championship glory.
California’s last win came in 2011 when the Huntington Beach squad defeated Japan, 2-1. That squad featured two future MLB players in Kansas City Royals infielder Nick Pratto and Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Hagen Danner.
Ollie Parks of El Segundo, California, delivers during the first inning of the Little League World Series Championship game against Curacao in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Perhaps one of these players on Sunday will achieve the same dream.