El Segundo, Calif.'s Brody Brooks (14) is greeted by Needville, Texas' Dayln Martin (6) as he rounds second base after hitting a solo home run during the first inning of the United States Championship baseball game at the Little League World Series tournament in South Williamsport, Pa., Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023.
Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press
The Texas Little Leaguers fell 6-1 to the West Region champions from El Segundo, California in the U.S. final, with California advancing to face Curaçao in Sunday's LLWS championship game. Texas and California previously met during the double-elimination portion of the tournament, with Needville pulling out a 3-1 victory earlier this week. Dating back to the Southwest regional, Texas was 8-0 prior to Saturday and 4-0 at the Little League World Series.
Ultimately, California's bats and a standout pitching performance from Louis Lappe were too much to overcome. Lappe allowed just three hits and a walk while giving up one unearned run, as he struck out 10 batters in 5 1/3 innings of work. He also added a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth that broke open what was a two-run game at the time, bringing his RBI total for the game to five. Brody Brooks also had a solo home run for California to lead off the bottom of the first.
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Texas had just one hit after the first inning, as DJ Jablonski doubled and reached third base on an error in the top of the fifth. Jablonski, who had six strikeouts with six hits and four runs allowed in 4 1/3 innings, scored Needville's only run on a wild pitch during the next at-bat. Texas will face Chinese Taipei on Sunday in the LLWS consolation game, which is set to begin at 10 a.m. CT on ESPN.
Below are highlights and other notes from Texas and California's U.S. championship game showdown.
FINAL: California 6, Texas 1
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The California Little League team from El Segundo is headed to the LLWS championship game. Texas' undefeated run ended after four straight wins to start the Little League World Series, with the single-elimination nature of the championship rounds working against a previously undefeated Needville squad.
California widens lead with another long ball | Bottom 5
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After nearly blanking California in the fifth, Texas has one opportunity left to keep its Little League World Series run alive. Needville trails 6-1 heading to the final frame after allowing a three-run homer with two outs to Louis Lappe.
Texas gets on the board | Top 5
Needville finally notched its first run in the top of the fifth, cutting into a three-run California lead. DJ Jablonski led off the inning with a double, then advanced to third on an error. He proceeded to score on a wild pitch that resulted in a walk, decreasing the deficit to 3-1. Unfortunately for Texas, it wasn't able to make anything else of a strong start to the inning, as Louis Lappe retired the next three batters he faced.
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California strands bases loaded | Bottom 4
California catcher Lucas Keldorf nearly led off the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run, with the ball bouncing off the corner of the left field wall to limit him to a double. Max Baker followed this up with a single, moving Keldorf over to third. Texas starting pitcher DJ Jablonski answered with a strikeout in the next at-bat, and after hitting the next batter to load the bases, he delivered back-to-back strikeouts to get out of the inning.
Texas trails 3-0 with two innings left.
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Texas getting blanked by California star | Top 4
Needville has just two innings to cut into a three-run lead, and the offense will need to pick up the pace if there's going to be a chance of that happening. Texas hasn't recorded a hit since the top of the first, with California two-way star Louis Lappe striking out five consecutive batters and seven total for the game.
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California extends lead over Texas | Bottom 3
Louis Lappe, one of the standouts of this year's Little League World Series, delivered again for California in the third inning. With runners on second and third, Lappe struck a two-run single up the middle to give his team a 3-0 lead.
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Texas bats remains quiet | Top 3
After missing out on an early scoring opportunity, Needville's offensive attack has struggled to find its footing. California starting pitcher Louis Lappe has retired the last seven Texas batters, with four strikeouts though three innings.
Scoreless second | Bottom 2
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Texas escaped trouble in the second inning after a California blooper caused an outfield collision, putting runners on second and third with two outs. DJ Jablonski, who has a pair of strikeouts through two innings, forced a fly out to get out of the jam and keep Needville's deficit at one run.
California leads off with solo home run | Bottom 1
El Segundo was able to log a first-inning home run against Texas for the second time at the Little League World Series, as shortstop Brody Brooks launched a solo home run to straightaway center field to give California an early 1-0 lead. Louis Lappe went deep for the West Region champs during the first meeting between the teams.
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Defensive highlight prevents Texas from taking early lead | Top 1
DJ Jablonski legged out a two-out, infield single to spark a potential rally, with Easton Ondruch adding an infield single of his own to put runners on first and second. Easton Benge then launched a hard-hit line drive to left field, but California's Ollie Parks made an athletic play to snag the ball before it hit the ground. If Parks was unable to make this catch, Texas would've taken a 2-0 lead.
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Starting lineup
Below is the starting lineup for the Texas Little League squad:
Jagger McRae, 3B
Dalyn Martin, SS
DJ Jablonski, P
Easton Ondruch, CF
Easton Benge, C
Colten Georgi, RF
Jakolby White, 2B
Michael Raven, LF
Jayson Arispe, 1B
Heath Filipp
Cade Hammonds
Corbin Riddle
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DJ Jablonski gets the start for Texas
After dominating California in their first meeting, DJ Jablonski will take the mound for Needville again on Saturday. Since the start of the Southwest regional, the Texas pitcher has allowed just two earned runs with 27 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings.
"I feel really good, probably the best I've felt this entire tournament," Jablonski said prior to the game on the ABC broadcast. He went on to elaborate on his approach to facing California for the second time in a week, stating the key is to "just change speeds. I'm not going to throw the ball by anybody here, so I just have to change speeds and keep them off-balance."
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First pitch just moments away
With Curaçao taking down Chinese Taipei in the international championship game, it's almost time for Texas and California to kick off the U.S. final.
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How to watch
The U.S. final of the Little League World Series is scheduled to get underway at 2:30 p.m. CT, with ABC carrying the broadcast. The game will be played at Lamade Stadium in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Curaçao defeated Chinese Taipei earlier in the day in the international title game, securing a spot in the LLWS championship for second consecutive year.
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A chance at history
Only two Texas Little League teams—Lufkin in 2017 and Bellaire in 2000—have won the U.S. championship since the turn of the century, with both falling in the LLWS title game. The Lone Star State has produced two Little League World Series champions, with Houston-based teams winning it all in 1950 and 1966.
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Recapping Texas' win over California
As has been the case for several of Needville's games at the Little League World Series, their previous matchup with California was headlined by pitching and defense. Texas starting pitcher DJ Jablonski recorded five strikeouts while allowing just one run on four hits to lead his team to a 3-1 victory.
Jablonski had a solo home run in the win, with Easton Benge and Colten Georgi each delivering RBI singles in the first inning to give Texas a lead that it never relinquished. California's only run of the game came on a solo homer by Louis Lappe in the bottom of the first.
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BEST OF CHRON
Underdogs again
Despite beating California earlier in the tournament, betting odds have Texas as the underdog on Saturday. According to the offshore sportsbook BetUS, Needville is +160 (i.e., a $100 bet would net $160 in winnings), while El Segundo is listed at -220. It's worth noting that Texas was an even larger underdog heading into its win over California on Monday.
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How they got here
Texas went 4-0 at the Southwest regional to secure a spot at the Little League World Series, and has yet to lose a game since arriving in South Williamsport. Needville won a drama-filled LLWS opener against Pennsylvania, before rattling off wins over North Dakota, California and Washington to reach the U.S. championship game.
Outside of its loss to Texas, California has also enjoyed a dominant run over the past few weeks. The El Segundo squad went 3-0 at the West regional, and opened Little League World Series play with a win over Ohio. After falling to Needville in its second game of the tournament, California rattled off wins over Rhode Island, Tennessee and Washington to emerge from the loser's bracket.
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2023-08-26 22:00:06Z
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