El Segundo still alive in Little League World Series
Wednesday night's must-win game for El Segundo to remain in the Little League World Series was a win for the team, leaving the West Region champs with one more game Thursday night to conquer in order to move onto Saturday's U.S. championship game.
This most recent victory allows the team to face its counterpart from the Northeast Seattle Little League Thursday in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
El Segundo fended off elimination for the second consecutive game Wednesday with a 5-3 victory over the all-star team from the Nolensville, Tennessee Little League, with Louis Lappe hitting a tie-breaking two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning in the six-inning game.
The West Region champion team out-hit Nolensville, 11-4. Max Baker, the third of four El Segundo pitchers, was credited with the victory, allowing one run and two hits in one inning with one strikeout.
El Segundo had been relegated to the elimination bracket of the double-elimination tournament with a 3-1 loss to the all-star team from the Needville (Texas) Little League, the Southwest Region champion, on Monday.
Northeast Seattle, the Northwest Region champion, lost 1-0 to Needville earlier Wednesday. Needville's victory Wednesday gave it a berth in the U.S. championship game.
El Segundo and Northeast Seattle have one other common opponent, Nolensville, which lost to Northeast Seattle, 6-2, on Monday.
