An all-star team from El Segundo, Calif. is the 2023 Little League World Series champions, taking the crown 6-5 from Curacao in dramatic fashion with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Shortstop Louis Lappe crushed a home run to left field to win the game for the West, which blew a 5-1 lead when Curacao hit a grand slam the inning before to tie the game. It was Lappe’s fifth home run of the tournament.
Curaçao tied the game 5-5 in the top of the fifth on a grand slam to right field from Nasir El-Ossais with two outs, sending their fans into a frenzy.
The championship game aired on ABC-TV.
El Segundo was 18-2 in five tournaments.
This was the first time since 1994 a Los Angeles County team played in the U.S. Championship game. The all-star team from the Northridge Little League won the 1994 U.S. championship with a team including future USC and NFL quarterback Matt Cassel.
Los Angeles County teams have won the Little League World Series three times. The all-star team from the Granada Hills National Little League won in 1963 and teams from the Long Beach Little League won in 1992 and 1993.
City News Service contributed to this report.