2023 LLIWS Preview: Ascension Parish, Louisiana

For the second consecutive year, I am thrilled to be calling Little League's Intermediate 50/70 Baseball World Series July 30-August 6! This is not the 12-year-olds you see on TV in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, every year, but kids one year older, playing on a slightly bigger field (50-foot pitching distance, 70-foot basepaths) in Livermore, California. It's a different vibe than Williamsport, but extremely cool nonetheless, and it was really special for me to call the 2022 tournament, including the championship game on ESPN2.

So leading up to the 2023 Intermediate 50/70 World Series, which will air entirely on ESPN+, I want to introduce each of the competing teams with whatever information I've been able to glean on their path to Livermore (and to your ESPN+ screen!).

Ascension Parish, Louisiana

League:
Ascension Parish Little League
Location:
Gonzales, Louisiana
Championships:
Louisiana state
Southwest Region
Record: 8-1
Date Qualified: July 25
Noteworthy:
1st Louisiana team to reach Intermediate World Series

League's first World Series appearance at any age level (in 3rd season)
Coaches:
Shane Aderholt, Mickey Vickers, Colby Castille

While this year's Intermediate Little League World Series will feature a few familiar Little Leagues like Taylor North, Michigan, and Toms River East, New Jersey, it will also welcome a considerably newer player at this level in Ascension Parish Little League of Gonzales, Louisiana (between Baton Rouge and New Orleans), playing only its third season.

In fact, manager Shane Aderholt said the league had not investigated the 13-year-old, 50/70 option until this season, but it had enough turnout for three regular season teams, created a new 50/70 field, and wound up with a seriously talented all-star group.

Ascension Parish has scored at least 11 runs in every game except its three tight encounters with Lafayette in the Louisiana state tournament. After dropping the bracket final 3-2, Ascension Parish won an elimination game and then swept a doubleheader from Lafayette by 4-1 and 5-3 margins.

The Southwest Region tournament in Sugar Land, about a five-hour drive away, saw the well-supported club give its travelling fans plenty to cheer about, rolling to the title in three games and becoming only the second non-Texan regional champ at this age level.

The league is thriving in all-star play, with three Louisiana state champions still active, but the 13-year-olds will be the first team in league history to play at the World Series level when they take the field against the West Region champion on Sunday! If their performances so far are any indication, that won't be the end of their record-setting.

Road to Livermore
Louisiana state
July 14	Bossier	W	15-0
July 15	Sulphur Parks & Rec	W	19-4
July 16	Lafayette (winners' final)	L	2-3
July 17	Sulphur Parks & Rec (elim final)	W	17-0
July 18	Lafayette (final)	W	4-1
July 18	Lafayette (final)	W	5-3
Southwest Region
July 21	Three Rivers, CO	W	23-0
July 23	Santa Fe, NM (winners' final)	W	13-1
July 25	Weslaco, TX (final)	W	11-3
Intermediate Baseball World Series
July 30	West TBD		6pm PT
TBD	TBD		TBD