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!).
Vancouver Battalion, BC
British Columbia District 6
Location:
Metro Vancouver, British Columbia
Championships:
Canada Region
Record: 7-1
Date Qualified: July 25
Noteworthy:
1st World Series appearance for District 6's multi-league team.
Coaches:
Moto Mukai, Daniel McGauley, Stacy Robertson
First, those threads! The pink jerseys! The Vancouver Battalion can really bring it, either via sartorial splendor or plain old baseball.
The Canadian champions pulled a slight upset in Tuesday's final, beating fellow British Columbia district team Fraser Valley FireBirds, who had dominated the tournament, by taking a 3-0 lead into the 7th and holding off a furious FireBird rally, topped off with an exciting catch to end the game by doubling up the potential tying run at second base.
With participation dwindling in the area after 12-year-old all-stars, the Battalion draw players from all five leagues in British Columbia District 6, and their squad blends a variety of cultures as well, no surprise in a melting-pot city like Vancouver. The Battalion 14-year-olds reached the Junior League World Series last year, so maybe this is the start of a trend.
Canada was 3-14 all-time in this Intermediate age level before Diamond Baseball went 2-2 last year, including an upset of Curacao. The Battalion first-timers get a rough opening game against either Navojoa, Mexico or Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, two teams with considerable tournament experience. But they played fantastic defense in the Canadian final, have the requisite big arms, and should be able to produce runs both with power and with small ball, so don't expect them to be satisfied with just making it to Livermore.
| Road to Livermore | |||
| Canada Intermediate Nationals | |||
| July 16 | vs. North Regina SK (round robin) | W | 8-0 |
| July 17 | vs. Fraser Valley FireBirds BC (round robin) | L | 5-8 |
| July 18 | vs. Diamond Baseball QC (round robin) | W | 16-1 |
| July 20 | vs. Lethbridge AB (round robin) | W | 7-5 |
| July 21 | vs. Ancaster Diamondbacks ON (round robin) | W | 6-5 |
| July 22 | vs. Cape Breton Ramblers NS (round robin) | W | 8-4 |
| July 24 | vs. Cape Breton Ramblers NS (semifinal) | W | 12-2 |
| July 25 | vs. Fraser Valley FireBirds BC (final) | W | 3-2 |
| Intermediate Baseball World Series | |||
| July 31 | Mexico / Puerto Rico | 9am PT | |
| TBD | TBD | TBD | |
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