For the second consecutive year, I am thrilled to be calling Little League's Intermediate 50/70 Baseball World Series, which runs from 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!).
Brisbane North, Australia
Brisbane North Region Baseball Association
Location:
Narangba, Queensland, Australia
Championships:
Queensland state
Record: 10-1
Date Qualified: May 23
Noteworthy:
1st Australian league and 12th overall to appear at both 12-year-old (2022) and 13-year-old (2023) World Series in consecutive years.
Coaches:
David West, Adam White, Graham Honsa, Daniel Wilson
Brisbane North will be making its first trip to Livermore for the Intermediate World Series, yet they will be one of the more known quantities thanks to their qualification for and appearance in the 2022 Little League World Series in Williamsport.
Although they went 0-2, losing 7-0 to Canada and 12-7 to Italy in a wild game, Brisbane North brought plenty of character to the U.S. last year. Most notable were two of their pitchers, both of whom are among nine returning players from the LLWS team: Alonzo Zaire Griffin, known as 'Z,' whose fastball topped 70mph last year and who wore custom-made cleats representing Australian indigenous culture, and 6-foot-2 (at the time) Tirrell Waiwai, known as 'T-Rex.' We hear he's gotten even bigger this year!
Moreton Daily 'Meet the Team' article
| Road to Livermore | |||
| Queensland state | |||
| April 13 | Brisbane Metro (group) | L | 5-6 |
| April 13 | Gold Coast (group) | W | 11-6 |
| April 14 | South-West (group) | W | 27-0 |
| April 15 | Brisbane Metro (major semifinal) | W | 14-5 |
| April 16 | Gold Coast (final) | W | 11-0 |
| Australia Region | |||
| May 19 | Mariners (Victoria) (group) | W | 11-1 |
| May 20 | Hills (New South Wales) (group) | W | 5-1 |
| May 20 | Adelaide Armada (group) | W | 11-4 |
| May 21 | Wanneroo Giants (group) | W | 2-1 |
| May 22 | Southern Hills (semifinal) | W | 11-0 |
| May 23 | Ryde Hawks (final) | W | 7-3 |
| Intermediate Baseball World Series | |||
| July 31 | Korea / Czech Republic winner | 3pm PT | |
| Aug | TBD | TBD | |
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