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!).
Keystone, Tampa, Florida
Keystone Little League
Location: Tampa, Florida
Championships:
FL District 6
FL Section 7
Florida state
Southeast Region
Record: 12-1
Date Qualified: July 8
Noteworthy:
Won Florida state title as 11s, 12s, and 13s.
Coaches:
Dan McCaffrey, Tim Trodden, Jason Frasor
Another year, another Florida powerhouse rolling into Livermore.
After Fort Lauderdale came in with impressive scores last year, Tampa's Keystone Little League follows suit after winning the Florida state title for the third consecutive time (11s, 12s, 13s) and (just like Fort Lauderdale) coming out of the elimination bracket to take the Southeast Region title over the South Carolina state champs.
Keystone had fallen to a Barrier Islands, South Carolina comeback in the winners' bracket but made no mistake in the region final with a 16-0 win, paced by a perfect game from Presley Bromberg, one of five newcomers to the team this summer.
An opening-round matchup with the pitching of the host, Bollinger Canyon, awaits Keystone when it gets to Livermore, and the Floridians will be hoping their power translates to the West Coast.
| Road to Livermore | |||
| Florida District 6 | |||
| June 14 | vs. Palma Ceia | W | 10-3 |
| June 15 | vs. Palma Ceia | W | 12-0 |
| Florida Section 7 | |||
| June 24 | West Pasco | W | 18-1 |
| June 24 | Greater Hudson / West Hernando | W | 12-0 |
| Florida state | |||
| June 30 | DeFuniak Springs (group) | W | 18-2 |
| July 1 | Dr. Phillips, Orlando (group) | W | 9-0 |
| July 1 | West Boynton (group) | W | 14-12 |
| July 2 | Navy Ortega Lakeshore, Jacksonville (final) | W | 10-3 |
| Southeast Region | |||
| July 15 | Richmond, VA | W | 15-2 |
| July 15 | East Surry, NC | W | 28-3 |
| July 16 | Barrier Islands, SC (winners' final) | L | 4-5 |
| July 17 | Richmond, VA (elimination final) | W | 12-2 |
| July 17 | Barrier Islands, SC (final) | W | 16-0 |
| Intermediate Baseball World Series | |||
| July 30 | Bollinger Canyon, San Ramon CA | 12noon PT | |
| TBD | TBD | TBD | |
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