Eastbank, World Series Champions!

My non-stop week calling games from the Little League Intermediate 50/70 Baseball World Series came to a thrilling conclusion late Sunday night, as the Eastbank Little League from Kenner, Louisiana (right next to Louis Armstrong Airport) edged defending champion West Seoul, Korea with a run in the top of the seventh inning to take the world championship.

Champions of the Little League World Series (12-year-olds) back in 2019, Eastbank becomes the first  individual league ever to win both the 12- and 13-year-old world championships (although Seoul in 2014 and West Seoul in 2015 presumably had some significant overlap).

Both teams were so sound and had such good pitching that we never expected a wild, 8-7 game, but that's exactly what we got. This video doesn't include our opening tease, which I was quite proud of, but here's about 25 minutes of 13-year-old Little League fun:

2024 LLIWS Preview: Eastbank, Kenner, Louisiana

I have the privilege of calling a Little League World Series once again this year! This will mark my third consecutive call of the Intermediate 50/70 Baseball World Series, held from July 28-August 4 in Livermore, California. It's for 13-year-olds, played on a field slightly larger than Little League but still smaller than Junior League (50 feet from the pitcher's mound to home plate, 70 feet between the bases). Following this tournament and its qualifiers closely over the last three years, I've come to expect fantastic action and stories, and I'm looking forward to bringing them to you again this year!

The 2024 Intermediate World Series will air on ESPN+, and I will lay out the backstory for one of the 12 competing teams each day from now until the tournament's start on July 28. I hope you'll read along and remember a nugget here and there when you watch the tournament!

Eastbank, Kenner, Louisiana

League:
Eastbank Little League
Location:
Kenner, Louisiana
Championships:

Louisiana (unopposed)
Southwest Region
Record: 4-0
Date Qualified: July 25
Noteworthy:
2019 Little League World Series champions (12yo)
2nd consecutive Louisiana qualifier

Coaches: Scott Frazier, Chris Schexnaydre, Ryan Roussel

Many teams that win their state title by default do not last long when they get to regionals. Untested as a group by recent game action and typically hailing from states with lower participation numbers, they go out in the early rounds. But when teams in the Southwest Region saw Eastbank Little League as the Louisiana state champion, they knew this was different.

Eastbank sauntered into New Braunfels, Texas (Hurricane Beryl forced a relocation from Sugar Land) and lapped the field, putting up at least 11 runs in all four wins. The Cajuns wound up racing out of town due to more bad weather, getting to Houston late Thursday to catch a Friday flight to their ultimate destination: Livermore.

The league, located adjacent to Louis Armstrong Airport near New Orleans, was only founded in 2013, and its founder, Scott Frazier, led the 12-year-old team to the 2019 Little League World Series championship. Frazier thought that was his last hurrah as a coach, but like so many teams, this group's motivation began with their elimination as 12-year-olds, when they battled through illness to reach extra innings against Ascension Parish in the state final, trying to force the 'IF' game. Down a run in the 8th and down several players due to a stomach bug, Eastbank loaded the bases, but a snappy double play ended their all-star campaign. (For the neutrals out there who might want a taste of Louisiana baseball atmosphere, here's the clip; Eastbank fans, look away.)

Ascension Parish (which reached Livermore last year but did not offer a 13-year-old league or all-star team this year) saw its 12-year-olds go on to the Southwest Region final against Needville, Texas, which eventually reached the U.S. championship game as the unbeaten team. So Eastbank knew it was competitive with the country's best, and the 13-year-olds proved it this week.

In Livermore, Eastbank will open against tournament veteran HYR, and it will need to show off its pitching depth (it has some: the first two games in New Braunfels were combined no-hitters) in a hurry. Righty Joe Banquer, who started three of Eastbank's four games in the regionals and went the distance against San Antonio's Northside Suburban on Thursday, will not be available to pitch until Tuesday.

Road to Livermore
Southwest Region
July 20	Deer Creek, Edmond OK	W	19-0 (5)
July 21	Santa Fe NM	W	16-0 (5)
July 23	Northside Suburban, San Antonio TX (winners' bracket final)	W	13-1
July 25	Northside Suburban, San Antonio TX (final)	W	11-1 (6)
Intermediate Baseball World Series
July 28	HYR, Georgetown IN	W	8-2
July 29	Livermore CA	W	4-2
July 31	Scripps Ranch, San Diego CA	W	11-1 (5)
Aug 3	Livermore CA (US final)	W	3-1
Aug 4	West Seoul KOR (World Series final)		6pm PT

 

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