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El Segundo All-Stars. | Photo courtesy of El Segundo Little League
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The all-star team from El Segundo will play a must-win game Tuesday in the Little League World Series, facing its counterpart from the Smithfield (Rhode Island) Little League.
A 3-1 loss to the all-star team from the Needville (Texas) Little League Monday in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania relegated El Segundo to the elimination bracket of the modified double-elimination tournament.
El Segundo will need to win Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to reach Saturday’s U.S. championship game. The U.S. champion will face the international champion for the world championship Sunday.
The 4 p.m. PDT game will be televised by ESPN.
El Segundo is among six teams remaining in contention for the U.S. championship from the original field of 10.
Smithfield, the Metro Region champion, is 2-1 in the World Series, defeating the all-star team from Henderson (Nevada) Little League, the Mountain Region champion, 3-1, in the opener for both teams Wednesday, then losing to the all-star team from the Nolensville (Tennessee) Little League, the Southeast Region champion, 8-1, Friday
In its first elimination game, Smithfield defeated the all-star team from the Media (Pennsylvania) Little League, the Mid-Atlantic Region champion, 7-2, Sunday.
El Segundo was limited to four hits against Needville Monday, including Louis Lappe’s first-inning home run.
El Segundo had the tying run on first base with two outs in the bottom of the sixth and final inning after Colby Lee and Brody Brooks were hit by pitches by reliever Easton Ondruch, but Lappe grounded out to end the game.
Needville, the Southwest Region champion, combined four singles, three with two outs, for two runs in the top of the first.
D.J. Jablonski added a solo homer in the fourth at Howard J. Lamade Stadium.
Jablonski was credited with the victory, allowing four hits and one run in 5 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking one. Easton pitched two-thirds of an inning for the save.
Declan McRoberts, the El Segundo starter, was charged with the loss, allowing two runs and four hits in three innings, striking out two.
The loss ended a five-game winning streak for El Segundo, which is 15-2 in five tournaments this summer. It lost to the all-star team from the Sherman Oaks Little League, 4-3, in the opening game of the championship series of the Southern California State Tournament July 31, then won the rematch, 3-2, later that day.
Monday’s victory extended Needville’s winning streak to 13 games and improved its record to 19-1 in five tournaments.
Needville is city of 3,089 people, according to the 2020 census, about 40 miles southwest of downtown Houston.
