World Champs! Lexington's Southeastern All-Stars won the Cal Ripken World Series

Lexington, Kentucky’s Southeastern U-12 All-Stars represented the United States of America in Saturday’s Cal Ripken Major/70 World Series championship game. To get there, the Ohio Valley team from Kentucky won four of five games in group play to reach the knockout stage of the 10-day tournament, where the boys from Veterans Park won three straight to claim the U.S. Championship, setting up a final game against Taiwan out of the International bracket.

In the Cal Ripken Major/70 World Series championship, Kentucky trailed Taiwan, 1-0, with two outs and two runners on in the bottom of the fifth of six innings, when Eli Hammons found the gap to score two and give Kentucky a lead.

Taiwan put the tying run on base in the top of the sixth, but Noah Pendland finished out his complete game on the mound without allowing another score.

KENTUCKY 2, TAIWAN 1

WORLD CHAMPS!

About the 2023 Cal Ripken Major/70 World Series

The Cal Ripken Major/70 World Series is a 10-day, 34-team event in Branson, Missouri, featuring clubs from throughout the United States and from Puerto Rico, Taiwan, Japan, Bahamas, The Netherlands, Korea, Mexico, Canada, Australia, and the Caribbean.

It began with six groups in pool play:

• Group A: Waipahu, HI (Pacific Southwest); Florence, AL (Southwest); Yardley, PA; Chicago, IL; Glen Allen, VA; Branson, MO.
• Group B: Lutz, FL (Southeast); Southeast Denver, CO (Midwest Plains); Honolulu, HI; Marlboro, NJ; Bryant, AR (Arkansas); Twin Falls, ID.
• Group C: Easton, MA (New England); Southeast Lexington, KY (Ohio Valley); West Fargo, ND; Kennewick, WA; Hot Springs, AR; Cherry Hill, NJ.
• Group D: Flood City, PA (Middle Atlantic); Black Hills, WA (Pacific Northwest); Dover, NH; West Raleigh, NC; Boonville, MO (Missouri); Windsor, CA.Group E: Sydney, Australia; San Nicholas, Aruba; Seoul, South Korea; Nuevo Leon, Mexico; Yilan, Taiwan.
• Group E: Sydney, Australia; San Nicholas, Aruba; Seoul, South Korea; Nuevo Leon, Mexico; Yilan, Taiwan.
• Group F: Calgary, Canada; Kansai, Japan; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Guayama, Puerto Rico; San Juan, Puerto Rico.

You can see the full bracket here.