Sports
Nearly a year later, El Segundo's Little League World Series run is still making an impact
After El Segundo gave up a four-run lead on a Curacao grand slam, it was 5-5 in the bottom of the sixth inning. It was still anyone’s game. Except this game was on the biggest stage in amateur baseball: the Little League Baseball World Series championship.
“No pressure, just get on base and let your teammates do the rest,” then 12-year-old Louis Lappe recalled thinking as he walked to the plate. “It doesn’t matter how you get on. Just get on.”
The first pitch was an outside curveball, the second was right down the middle. Then, the pitcher missed his spot and Lappe took advantage. A loud clunk and the crowd roared as the ball sailed above the field and over the fence for a walk-off home run to seal the championship win.
“We weren’t nervous because we had learned how to face adversity,” El Segundo manager Danny Boehle said of the moment. “These kids don’t have that bone in their body. They were made for that moment. They weren’t nervous at all, they knew we could come back.”
In their first trip to the final, El Segundo Little League All-Stars made history last August by edging Curacao 6-5 in the Little League World Series championship game in Williamsport, Pa. El Segundo had to win five consecutive elimination games to become the first team from California to secure the world title since Huntington Beach Ocean View in 2011.
Nearly a year later, Little League is more popular than ever in El Segundo and the star of the championship team is still getting adjusted to the impact of the team’s unlikely run to a world championship
Lappe’s walk-off homer was a moment every young baseball player dreams of — hitting a game-winning home run — and makes someone a hometown hero.
“They knew they were the best in the world, but I think it will really hit them like it has the adults later in life when they have kids and understand family and understand how big this really is,” Boehle said. “It means so much more to not only the families and El Segundo, or even California. … You hit the whole world.”
Lappe’s parents, Ted Lappe and Kathryn Narahara, had similar feelings while sitting alongside the families of their son’s teammates during the championship game.
“It was the experience itself and the relationships that grew on this journey,” Narahara said. “… The boys got to meet kids from all over the world and that experience will always mean something special to them. I don’t think they will fully comprehend their achievement until they’re much older, but we have a different perspective of enjoying the little things. It was very emotional and joyful.”
The night of their win, the El Segundo players didn’t even try to sleep. There was so much excitement, they stayed up talking in their dorms, recounting the highs and lows of the game until they finally fell asleep in the early hours of the morning.
El Segundo Little League players take part in a victory parade along main street in El Segundo on Aug. 28, 2023.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
They were welcomed home by fans at LAX and during a parade down Main Street in El Segundo.
“Being from California, champions are big here,” Boehle said, “Just look at the Dodgers or Lakers … they call it the city of champions. Being from California and being from this tiny town in Southern California, everyone was behind us.”
Boehle said the most special moment came when the team was recognized in front of 60,000 fans at the USC-Stanford football game at the Coliseum in September. After the second quarter, a video was shown of Lappe’s walk-off home run and the team’s victory celebration, triggering a standing ovation.
“That’s the most emotional I got because you realize you’re touching fans that don’t even realize who you are, but because you’re from L.A. and because you’re a champion and because you represented California, they were all-in,” Boehle said. “That to me was pretty special.”
The win also meant a lot for the city, which has a history of success in baseball from the high school level to producing current MLB players such as the St. Louis Cardinals’ Lars Nootbaar, whom every kid in El Segundo looks up to, according to Ted Lappe. Since El Segundo Little League started in 1954, this was the first team in its district and section to make it to state and win it all.
“That to me was one of the greatest parts of winning this thing was people who had no idea [Brett Field, named for Hall of Famer George Brett] existed in their town, but they knew what we just accomplished meant so much to this town,” Boehle said. “You’ll probably never see it again. It’s usually one special group of kids, special coaches, special families and the town realized that.”
The impact of the championship is reflected in registration for Little League in El Segundo, which has grown significantly since the World Series win. Last year, El Segundo Little League had roughly 420 players with 39 teams, while this year it had 450 players across 42 teams, according to Jamin Griffiths, El Segundo Little League president. Griffiths estimates that this year is the highest numbers the league has ever had, with the last decade usually having between 370 and 400 participants.
Lappe’s celebrity status continued after the team’s homecoming. It’s mostly confined to El Segundo in the form of kids walking up to say hi or following him around at Little League games, but every once in a while he’ll get recognized elsewhere.
“He is going to be an icon the rest of his life in this town, “ Boehle said. “Everyone knows who he is. Everyone is asking about him — high school, colleges … that’s who he is, he’s humble. Whether he is a celebrity or not that’s not going to stop his work ethic or stop him from being who he is. When you are on that stage, there’s nothing bigger on TV in that week of August. Everyone is watching. What he did will go down in history.”
Louis Lappe delivers during a Little League World Series game for El Segundo on Aug. 26.
(Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)
Despite his fame and historic play, Lappe doesn’t want to just be remembered for that moment. It’s a good memory, but he hopes to have a long baseball career. He is playing for the Braves Baseball Academy this season, but he is mostly just enjoying his summer like any other kid: riding bikes and meeting friends at In-N-Out.
Soon he will take a break as his travel ball season closes.
Lappe’s parents have made sure he stays grounded through all the attention — chores and school work are still part of his routine. He loves baseball, but it’s not his whole life. Soccer and basketball are fun, too. He will go down in El Segundo baseball history, but he’s also still just Lou.
“He has been good about staying true to himself,” Ted Lappe said. “The attention afterwards was fast and furious and fun to experience but nothing’s going to be completely the same. Still, not too much has changed besides the fact that an achievement was accomplished. He’s still the same kid that has loved baseball since he was 5 years old.”
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The Seattle Seahawks locked down the top seed in the NFC playoffs and a strong path to the Super Bowl on Saturday night with a season finale win over the San Francisco 49ers.
Seattle also finished with their best regular season record in franchise history, clinching 14 wins for the first time ever.
The Seahawks held on to a 10-point victory despite outgaining the 49ers 363 yards to 173, and running 64 plays to San Francisco’s 42.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba #11 of the Seattle Seahawks fails to catch the ball against Ji’Ayir Brown #27 of the San Francisco 49ers during an NFL game on Jan. 3, 2026 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. (Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire)
Seattle missed a field goal in the fourth quarter and turned the ball over on downs in the first quarter to waste two red zone drives, but dominated on defense to prevent those missed opportunities from coming back to haunt them.
The 49ers wasted their best drive of the night as well when quarterback Brock Purdy was intercepted at Seattle’s three-yard line in the fourth quarter facing a 10-point deficit, which seemingly secured the game for the Seahawks.
NFL WEEK 17 SCORES: AFC NORTH, NFC SOUTH UP FOR GRABS AS PLAYOFF PICTURE ALMOST COMPLETE
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, in his first season on the team, completed 20 passes on 26 attempts for 198 yards and helped set up the only touchdown of the entire game in the first quarter.
Darnold redeemed a disappointing Week-18 game for the Minnesota Vikings last season when he completed just 18 of 41 passes for 166 yards in a battle for the top seed against the Detroit Lions.
Darnold said “Learning from mistakes, and staying calm from the pocket,” made the difference in his performance Saturday compared to a year ago, in a postgame interview with ESPN.
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Jaxon Smith-Njigba #11 of the Seattle Seahawks carries the ball against the San Francisco 49ers during the second quarter of a game at Levi’s Stadium on January 03, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy had just 127 yards with the late interception, and took a big hit on his final pass of the night, then took a while to get back up. He was eventually able to walk off the field, and Seattle ran the clock out.
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When it’s Harvey Kitani versus David Rebibo in a high school basketball coaching matchup, you know it’s going to be a defensive grind. They demand defensive production, so Rolling Hills Prep and Harvard-Westlake went at it for 32 minutes on Saturday night at St. Francis.
It took four consecutive free throws by Joe Sterling in the final 21 seconds for Harvard-Westlake (17-2) to hold on for a 50-46 victory. About the only mistake Rolling Hills Prep (13-5) made was choosing to foul Sterling, well known as a clutch free-throw shooter. But the Huskies had no choice after a three by Aaron Heinze got them to within 48-46 with 2.6 seconds left.
Sterling finished with 16 points. Pierce Thompson had 14 points and Dominique Bentho added 11 points and 12 rebounds. Nick Welch Jr. had a big game for Rolling Hills Prep with 21 points on eight-for-14 shooting. Carter Fulton added 10 points.
Santa Margarita 72, Fairfax 41: The Eagles (19-2) opened a 21-2 lead after the first quarter and cruised to victory at St. Francis. Brayden Kyman scored 21 points, Kaiden Bailey had 17 and Drew Anderson had 15.
St. Pius X-St. Matthias 67, JSerra 62: Kayleb Kearse finished with 27 points in the victory. Jaden Bailes had 30 points for JSerra.
Sierra Canyon 77, Phoenix St. Mary’s 45: The Trailblazers (13-1) tuned up for the start of Mission League play with a rout in Arizona. Brandon McCoy scored 18 points and Brannon Martinsen had 17.
Chaminade 70, Palos Verdes 44: Temi Olafisoye had 17 points for the 18-1 Eagles.
Thousand Oaks 53, Oak Park 46: The Lancers won their 16th consecutive game to stay unbeaten. Gabriel Chin had 14 points.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 67, Layton Christian (Utah) 64: NaVorro Bowman led the Knights (13-4) with 24 points. Josiah Nance added 16 points.
Bishop Montgomery 71, Palisades 68: Austin Kirksey had 24 points and Tarron Williams scored 22 points to help Bishop Montgomery improve to 15-2. Freshman Phillip Reed scored 24 points for Palisades.
Crespi 60, Modesto Christian 49: The Celts improved to 13-6.
St. John Bosco 62, Chandler (Ariz.) Basha 54: Christian Collins scored 31 points and Max Ellis had 22 for the Braves in a win in Arizona.
Mayfair 69, Cypress 56: Josiah Johnson’s 27 points helped Mayfair improve to 8-5.
Inglewood 98, Pasadena 97: Jason Crowe Jr. made the game-winning shot in overtime and finished with 51 points for Inglewood.
Girls basketball
Harvard-Westlake 51, Phoenix Desert Vista 39: Freshman Lucia Khamenia finished with 24 points for Harvard-Westlake.
Brentwood 59, Cardinal Newman 53: The Eagles improved to 9-4. Kelsey Sugar scored 24 points.
Saugus 57, Birmingham 52: Kayla Tanijiri had 16 points for Birmingham (13-3).
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Only one more week of the 2025 NFL regular season remains, as Week 17 brought about some more playoff implications and even 2026 NFL Draft key positions.
The biggest takeaway from the slate of Week 17 is that two divisions in the NFL — the AFC North and NFC South — will be determined by whoever wins key matchups in Week 18.
First, it’s the Pittsburgh Steelers getting upset by the Cleveland Browns at home, as Aaron Rodgers couldn’t find Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a controversial game-ending play in the end zone. That loss sets up the AFC North title game between the Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, which is only possibly thanks to a road victory where Derrick Henry scored four touchdowns against the Green Bay Packers.
Then, despite both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers losing their respective matchups, the NFL tiebreakers make their Week 18 bout the NFC South title game.
Aaron Rodgers of the Pittsburgh Steelers reacts during the second quarter of the game against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field on Dec. 28, 2025, in Cleveland. (Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
And while everyone was focused on the NFL playoff picture, the two-game 4 o’clock slate gave us the New York Giants against the Las Vegas Raiders, the winner of which owning the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.
The Giants would’ve solidified the pick with a loss, but Jaxson Dart and the Giants’ offense blew out Geno Smith and the Raiders to relinquish the pick, which now belongs in Sin City.
NFL WEEK 16 SCORES: PLAYOFF PRESSURE LEADS TO THRILLING FINISHES ACROSS LEAGUE
Here’s how every NFL game played out:
THURSDAY, DEC. 25
– DALLAS COWBOYS 30, WASHINGTON COMMANDERS 23
– MINNESOTA VIKINGS 23, DETROIT LIONS 10
– DENVER BRONCOS 20, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 13
Dak Prescott (4) of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates after his team’s touchdown against the Washington Commanders in the second quarter of a game at Northwest Stadium on Dec. 25, 2025 in Landover, Maryland. (Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
SATURDAY, DEC. 27
– HOUSTON TEXANS 20, LOS ANGELES CHARGERS 16
– BALTIMORE RAVENS 41, GREEN BAY PACKERS 24
SUNDAY, DEC. 28
– CINCINNATI BENGALS 37, ARIZONA CARDINALS 14
– CLEVELAND BROWNS 13, PITTSBURGH STEELERS 7
– NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 34, TENNESSEE TITANS 26
– JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 23, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 17
– MIAMI DOLPHINS 20, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 17
– NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 42, NEW YORK JETS 10
– SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 27, CAROLINA PANTHERS 10
– NEW YORK GIANTS 34, LAS VEGAS RAIDERS 10
– PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 13, BUFFALO BILLS 12
– SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS-CHICAGO BEARS (TBD)
Bundle FOX One and FOX Nation to stream the entire FOX Nation library, plus live FOX News, Sports, and Entertainment at our lowest price of the year. The offer ends on Jan. 4, 2026. (Fox One; Fox Nation)
MONDAY, DEC. 29
– LOS ANGELES RAMS-ATLANTA FALCONS (TBD)
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