State Tournament 2023
State Tournament 2023 for California is being held from the 5th of August to the 11th. The competition is held at Al Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino.
West is one of the ten regions in the United States that send teams to the Little League World Series. It is the largest baseball competition for youth in the world.
The region has been participating in the LLWS since 1957 when it was known as West Region. But after the expansion of the tournament from eight teams to sixteen in 2001, the West Region was divided into two: a new West Region and the Northwest Region.
The new West Region consists of four districts from three states, including Arizona, Hawaii, Southern California, and Northern California. Nevada and Utah were also part of the region, but after the 2021 LLWS, they moved to a newly created Mountain Region.
The state of California has the most Little League baseball programs. There were 33 districts when the organization first organized the leagues into districts in 1958, but the number has doubled since.
As of now, there are a total of 70 districts in the state. Further, the state has sent fifty-one teams to the Little League World Series, the most teams in the tournament.
Southern California
Southern California Little League State Tournament started on July 22 and ended on July 31. El Segundo won the competition, qualifying for the West Region tournament.
The event was hosted by North Mission Viejo of District 68 at their home ballpark, Marty Russo Youth Athletic Park. The stadium is located at Olympiad Road in Mission Viejo.
The Southern region of California has 39 districts divided into ten sections with four each except for the first section. The winner of each section qualifies for the Southern California State Tournament.
Torrance Little League is the last program from the region to qualify for the Little League World Series. They appeared during the 2021 LLWS championship.
The last team to win the LLWS from the region was Ocean View Little League from Huntington Beach. They won the championship in 2011 defeating Hamamatsu Minami from Japan, 2-1.
El Cajon in 1961, Granada Hills in 1963, Long Beach in 1992 and 1993, and Park View in 2009 are the other teams from Southern California to win the Little League World Series.
Here are the teams that participated in the 2023 division tournament:
- Arroyo Grande Valley Youth (District 65) - Section 1 Champions
- Sherman Oaks Southern (District 40) -
- La Verne (District 20) - Section 3 Champions
- El Segundo (District 36) - Section 4 Champions
- East Hills Yorba Linda Blue (Yorba Linda) (District 56) - Section 5 Champions
- Del Mar (District 31) - Section 6 Champions
- Alpine American (District 41) - Section 7 Champions
- Fontana Community (District 71) - Section 8 Champions
- Eastvale (District 72) - Section 9 Champions
- Aliso Viejo (District 55) - Section 10 Champions
Here are the tournament results:
Opening Round on July 22:
- Fontana Community defeated Eastvale (3-0)
- Sherman Oaks Southern defeated Alpine American (4-1)
Quarterfinals Winner's Bracket on July 22:
- La Verne defeated Del Mar (5-4 in 7 innings)
- East Hills Yorba Linda Blue defeated Arroyo Grande Valley Youth (12-0 in 5 innings)
- El Segundo defeated Fontana Community (7-0)
- Sherman Oaks Southern defeated Aliso Viejo (10-3)
Round 1 Elimination Bracket on July 23:
- Del Mar eliminated Alpine American (6-2 in 8 innings)
- Eastvale eliminated Arroyo Grande Valley Youth (10-7)
Round 2 Elimination Bracket on July 25:
- Del Mar eliminated Fontana Community (2-0)
- Aliso Viejo eliminated Eastvale (7-4)
Semifinals Winner's Bracket on July 26:
- El Segundo defeated La Verne (9-0)
- East Hills Yorba Linda Blue defeated Sherman Oaks Southern (4-1)
Quarterfinals Elimination Bracket on July 27:
- La Verne eliminated Aliso Viejo (4-0)
- Sherman Oaks Southern eliminated Del Mar (4-0)
Semifinal Elimination Bracket on July 28:
- Sherman Oaks Southern eliminated La Verne (14-7)
Final Winner's Bracket on July 29:
- El Segundo defeated East Hills Yorba Linda Blue (10-0 in 4 innings)
Final Elimination Bracket on July 30:
- Sherman Oaks Southern eliminated East Hills Yorba Linda Blue (8-1)
Championship Series on July 31:
- Sherman Oaks Southern defeated El Segundo (4-3)
- El Segundo defeated Sherman Oaks Southern (3-2)
Northern California
Northern California Little League State Tournament was held from July 22 to July 28. Bollinger Canyon won the tournament defeating Vacaville American.
There are a total of 31 districts in the region divided into seven sections. Only New York, Texas, and Southern California have more districts than Northern California.
A divisional tournament is held to determine the champion of the region. The competition features winners of each section facing each other in a double-elimination format.
The winner of the divisional tournament gets to play in the Little League Baseball West Region Tournament, with the winner of that tournament qualifying for the LLWS. Fifteen teams from Northern California have appeared in the Little League World Series.
The Campbell Moreland Little League team is the only team from the region to win the LLWS championship. They won the tournament held at Williamsport in 1962.
Hoover Tyler was the host of the tournament. They are a team from District 8 located at Wisconsin Avenue in Stockton.
Here are the teams that participated in the division tournament for 2023:
Section | Winner of the Section |
Section 1 | Vacaville American (District 64) |
Section 2 | McKinleyville (District 26) |
Section 3 | Bollinger Canyon (San Ramon) (District 57) |
Section 4 | Maidu (Roseville) (District 54) |
Section 5 | Capitola-Soquel (District 39) |
Section 6 | Sunset (Stockton) (District 8) |
Section 7 | Madera American (District 10) |
Here are the results of the competition:
Opening Round on Saturday, July 22:
- Vacaville American defeated Madera American (10-0 in 5 innings)
- Capitola-Soquel defeated McKinleyville (6-4)
- Bollinger Canyon defeated Maidu (10-0 in 4 innings)
Winner's Bracket Semifinals on Sunday, July 23:
- Vacaville American defeated Sunset (11-1 in 5 innings)
- Bollinger Canyon defeated Capitola-Soquel (7-0)
Round 1 Elimination Bracket on Sunday, July 23:
- McKinleyville eliminated Maidu (10-6)
Quarterfinals Elimination Bracket on Monday, July 24:
- Capitola-Soquel eliminated Madera American (6-0)
- McKinleyville eliminated Sunset (6-3)
Winner's Bracket Final on Tuesday, July 25:
- Bollinger Canyon defeated Vacaville American (2-1)
Semifinal Elimination Bracket on Wednesday, July 26:
- McKinleyville eliminated Capitola-Soquel (7-3)
Final Elimination Bracket on Thursday, July 27:
- Vacaville American eliminated McKinleyville (14-6)
Championship Game on Friday, July 28:
- Bollinger Canyon defeated Vacaville American (3-0)