Lexington's Southeastern U12 All-Stars in Cal Ripken's U.S. Championship Game

On Thursday, KSR encouraged the Big Blue Nation to get behind the Lexington team in the Final Four of the Cal Ripken Major/70 World Series. Representing the Ohio Valley Region, Lexington’s Southeastern U12 All-Stars played a fellow No. 1 seed out of Windsor, California, and we are happy to report the boys from Veterans Park got the job done to reach today’s U.S. Championship Game.

Southeastern won the semifinal in a 3-0 shutout with at least two strikeouts in every inning but the last. Zach Fugate closed it out by striking out the final batter with runners on first and second.

Today, Lexington (Ohio Valley) will play the team from Honolulu, Hawaii, for the opportunity to represent the United States against either Taiwan or Japan, the international champion. The first pitch is scheduled for 5:30 ET, and you can follow along via the live stream over at Watch Stadium.

Lexington won the toss

The Southeastern All-Stars are the home team in the U.S. Championship after Coach Shane Potter won the coin flip against Honolulu’s head coach.

About the 2023 Cal Ripken Major/70 World Series

The Cal Ripken Major/70 World Series is 10-day, 34-team event 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:

UNITED STATES

• 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.

Today’s U.S. and International championship games will set up the Cal Ripken Major/70 World Series final, set for Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET.

You can see the full bracket here.

Stay hot, Kentucky.