Sondheimer: The Louis Lappe Show comes to high school baseball

From his first day of classes on the campus of Harvard-Westlake Middle School, which serves seventh and eighth grade students, Louis Lappe was recognized as a celebrity.

“I guess a few seventh graders know me a little bit,” Lappe said humbly.

No way.

“Every day I hear them,” freshman teammate Nate Englander said. “Are you Louis Lappe, the kid who hit the home run in the Little League World Series?” » Every year, seriously.

It’s time for the Louis Lappe Show to enter the high school ranks. The 12-year-old national hero who led El Segundo to the Little League World Championship in 2023 is now 15 and about to begin his first year of high school baseball. He will start at third base for the Wolverines. He stands 6-foot-2 and is joined by two other top freshmen on Harvard-Westlake’s varsity team, 6-2 English, an outfielder-pitcher, and 6-2 Mateo Mier, a pitcher.

This reminds scouts of the spring of 2021, when Bryce Rainer, Tommy Bridges and Duncan Marsten started on the Wolverines’ varsity team as freshmen. Rainer became a first-round pick, Marsten is a standout pitcher at Wake Forest, and Bridges went to Northwestern.

England still hasn’t forgiven Lappe for eliminating it and Sherman Oaks Little League in the 2023 regional playoffs.

El Segundo’s Louis Lappe celebrates as he finishes second after hitting a solo home run against Curacao’s Jay-Dlynn Wiel in the sixth inning of the 2023 Little League World Series championship game.

(Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)

“Obviously it was tough at the time,” Englander said. “We’re boys now. It’s amazing to reconnect. It’s going to be fun.”

During fall and winter ball, Lappe showed occasional power, similar to what he did at age 12, which allowed him to hit five home runs in the 2023 Little League World Series, including his home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to beat Venezuela.

He had a .445 batting average in winter ball, second only to Vanderbilt-bound senior James Tronstein.

This will be another season of transition for Lappe.

“It’s a whole new game. A whole new chapter that I have to get used to,” he said. “The main thing will be getting used to the speed of the game. It’s a lot faster than a 14- or 15-year-old travel ball. Everyone runs faster, throws harder. When we get used to it, everything will be fine.”

Lappe and Mier won gold medals over the summer playing for the U.S. 15U national team.

Mier will be placed immediately on the mound as part of a three-man starting pitching rotation used by pitching coach Joe Guntz to face some of the Southland’s best hitters.

“I think it’s more about finding your place on the team,” Mier said. “It’s a team game. Travel ball is very self-centered. The challenge is learning how to throw and not be a pitcher. I think Coach Guntz is the right person to teach me that.”

All three look like they could play basketball or football with their physical stature. This will mark them as ordinary freshmen early on.

“We’re in the Mission League, which is one of the toughest and most prestigious leagues in the country,” Englander said. “There’s a lot more talent, whether it’s guys throwing harder or hitting the ball further.”

The Mission League has welcomed an influx of standout players from the Class of 2029, including Jordan Leon at Sierra Canyon and Brody Brooks at Loyola.

“I think we’ll hold on,” Englander said. “We look the part. I hope we can play the part.”

Note the Harvard-Westlake games against Loyola because the Cubs have four former El Segundo players on their team, including manager Danny Boehle. Imagine the trash talk that could take place with Lappe at second base talking to Brooks, one of his best friends who plays shortstop.

“It will be fun to play with them and also beat them,” Lappe said.

It will be a memorable four years of high school baseball for Lappe and his fellow 2029 players.