International teams arrive for youth baseball tournament

Members of Team Kitasuna and Beach City Baseball Academy join for a group photo at the 2016 International Tournament. Photo courtesy of BCBA

Riding on the heels of the World Baseball Classic, Beach City Baseball Academy will be hosting its own international competition Saturday and Sunday April 1-2 at fields in El Segundo and Manhattan Beach.

Eighteen players from Japan’s Team Kitasuna and 12 from the German National Team will have the opportunity to experience American culture while staying with local families, taking a trip to Disneyland, enjoying a Dodger-Angel pre-season game and taking surf lessons at the beach.

The week-long activities culminate with the two foreign teams participating with ten local Southern California teams in the 6th annual International 12-and-Under baseball tournament.

Based in El Segundo, Beach City Baseball Academy (BCBA) has been a sponsor of the Kitasuna Baseball Academy in Japan for many years.

Kitasuna has made five appearance at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pen. winning three championships.

“We are thrilled to be able to continue this support through this sponsorship,” BCBA founder Richard Murad said. “It’s exciting to give another group of 30 children, who otherwise would not be able participate, the opportunity to come to Los Angeles for an experience that we hope will change their lives while uniting the global community.”

In honor of Jesse Esphorst, Jr., a 16-year-old standout baseball player at South Torrance High School  who died in a car accident March 7, his father will throw out the first pitch. Jesse’s brother, Cody, will catch in the final game of the tournament at 4 p.m. Sunday at George Brett Field in El Segundo.

For more information including schedules, visit beachcitybaseballacademy.com/tournaments.

Comments:

comments so far. Comments posted to EasyReaderNews.com may be reprinted in the Easy Reader print edition, which is published each Thursday.