Pennsville LL departs for Senior Softball World Series, eager to meet players from all across the globe 

SENIOR SOFTBALL WORLD SERIES
Lower Sussex LL Complex, Roxana, Del.
Monday’s games
Lower Sussex vs. Pennsville, 6 p.m.
Canada vs. Southeast, 6 p.m.
Central U.S. vs. West U.S., 8 p.m.
Latin America vs. Southwest U.S., 8 p.m.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

They’ve known they were going to the World Series since Wednesday afternoon, but the enormity of it all didn’t hit the Pennsville Senior Softball players until the big charter bus pulled into the parking lot Saturday morning to carry them to their date with destiny.

There was palpable excitement among the ranks and parents – even some tears were shed – as the bus pulled into the Pennsville LL parking lot and the players started assembling their gear for what they hope is a nine-day trip on the Delmarva Peninsula.

The Series doesn’t start in Roxana, Del., for them until Monday when they play the host team at 6 p.m., but they had to report to the site with the other nine participating teams Saturday to knock out all the preliminaries.

“It’s kind of not real,” outfielder Savannah Palverento said as she waited to board the bus. “It’s just not real that we’re going to the World Series and we’re going to be playing against all these other teams from around the world.

“I think it’s really gonna hit when we get to the park.”

The original departure plan was for the bus to pull out of Pennsville at 7 a.m. Manager Chris Watson had gotten it moved up to 10 a.m., but all that did was ramp up the players’ anticipation even more.

“I guess it’s real then,” Watson said. “I know (one of the moms) said they had a reaction when they pulled up and saw the big bus sitting out there. She was excited. It’s like Christmas morning for them.

“We pushed the bus back to 10 a.m. and they’re complaining about that because … they want to be down there. They want to start experiencing it all, so it’s exciting for them.”

Little League sent the charter bus for them for the 2.5-hour trip south; outside of the host team they are the most local team here. The organization arranged travel and transfers for all the teams flying in from all parts of the globe. The only thing that would’ve been neater for the Eagles is if one of the incoming teams was on the bus from the airport with them.

That’s the part of the experience the Eagles are really looking forward to. They have two international entries in their pool – Bacolod City, Philippines, and Guanica, Puerto Rico. The other pool has Canada and Czech Republic along with three domestic entries.

“There’s a team from the Czech Republic and The Philippines, I’m literally so excited to meet them,” utilityman Gabby Forino said. “I’m the type person who loves to know, ‘Where are you from? Oh, you’re from somewhere way far away? I’d love to see how cool that is.’ I just love meeting new people. It’s like my favorite thing ever.”

She won’t have long to wait. All the players are housed in the same hotel.

“I think the out-of-country teams are going to be so awesome to play,” catcher Kylie Harris said. “We don’t play out of country teams, so this is like a big opportunity for the travel girls because they’ve never played out-of-country people and these girls have never played out-of-state people (before the regionals), so it’s really awesome for all of us.”

“It’s the World Series,” first baseman Bella Rappa said. “It’ll be really cool to meet the other girls and talk about the one thing we share in common, which is softball.”

Once the players arrived, one of the first orders of business was assigning numbers and East jerseys. Several of the players are joining the team Sunday, but here are the roster numbers for those on campus. Their regular-season uniform numbers are in parenthesis.

1-Avery Watson (19)
2-Gina Shinn (0)
3-Lily Edwards (85)
8-Graillyn Weber (39)
9-Gracie Mease (1)
10-Sawyer Simmons (66)
13-Lilly Birney (13)
17-Kylie Harris (87)
18-Kam Garron (16)
19-Audrey Claybourn (96)
21-Savannah Palverento (21)
22-Gabby Forino (31)
NA-Bella Farina (55)
NA-Bella Rappa (25)
NA-Jess Bretz (20)
NA-Kloi Tighe (99)

Pennsville LL leaves for Senior Softball World Series Saturday, plays last year’s runner-up and host in Monday opener 

SENIOR SOFTBALL WORLD SERIES
Lower Sussex LL Complex, Roxana, Del.
Monday’s games
Lower Sussex vs. Pennsville, 6 p.m.
Canada vs. Southeast, 6 p.m.
Central vs. West, 8 p.m.
Latin America vs. Southwest, 8 p.m.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

One of the first things Bella Rappa did when the Pennsville Senior Softball All-Stars got back to town after winning the regional in Massachusetts was run out and buy a big new suitcase.

After all, when you’re going to the World Series you don’t want to leave anything behind.

Rappa and the Eagles head off to the Little League Senior Softball World Series in Roxana, Del., Saturday morning. It’s potentially a nine-day trip, so there’s a lot of luggage.

“I tend to overpack because I’m very afraid I’m not going to have enough,” the Pennsville first baseman said.

And it’s not just the big purple bag that’s “half my size” for clothes – and the new T-shirts and socks she bought. There’s a personal bag. And, of course, her softball gear. And a tote for the glitter. Lots of glitter.

It’s not quite enough to match Paris Hilton’s entourage in that hotel commercial, but it might put the bellboy on alert.

“I don’t pack that much,” she said. “Out of everybody on the team I’m the one who always overpacks. Oh my God, you bring so many clothes. I’d rather be safe than sorry.

“I didn’t take as much (to the regional) because I kind of knew what to expect. But going down to Delaware, I don’t know what’s going to happen. The majority of my closet is packed in that suitcase.”

One good thing about a big bag is there’s plenty of room for a trophy. The Eagles are planning on success, but their road isn’t easy. Their pool includes both of last year’s finalists – Lower Sussex and defending champion Little River-Academy, Texas District 9 – plus the Negros Occidental LL of Bacolod City, Philippines, and the Yankees Family Group LL of Guanica, Puerto Rico.

They’ll play all four teams in hopes of getting to the knockout round. They’ll play Lower Sussex at 6 p.m. Monday and The Philippines Tuesday at 8, then wrap up pool play with Texas (5:30 p.m.) and Puerto Rico (8 p.m.) Thursday to determine if they advance. Their scheduled off day Wednesday is Rappa’s 17th birthday.

It’s not just some ceremonial host Pennsville plays in its opener. The Lower Sussex team is perennially one of the strongest in the tournament, a collection of the best 16U players from one of the strongest travel programs in the country with pitcher who throws heat and a lineup full of big hitters.

“It looks like on paper, just from considering last year, it looks like we’re in an extremely difficult pool; there’s some serious competition there,” said Pennsville manager Chris Watson, who postponed celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary this week in anticipation of the team making the Series. “It’s the World Series, it’s going to be tough, right? If it wasn’t it would be a heluva disappointment. Win or lose. You want to go down there and play against the best in the world.

“It’s going to be a test Monday night, it’s really going to be a litmus test for us. Do we belong in the World Series or do we not. Can we stand up to some of the best teams in the world down there. I think our first opponent is one of them.”

The international stage will give another platform for Rappa to talk about her father, Nick, a big supporter of the team who she lost two days after it won the South Jersey championship and a week before the state tournament. His passing has been a huge rallying point for the team. Television loves doing those type of emotional stories, so it likely will come up in conversation for the ESPN telecasts of the games.

“I’m OK with that,” Bella said. “Without him I wouldn’t be as much involved with softball as I am, so to be able to talk about him and let people know he was our biggest supporter, this is all for Nick, this is for my dad (is fine).

“Some of the questions they asked (on the pre-tournament questionnaire) were about what superstitions we had. My dad’s chain. That chain has to be in the dugout, on the clipboard, or nothing’s going to happen.

“The last (regional) game against Rhode Island we didn’t have the chain; I left it at the hotel and started freaking out because I thought I lost it. I had my mom run back to get it and when she was there I was up I grounded out. She came back with the chain, we put it in the dugout and the next at-bat I had a solid base hit. Our team is superstitious. If that chain’s not there, we’re not playing good.”

Maybe, just to be on the safe side, they should get it a suitcase of its own.

SERIES STUFF: The team leaves for the tournament venue from the Pennsville LL clubhouse at 9:30 a.m. Saturday – on a chartered bus provided by Little League. All the teams will be housed in nearby Millsboro … Several of the Pennsville players will join the team in Delaware after playing in a travel tournament in Myrtle Beach … Watson wasn’t ready Friday to commit to his pitching plans for the Series.

SENIOR SOFTBALL WORLD SERIES
Pool A
East: Pennsville LL, New Jersey
Asia-Pacific: Negros Occidental LL, Bacolod City, Philippines
Host: Lower Sussex, Delaware
Latin America: Yankees Family Group LL, Guanica, Puerto Rico
Southwest: Texas District 9, Little River-Academy
Pool B
Canada: YYC Softball LL, Calgary, Alberta
Central: Illinois District 17, Beardstown
Europe-Africa: Czech Republic District 1, Prague
Southeast: Vine-Ingle LL, Macon, Georgia
West: Honolulu LL, Hawaii

Pennsville LL Schedule
July 31 – vs. Lower Sussex, 6 p.m.
Aug. 1 – vs Asia-Pacific, 8 p.m.
Aug. 2 – off
Aug. 3 – vs. Southwest, 5:30 p.m.
Aug. 3 – vs. Latin America, 8 p.m.
Aug. 4 – Quarterfinals
Aug. 5 – Semifinals
Aug. 6 – Finals

Kloi Tighe literally comes out of left field to save Pennsville Senior Softball Stars in regional; includes World Series field

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

They didn’t name an MVP in the Little League Senior Softball East Regional this week, but if they had, Pennsville manager Chris Watson knows where his vote would’ve gone.

Pitcher Kloi Tighe literally came out of left field to save the Eagles in the circle.

Tighe pitched in all six games of the Eagles’ run to the championship and figured in all six decisions with five wins and a save.

The role, which really went back as far as the state championship game, started as a first responder putting out the fire when ace Jess Bretz ran into command issues early in games. But by the end of the week the rising Gloucester High School junior was the starter and now gives Watson something to think about as the team heads to the World Series in Delaware.

“Kloi’s a warrior,” Watson said. “She will do whatever we ask her to do and because she’s a warrior, she doesn’t complain about it, she just steps up there and does her job. She’s a wrestler, that’s her No. 1 sport and she plays softball with the intensity of a wrestler and we really benefit from it.”

Tighe had always been in Pennsville’s pitching plan, one of four pitchers it has available, but spends most of her time in the outfield when she’s not in the circle. She pitched in only one game in the first two playoff rounds – a 2 1/3-inning relief stint against Middle Twp. in the sectional title game, but she worked the final 2 1/3 in the state final and got the win, then worked a total of 32 innings in Massachusetts, including starts in each of the semifinals and finals.

All three times she came into a game in the middle of an inning at the regionals – twice in the first inning and once after starting the game behind the plate – she got out of the jam without allowing a run. Those hitters were a combined 0-for-7.

“I didn’t think I was going to be able to pitch the whole time, but knowing the team needed it I made sure I was able to,” Tighe said. “I think I know now I can pitch and keep pitching and not get tired until the very end, because I did pitch a lot (in the tournament).”

Tighe got her toughness and endurance as wrestler, a sport her dad initially didn’t want her to play. She caught that bug watching her little brother practice and, finally, one day five years ago when her dad was on a business trip, she jumped right on the mat and neither have looked back.

Now, “he loves that I do both,” Kloi said.

She wrestles on the Gloucester boys varsity team during the season, mostly in the 106-pound class where she posted 10 wins last season (six by pin), but competes for state gold with the girls at 100. She was sixth in the girls tournament two years ago and third last year. Then, of course, she moves onto the softball field in the spring.

“I think the mental aspect (of wrestling) helps (her softball),” she said. “Because I go from rolling around with guys all the time and getting either beat up a lot or battling with them in the room. Battling with them is way different than battling another 12 girls in the dugout.

“It shows me I can never give up and I know I can do it. In wrestling there’s a lot of letdown, but it gets better as I keep working hard towards my goal.”

A Tighe-r’s Tale

OPPONENT	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
Maryland (WP)	6.2	9	5	3	1	7
Delaware (WP)	5.0	3	1	1	1	8
Pennsylvania (S)	1.2	0	0	0	0	4
Mass. Dist. 4 (WP)	4.2	4	1	0	0	3
Delaware (WP)	7.0	5	1	1	1	8
Rhode Island (WP)	7.0	12	5	4	1	3
Totals (5-0, 1.97 ERA)	32.0	33	13	9	4	33

SENIOR SOFTBALL WORLD SERIES
Roxana, Del.
Pool A
East: Pennsville LL, New Jersey
Asia-Pacific: Negros Occidental LL, Bacolod City, Philippines
Host: Lower Sussex, Delaware
Latin America: Yankees Family Group LL, Guanica, Puerto Rico
Southwest: Texas District 9, Little River-Academy
Pool B
Canada: YYC Softball LL, Calgary, Alberta
Central: Illinois District 17, Beardstown
Europe-Africa: Czech Republic District 1, Prague
Southeast: Vine-Ingle LL, Macon, Georgia
West: Honolulu LL, Hawaii

Pennsville LL Schedule
July 31 – vs. Lower Sussex, 6 p.m.
Aug. 1 – vs Asia-Pacific, 8 p.m.
Aug. 2 – off
Aug. 3 – vs. Southwest, 5:30 p.m.
Aug. 3 – vs. Latin America, 8 p.m.
Aug. 4 – Quarterfinals
Aug. 5 – Semifinals
Aug. 6 – Finals

Pennsville completes sweep of East Regional, heads to Senior Softball World Series in Delaware next week; ‘One more step,’ Watson says

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WORCESTER, Mass. – Make room for another banner on the clubhouse.

The Pennsville LL Senior Softball All-Stars came here on a mission to get the East Region tournament that got away last year and won it all Wednesday emphatically making their point in a 10-5 title victory over Warwick North, R.I. to earn a trip to the World Series in Roxana, Del.

They open the Series Monday 6 p.m. against host Lower Sussex. It’s their first trip to the Series since 1996 and Pennsville’s first trip to any softball World Series since 1998. 

The Eagles are undefeated this Little League tournament season, having swept the districts (3-0), sectionals (2-0), state (2-0) and, now, regionals (6-0). They have scored 10 runs or more 11 times and have seven run-rule wins.

“One more step,” manager Chris Watson told the girls as they lined up to accept the post-game awards. 

They’re certainly leaving here feeling a lot better about themselves than they did a year ago. Last year they brought a team here capable of going the distance and was on the verge of reaching the finals when a team from Delaware rallied from 10 runs down to beat them. After today, with a team of virtually the same players, all that’s behind them.

“It feels like we got over a hump right now,” Watson said. “We still have an ultimate goal ahead of us, but it feels good, it’s something really to celebrate.

“It felt like a wall last year we ran into. To get over that wall and get past that and defeat those ghosts and all that we were living under for the last 12 months, it feels good.”

“It’s an amazing feeling especially the heartbreak we all went through last year,” third baseman Bella Farina said.

Rhode Island had pummeled almost all of its opponents in the state and regional tournaments, but Pennsville pitcher Kloi Tighe kept it in check with her usual approach of letting her fielders make the plays and her hitters create the cushion. She pitched in all six of the Eagles’ games, posting five wins and a save.

She got them to the finals with a 6-1 win over Delaware in the resumption of their suspended semifinal game from the night before. In that one she gave up five hits, walked one and struck out eight in a complete game.

“I didn’t think I was going to be able to pitch the whole time, but knowing the team needed it I made sure I was able to,” Tighe said. “I know now I can pitch and keep pitching and not get tired until the very end, because I did pitch a lot.”

“Kloi’s a warrior,” Watson said. “She will do whatever we ask her to do and because she’s a warrior, she doesn’t complain about it, she just steps up there and does her job. She’s a wrestler, that’s her No. 1 sport and she plays softball with the intensity of a wrestler and we really benefit from it.”

The offense was its typical self as well. They banged out 11 hits, five for extra bases. Eight of the nine starters had at least one hit or a run. They hit .377 as a team in the regional with 19 doubles and two homers.

Leadoff Lily Edwards got things going in the title game by scoring the first run and driving in the second. Edwards reached base all five times she batted and scored three runs. Farina went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs, and Jess Bretz drove in three runs with two hits.

Pennsville scored a run in the first after loading the bases with one out, but could’ve scored more. Farina singled home lead runner Edwards, but Bretz made too wide of a turn at third and was caught on the way back.

They made it 2-0 in the second when Graillyn Weber got to third with two outs and Edwards laced a triple into the right field corner after showing bunt the pitch before.

Rhode Island tied it in the third on Skyler Hawes’ two-run single to center, but Pennsville answered in the fourth and never looked back.

Avery Watson led off with a double to left and was sacrificed to third by Tighe. They eventually loaded the bases when Edwards popped a bunt over the third baseman’s head and Harris was hit by a pitch. Bretz followed with a two-run single through the hole at short and Farina ripped a two-run double to left.

“That was our gameplan all along, to punch back,” Watson said. “We felt like we wanted to stick with Kloi and have Kloi stick it out and clinch it. We knew she was going to give up some contact and they were going to score some runs, but it was really part of our gameplan that we were going to just punch back every time and we did.”

“I think it’s true Pennsville nature,” Farina said. “When we are stressed or down, one hit can get us fired up and then it becomes a continuous cycle and we all come together and hit bombs.”

After Tighe got the final out, the team rushed the pitching circle to celebrate and let loose a blue popper in front of their dugout, but beyond that their celebration was rather muted, as it has been throughout the process. Their eye is on a bigger prize.

“Everybody recognizes that while this is like a wall to get over, this is just Step Four of a five-step process that will get us to the World Series (championship),” Watson said.

The Eagles likely will report to the World Series site Saturday for registration, uniforms and other tournament business.

With a quicker turnaround than they had from the states to Massachusetts, the team has set up another GoFundMe campaign that can be accessed on the web to help offset expenses for the trip.

“There’s a lot to talk about in the next couple days,” Watson said.

East Region Championship
Pennsville 10, Rhode Island 5
Pennsville        220 422 0 – 10 11 4
Rhode Island   002 102 0 –   5 12 5
WP: Kloi Tighe (5-0). LP: Bryce Principe. 2B: Bella Farina 2 (P), Jess Bretz (P), Avery Watson (P), Adrianna Pettinato (RI), Skyler Hawes (RI). 3B: Lily Edwards (P).

SENIOR SOFTBALL WORLD SERIES
Roxana, Del.
Pool A
East: Pennsville LL, New Jersey
Asia-Pacific: Negros Occidental LL, Bacolod City, Philippines
Host: Lower Sussex, Delaware
Latin America: Yankees Family Group LL, Guanica, Puerto Rico
Southwest: Determined Friday
Pool B
Canada: Determined Thursday
Central: Illinois District 17
Europe-Africa: Czech Republic District 1, Prague
Southeast: Vine-Ingle LL, Macon, Georgia
West: Honolulu LL, Hawaii

East Schedule
July 31 – vs. Lower Sussex, 6 p.m.
Aug. 1 – vs Asia-Pacific, 8 p.m.
Aug. 2 – off
Aug. 3 – vs. Southwest, 5:30 p.m.
Aug. 3 – vs. Latin America, 8 p.m.
Aug. 4 – Quarterfinals
Aug. 5 – Semifinals
Aug. 6 – Finals

Top photo by Michelle Pedrick

Tighe, Eagles dispatch Delaware in less than an hour in resumption of suspended game; play Rhode Island in finals at 2 p.m.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Pennsville All-Stars moved within one win of a berth in the Little League Senior Softball World Series this morning with a 6-1 win over Delaware in the completion of their suspended semifinal game from Tuesday night.

The Eagles will take on Warwick North, R.I., for the East Regional title. The winner advances to the World Series in Roxana, Del., with a first game July 31 against the host team from Lower Sussex. Rhode Island held off Maryland in the other semifinal, 4-3.

“We played a good game defensively, pitched well and feel confident with that side,” Pennsville manager Chris Watson said. “We struggled to make solid contact on an excellent pitcher (and) need to make quicker adjustments at the plate, but overall we feel good.”

Pennsville held a 2-0 lead at the suspension and scored on the first pitch of the restart when Leadoff Lily Edwards raced home from third on a wild pitch. Before the inning was over, they added another run on Bella Farina’s RBI single.

Kloi Tighe was just as sharp this next morning as she was before the suspension. Delaware put together back-to-back two-out doubles in the home third for its only run. Tighe, who beat Delaware earlier in the tournament, gave up five hits, walked one and struck out eight in her complete game.

Delaware threatened in the fifth, putting runners in scoring position with two outs. Lexi Dennis grounded to short and Avery Watson’s force at third got away, but third baseman Bella Farina recovered and easily cut down the runner at the plate.

Watson said Tuesday night his choice for a starting pitcher in the championship game if they completed this win would be “a game-time decision.”

“We worked out all four pitchers this morning and will do so again before making a call,” Watson said after the game.

This was a major hurdle for the Eagles. They were eliminated in this round here a year ago when they lost a 10-run lead to a team from Delaware.

Pennsville 6, Delaware 1
Pennsville 103 011 0 – 6 6 0
Delaware 001 000 0 – 1 5 1
WP: Kloi Tighe. LP: Lexi Dennis. 2B: Graillyn Weber (P), Lexi Dennis (D), Jordan Fletcher (D). 3B: Jess Bretz (P).

Tale of the Tape (East Region)

NORTH WARICK, RI		PENNSVILLE LL
Mass. District 4	10-0	Havre de Grace, Md.	13-7
Marblehead, Mass.	14-6	Smyrna/Clayton, Del.	14-1
Bristol, Conn.	14-0	Stroudsburg, Pa.	17-6
Stroudsburg, Pa.	13-0	Mass. District 4	17-5
Havre de Grace, Md.	4-3	Smyrna/Clayton, Del.	6-1

Photo: Michelle Pedrick

East Regional semifinal suspended to Wednesday morning with Pennsville leading Delaware 2-0 in third inning

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WORCESTER, Mass. – These Pennsville Senior Softball All-Stars are getting pretty good at this waiting around stuff.

The Eagles’ East Regional semifinal game with Smyrna/Clayton, Del., Tuesday night was suspended by weather in the top of the third inning with them holding a 2-0 lead and still batting. It’s the third time they’ve been put in a holding pattern since they started climbing this year’s tournament ladder.

Play will resume at 10 a.m. Wednesday with a runner at third and Jess Bretz at the plate.

The umpires pulled both teams off the field due to lightning at 5:45 p.m. and about 20 minutes into the delay it started raining steadily. The forecast called for the rain to continue for the next couple hours.

The other semifinal game between Rhode Island and Maryland never got underway as their field was unplayable from the start. Keeping all four semifinalists on a similar schedule may have played a part in washing out the day.

The championship game is scheduled for 1 p.m. (now 2 p.m.) and everyone basically will have to play a game Wednesday to reach it, although the Pennsville winner already has two-plus innings in the book.

Pennsville manager Chris Watson admitted he’s getting good at this waiting out stuff, but he added “everyone else is extremely impatient, including my own players.”

At least the wait isn’t as long as they had in the state tournament. That championship game was supposed to be played on a Sunday and Pennsville had to wait until Tuesday night to finish off that one for a variety of reasons.

And at least this time they won’t have to go home and drive back. And, remember, their first game in the district tournament got suspended in the first inning, too.

“I feel good we got two innings in and we’re scoring runs,” Watson said. “I’d feel a lot worse if we hadn’t gotten anything in.

“We just put a lot of preparation into the day, into the game now. You put all that couple hours’ worth of effort into the game today, you want to get a little bit out of it. You want to get out on the field at least and feel like you played a little bit.”

Pennsville faced a hard-throwing left-hander like they did Monday night and didn’t take long to score. Kylie Harris laced a one-out single into left field in the first inning, advanced around the bases on a passed ball and wild pitch, then scored on Bretz’ grounder to third.

The Eagles added another run without the benefit of a hit right before a weather delay.

Avery Watson got that rally started being hit by a pitch. She went to second on a wild pitch, was sacrificed to third by Kloi Tighe and rode home on Harris’ sacrifice fly after Leadoff Lily Edwards walked.

Tighe drew the start in the circle, just as she did when the teams played Sunday afternoon. She was just as effective this time, too, striking out four over the first two innings and not allowing a hit. Delaware threatened in the first inning, getting a runner to second with two outs, but Tighe left her there.

She has pitched in every game of the regional thus far. She’ll be back in the circle when the game resumes and if Pennsville completes the win and gets to the final Watson said his choice for starter will be “a game-time decision.”

“Pretty happy with the start,” Watson said. “Kloi’s pitching well. She dealt with the top of the order very well, so I’m very comfortable.

“I know we’re going to score more than two runs, but I also know the way Kloi’s pitching today she’s really on. All her pitches are landing where they should. She just had one ball slip and got the hit by pitch, but that’s unusual, that doesn’t typically happen to Kloi.”

The Eagles were knocked out of this regional in this round last year by a team from Delaware – not the same one they played Tuesday – that came back from six outs away from being run-ruled. Pennsville has the lead this time, too – not as much, mind you – and they this time they intend to keep it.

“Of course, it’s in the back of my mind, yeah, but we’re a different team this year,” Watson said. “It’s not like any of that is going to happen again. We’re in a different place this year. That’s just memories and ghosts and we’re not really concerned about all that.”

LITTLE LEAGUE SENIOR SOFTBALL
East Regional, Worcester, Mass.
Pool A (New England): Connecticut (Bristol), Host (Mass D4/Worcester), Massachusetts (Marblehead), Rhode Island (Warwick North)
Pool B (Mid-Atlantic): Delaware (Smyrna/Clayton), Maryland (Havre de Grace), New Jersey (Pennsville), Pennsylvania (Stroudsburg)
Tuesday’s games
Semifinals
Rhode Island vs. Maryland, ppd. to Wednesday, 10 a.m.
Pennsville 2, Delaware 0, 3 inn., susp. to Wednesday, 10 a.m.
Wednesday’s game
Championship, 2 p.m.

LL SENIOR SOFTBALL WORLD SERIES
Roxana, Del.
Pool A
East: Determined Wednesday
Asia-Pacific: Negros Occidental LL, Bacolod City, Philippines
Host: Lower Sussex, Delaware
Latin America: Yankees Family Group LL, Guanica, Puerto Rico
Southwest: Determined Friday
Pool B
Canada: Determined Thursday
Central: Determined Wednesday
Europe-Africa: Czech Republic District 1, Prague
Southeast: Vine-Ingle LL, Macon, Georgia
West: Honolulu LL, Hawaii

East Schedule
July 31 – vs. Host, 6 p.m.
Aug. 1 – vs Asia-Pacific, 8 p.m.
Aug. 2 – off
Aug. 3 – vs. Southwest, 5:30 p.m.
Aug. 3 – vs. Latin America, 8 p.m.
Aug. 4 – Quarterfinals
Aug. 5 – Semifinals
Aug. 6 – Finals

Pennsville uses a big inning to overcome a rough start, beats host team in quarterfinals of LL Senior Softball East Regionals

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WORCESTER, Mass. – Pennsville scored its third straight run-rule win of this Little League Senior Softball Regional here Monday night, but you never would have figured it the way it all started.

But given the way the Eagles – we’ll call them that now — swing the bat, maybe you would.

Pennsville beat host Massachusetts District 4 17-5. They fell behind a team that had not scored a run in pool play 5-0 in the second inning, climbed back into it with one rally in the second, then erupted for nine runs in the third inning to finally breathe easier.

“That was a little scary to start,” manager Chris Watson said. “We kind of got punched in the face the first couple innings. We weren’t quite expecting them to have all that they did.

“They had some really good hitters at the top of the order. They had a great pitcher. They seemed like one of the most competitive teams in the region. I don’t know where that came from … It was a battle and a real test. We got caught by surprise, frankly.”

The New Jersey champs now play Smyrna, Del., in the East Regional semifinals Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. They beat Delaware 14-1 Sunday to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Mid-Atlantic pool, but have yet to face the First Staters’ top two pitchers. It was a Delaware team – not this one – that knocked them out of the tournament last year.

Early on, it looked like the Eagles might not even make it back. 

The game couldn’t have started in a worse way. Jess Bretz continued to struggle in the circle and was lifted in the first inning for third time here. Mass-D4, who were no-hit in their regional opener and had only five hits in their three pool games, batted around and scored four runs without the benefit of a hit.

Bretz faced six batters, walking three and hitting two. A third run scored when a pitch got away and another scored while Pennsville was throwing it around. They cut down another runner at the plate to keep another run from scoring. The hosts added another run in the second.

In her three regional starts Bretz has faced 16 batters in 2/3 of an inning, but walked six and hit eight. Watson isn’t giving up on his ace because he knows what’s there. Bretz spun three no-hitters and a two-hitter on the road to get here.

“When I warm up I’m having good bullpens and I’m mentally in the game, but, especially today, I wasn’t mentally prepared for the game throughout the day,” Bretz said. “Even before we stepped on the field I was down on myself. I wasn’t in a positive mindset to help my team get where we needed to be. I think it’s the days leading up to it where I’m not confident in myself and I need to fix that.”

Kloi Tighe relieved Bretz again and finished the game. She allowed one run, four hits and struck out three over the final 4 2/3 innings it took to finish it. In her four relief outings behind Bretz this tournament season, including her stint in the state title game, Tighe has thrown 14 innings, allowing three earned runs, walking one and striking out 18. 

She also pitched a five-inning, complete-game three-hitter in her regional start against the team Pennsville faces Tuesday.

“When you asked if I was nervous, (it was) a little bit less because I know I have Kloi standing out there in left field ready to come in and show it,” Watson said. “I’m always very confident we can shut things down in a hurry if it doesn’t work out, of course, with our original plan.”

“Having Kloi here means the world to me,” Bretz said. “Last year she had other priorities and  she didn’t make it until the States games, so I had the long innings in the sectionals. Having somebody to back me up when I have bad innings or bad days or bad weeks like I’m having right now it’s amazing. We kind of altered her schedule to help us and she’s being very selfless about it. I’m really happy she’s here and I’m sure the rest of our team is really happy she’s here, too.”

After being held scoreless in the first inning by Ava Grant, a left-hander with velocity who had only thrown one inning prior to Monday, Pennsville’s hitters batted around each of the next three innings to regain control of the game. They finished with 14 hits in the game and are batting a whopping .423 for the regional.

Pennsville finally got on the board when Savannah Palverento scored from second on an infield error. The Eagles proceeded to load the bases with two outs and scored three more runs when the hosts misplayed Kylie Harris’ bases-loaded grounder, Bretz drew a bases-loaded walk and Bella Rappa singled.

Fourteen batters came to the plate in the third and there were eight hits. They loaded the bases with one out and before the inning was over Leadoff Lily Edwards and Rappa each had two-run singles, Bretz and Palverento each had two-run doubles and Tighe’s RBI single – her second hit of the inning – completed the scoring. Edwards’ two-run single put Pennsville up for good, 6-5.

“I think I’m more proud of my team for pulling me out of it than I am of (her own hits) because I wouldn’t be able to do it without everyone else backing me up,” Bretz said. “They were clutch hits, but we consistently get the hits when we need them. Whenever we fall behind I trust every single girl in our lineup to get a hit when we need to.”

“They always managed to do that,” Watson said. “They get the energy going and the hitting gets contagious and they start these rallies. It doesn’t matter if there’s no outs, two outs …”

“I never doubted it,” Edwards said. “I know we can come back from any score. We can just pass the bat along. I don’t know how we do it, but we do it.”

Edwards, who drove 13 hours overnight Sunday to rejoin the team after playing in a national travel ball tournament in South Carolina, went 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Rappa was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, Palverento 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Bretz 2-for-3 with five RBIs.

“It’s so good (to be back),” Edwards said. “I missed the energy of the team.”

And she adds a lot to it.

SENIOR MOMENTS: Delaware walked off Massachusetts 5-4, rallying from a 4-0 deficit in the final two innings and ending it with two in the bottom of the seventh … Maryland held off Connecticut 13-11, hold their breath through an eight-run seventh inning. They’ll play Rhode Island, an 13-0 winner over Pennsylvania. 

Pennsville 17, Massachusetts D4 5
Mass D4      420 00 –  5   4   4
Pennsville   049 4x – 17  14   1
WP: Kloi Tighe (4-0). LP: Ava Grant. 2B: Savannah Palverento 2 (P), Jess Bretz (P), Mia Girardi (M). HR: Jess Bretz (P).

LITTLE LEAGUE SENIOR SOFTBALL
East Regional, Worcester, Mass.
Pool A (New England): Connecticut (Bristol), Host (Mass D4/Worcester), Massachusetts (Marblehead), Rhode Island (Warwick North)
Pool B (Mid-Atlantic): Delaware (Smyrna/Clayton), Maryland (Havre de Grace), New Jersey (Pennsville), Pennsylvania (Stroudsburg)
Monday’s games
Rhode Island 13, Pennsylvania 0 (Pa. eliminated)
Delaware 5, Massachusetts 4 (Mass. eliminated)
Maryland 13, Connecticut 11 (Conn. eliminated)
Pennsville LL 17, Host (Mass D4) 5 (Host eliminated)
Tuesday’s games
Semifinals
Rhode Island vs. Maryland, 5:30 p.m.
Delaware vs. Pennsville, 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday’s game
Championship, 1 p.m.

UPDATED: New Jersey Senior Softball champs breathe a sigh of relief after coming from behind twice to beat Maryland

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WORCESTER, Mass. – As experienced as the team is at these things by now and should be comfortable with the surroundings, it took a little while for the Pennsville Senior Softball All-Stars to get used to this stage.

Pennsville, looking to claim the region title they felt got away from them last year, won their opening game in the Little League Senior Softball East Regional here Saturday, beating high-powered Havre de Grace, Md., 13-7, but it took a while for them to get going.

They fell behind twice early, rallied to tie it both times, then took advantage of the Marylanders’ shoddy infield defense to ultimately pull away. 

They trailed 2-0 in the first inning and 4-2 in the third, tied the game both times, then took the lead with two runs in the fifth. They added two in the sixth and broke it open with five in the seventh. It was more than enough cushion to withstand Maryland’s mini-uprising in the home seventh.

They will play Smyrna, Del. (3:30 p.m.) and Stroudsburg, Pa. (6 p.m.) in their final two Mid-Atlantic pool play games Sunday. Delaware beat Pennsylvania in the first pool game of the day, 11-1.

“I feel like maybe we weren’t used to playing a competitive team,” third baseman Bella Farina said of the slow start. “In sectionals we didn’t really have much competition. It always takes us a little bit to get in our groove and we always give everybody anxiety.”

Pennsville starting pitcher Jess Bretz really had trouble getting out of the gate and manager Chris Watson lifted her for Kloi Tighe after six batters and 18 pitches in the first inning. Tighe got out of the bases-loaded jam she was introduced to with a strikeout and fly out and then went the rest of the way. She gave up nine hits, three earned runs and struck out seven in her 6 2/3 innings.

At the finish, Maryland scored two runs in the seventh and had bases loaded with one out, but Tighe shut the door with a strikeout and a pop to the infield. She also pitched the last 2 1/3 behind Bretz Tuesday night to lock down Pennsville’s state championship game win.

“I didn’t expect him to put me in to pitch at that time, but I knew he wanted to get the win,” Tighe said. “I’ve been put in pressure situations a lot with travel and I pitched school games like that, so I was OK other it being super hot. It was really hot today.”

Part of Bretz’ trouble Saturday may have been the absence of her regular catcher Kylie Harris. Harris and Leadoff Lily Edwards, the regular first two hitters in their lineup, both missed the game.

Harris usually calls pitches and moves the defense, but without her Tighe made her first start behind the plate since fall ball three years ago and even then “it wasn’t for a lot of innings.” When Tighe went to the circle, Graillyn Weber came in to catch and, Tighe said, “we worked together to make it work.”

“Birdie’s (Weber’s) hand was hurting so I was like I can try (to start off catching) because we really didn’t have anyone else to do it, but it really wasn’t working out for us,” Tighe said. “If was definitely different for (Bretz) because she had me behind the plate and I don’t catch. I kind of felt bad for her because I really wasn’t helping her much, but we really didn’t have a choice. At that point, that was the best we had.”

Bella Rappa and Bella Farina led the offense with three hits apiece, Bretz ripped a pair of doubles and Havre de Grace helped them with 10 errors. Pennsville’s last three runs came on a dropped fly ball with the bases loaded.

The New Jersey champs tied the game the first time with a two-out rally in the third. Bretz got it started with a double. Rappa followed with an RBI single and went to second on the third and scored on Farina’s RBI single.

They tied it the second time in the fourth. Pinch-hitters Kam Garron and Audrey Claybourne opened the inning with a walk and single, respectively, and Tighe sacrificed them up a base. Special pinch runner Gina Shinn, a special pinch-runner for Garron, slid around the throw on Savannah Palverento’s sacrifice fly to make it 4-3 and and Claybourne scored the tying run when Maryland dropped Bretz’ pop up in the infield that would’ve ended the inning.

They took the lead in the fifth  Avery Watson got it started when she took one for the team with one out. Sawyer Simmons then hit a ball that died right before first base line and the throw to get her was dropped at first.

Watson took off for third and that throw was wild allowing her to sprint home with the go-ahead run. Simmons took second and then went to third on a wild pitch. Another run scored when Maryland couldn’t hold the throw Palverento’s grounder to short.

“I think it just gets us going,” Farina said of finally breaking the ice. “It hypes us up and we all get excited and we all just feed off that. That’s when we get all the good hits.”

Maryland bounced back from its loss to beat Pennsylvania 10-1 in its second game of the night. The first six hitters in Maryland’s lineup all had at least two hits.

Pennsville 002 222 5 – 13 10 3
Maryland 202 001 2 – 7 12 10
WP: Kloi Tighe (2-0). LP. Lilly Dalton. 2B: Jess Bretz 2 (P), Bella Rappa (P), Katie Burr (M).

DELAWARE 11, PENNSYLVANIA 1: Smyrna gave Stroudsburg a taste of its own medicine, scoring double-figure runs for the seventh time in seven tournament games to run-rule a team that had won each of its previous seven tournament games by the run rule.

Alexis Dennis led Delaware with four hits and five RBIs while spinning a two-hitter with 13 strikeouts in the circle. Pennsylvania hadn’t given up a run in its previous four games and came in with a streak of 21 scoreless innings, a streak that ended at 23 when Dennis ripped a two-run double in the third.

Pennsville plays both teams Sunday.

LITTLE LEAGUE SENIOR SOFTBALL
East Regional, Worcester, Mass.
Pool A (New England): Connecticut (Bristol), Host (Mass D4/Worcester), Massachusetts (Marblehead), Rhode Island (Warwick North)
Pool B (Mid-Atlantic): Delaware (Smyrna/Clayton), Maryland (Havre de Grace), New Jersey (Pennsville), Pennsylvania (Stroudsburg)
Saturday’s games
Delaware 11, Pennsylvania 1
Massachusetts 11, Host (Mass D4) 0
Pennsville LL 13, Maryland 7
Massachusetts 8, Connecticut 2
Maryland 10, Pennsylvania 1
Rhode Island 10, Host (Mass D4) 0
Sunday’s games
Massachusetts (2-0) vs. Rhode Island (1-0), 1 p.m.
Maryland (1-1) vs. Delaware (1-0), 1 p.m.
Connecticut (0-1) vs. Rhode Island, 3:30 p.m.
Delaware vs. Pennsville LL (1-0), 3:30 p.m.
Host (Mass D4) (0-2) vs. Connecticut, 6 p.m.
Pennsylvania (0-2) vs. Pennsville LL, 6 p.m.
Monday’s games
1A vs. 4B, 5 p.m.
2A vs. 3B, 5 p.m.
2B vs. 3A, 8 p.m.
1B vs. 4A, 8 p.m.
Tuesday’s games
Semifinals
1A-4B winner vs. 2B-3A winner, 5:30 p.m.
2A-3B winner vs. 1B-4A winner, 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday’s game
Championship, 1 p.m.

File photo of Pennsville manager Chris Watson and Kloi Tighe from a game earlier this season by Lorraine Jenkins

Pennsville Senior Softball heading to Little League East Regional looking to get what they couldn’t close out last year

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – Most of the teams headed to Massachusetts this week for the Little League Senior Softball East Regional might have a message like “Delaware or Bust” scrawled across their caravan windows. There is really only one theme the Pennsville LL All-Stars are carrying: Unfinished business.

The New Jersey champions were on the verge of reaching the region championship game last year when the unthinkable happened. They lost a 10-run lead late in the game and it sent them on an excruciating six-hour drive back home thinking about all that could have been.

It’s a memory that has burned in the souls of all the returning players for an entire year. Now they have a chance for redemption back at the same place in the same regional that begins Saturday.

“We’re 100 percent focused on this,” Pennsville manager Chris Watson said. “It was a huge letdown last year. We felt like we were good enough to go beyond the East Region and we fell short. We have spent the last 12 months trying to get back there every day. Nick Rappa passing away, that’s a big driver, too. The girls have their motivation.”

Pennsville was six outs away from run-ruling Camden/Wyoming, Del., to earn a spot in the championship game that would follow last year when it all fell apart. The Delaware champs, who Pennsville beat in pool play earlier in the week, scored once in the home fourth to keep the game alive, plated seven in the bottom of the fifth to set Pennsville on its heels and then got four more in the sixth to complete the comeback and break Pennsville’s heart.

But instead of wallowing in the loss, they changed their mindset and jumped right back into the batting cage as soon as they got back in town to work out their frustrations.

“We always like to say we have unfinished business because of it,” shortstop Avery Watson said. “I do strongly believe that because we had it in the bag, (then) something happened and it just slipped out.

“It really motivates us because it’s going to be almost the same teams up there; everybody is just one year older. It’s going to be a bunch of the same girls and we want to hand it to them like we could have last year.”

“All of us, especially the Bellas (Farina and Rappa), have a fire in them,” catcher Kylie Harris said. “We have something to prove.”

Pennsville lost only two players off that team and added three more – four, if you include Savannah Palverento who was part of the team last year but missed the regional due to injury. Palverento hit the game-winning homer in the state title game comeback Tuesday night.

So, it’s basically the same team they took to regionals last year, but it’s different.

“They just matured,” Watson said. “I know it’s only been a year, but they matured like five years – and probably that night.

“You saw it on Tuesday night (when they trailed twice in the state title game). They didn’t get rattled. They got rattled last year. We were just 100 percent rattled last year and gave it up. This year they faced a lot of adversity, a lot of moments they could have gotten rattled, and they really didn’t.”

“A lot of our attitudes have changed,” Avery Watson said. “A big part of that is because of what happened last year. We’re more motivated now and more driven to finish what we had left up there.”

This year, they were placed in a five-team Mid-Atlantic pool with Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York, but late Wednesday night Watson learned the New York entry had withdrawn, forcing a major shift in the pool’s schedule.

They still will open the regional against Havre de Grace, Md., on Saturday, but now wrap up pool play with a doubleheader Sunday against Smyrna, Del., and Stroudsburg, Pa. The knockout rounds that now include all eight teams start Monday.

“We have deep pitching, so I think we have an advantage over some of those others teams when it comes to that and we lose that now in the tournament section,” Watson said. “The single-elimination tournament was a doubleheader for the championship on Wednesday. It’s just been reduced to one game per day so I guess we might lose an advantage there, if we had one. It kind of makes pool play almost irrelevant now.”

The Maryland team Pennsville opens with is 6-0 in the tournament with five run-rule wins. They’ve outscored their opponents 80-8 and pitcher Lilly Dalton has allowed only one earned run in 29 innings and struck out 47.

The top of the lineup has blazing speed – they opened the state title game with an inside-the-park homer and triple – and there’s plenty of pop throughout. Leadoff hitter Bayleigh Carstetter is 7-for-15 with 19 runs and Dayley Veres is 10-for-20 with 15 runs. The pop comes next with Kinsey Mentzer (12-for-21, 2 HRs, 10 RBIs); Dalton (.529, 14 RBIs); Katie Burr (.313) and Sarah Weitzel (.450, 7 RBIs).

The Delaware champs are 5-1 in the tournament, with three run-rule wins and 10 runs or more in every game. Isabella Mancini has thrown two no-hitters.

The Pennsylvania champion is 7-0 with seven run-rule wins. They haven’t allowed a run in their last four games and are working on a 21-inning scoreless streak.

“They all look like strong teams,” Watson said. “We’ve had a chance to watch all three of the teams play via video, but they all look strong, strong pitching in the zone – obviously none of them give up a lot of runs – good defense and they have dangerous base runners. We’re going to play the same that got us there.”

“I think we have to be ready for anything,” Avery Watson said. “We’re obviously going to see a lot more competition up there. We have to be prepared to make more comebacks like we did our last game. It’s going to happen a lot because from what we’ve seen on video they’re very talented teams and everybody is going up there to go all the way. Everybody wants to win it. We just have to want it more.”

NOTES: All four teams in the Pennsville pool can be found on the Gamechanger app: Pennsville Seniors 2023, HdG LL Seniors, SCLL Senior All Stars, Stroudsburg Seniors All-Star … As of 7 p.m. Thursday night, the Pennsville Senior Softball Regional GoFundMe page has raised $1,850 of its $2,500 goal … The regional winner punches a ticket to the Senior Softball World Series in Roxana, Del., July 31-Aug. 6. The East’s pool there includes Asia-Pacific, Host Delaware District 3, Latina America and Southwest and they open against the host team. 

LITTLE LEAGUE SENIOR SOFTBALL
East Regional, Worcester, Mass.
Pool A (New England): Connecticut (Bristol), Host (Mass D4/Worcester), Massachusetts (Marblehead), Rhode Island (Warwick North)
Pool B (Mid-Atlantic): Delaware (Smyrna/Clayton), Maryland (Havre de Grace), New Jersey (Pennsville), Pennsylvania (Stroudsburg)
Saturday’s games
Opening ceremonies, 9 a.m.
Pennsylvania vs. Delaware, 11 a.m.
Massachusetts vs. Host, 11 a.m.
Maryland vs. Pennsville LL, 1:30 p.m.
Connecticut vs. Massachusetts, 1:30 p.m.
Pennsylvania vs. Maryland, 3 p.m.
Host vs. Rhode Island, 3 p.m.
Sunday’s games
Massachusetts vs. Rhode Island, 1 p.m.
Maryland vs. Delaware, 1 p.m.
Connecticut vs. Rhode Island, 3:30 p.m.
Delaware vs. Pennsville LL, 3:30 p.m.
Host vs. Connecticut, 6 p.m.
Pennsylvania vs. Pennsville LL, 6 p.m.
Monday’s games
1A vs. 4B, 5 p.m.
2A vs. 3B, 5 p.m.
2B vs. 3A, 8 p.m.
1B vs. 4A, 8 p.m.
Tuesday’s games
Semifinals
1A-4B winner vs. 2B-3A winner, 5:30 p.m.
2A-3B winner vs. 1B-4A winner, 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday’s game
Championship, 1 p.m.