Pennsville All-Stars stare down relegation, score four in ninth to beat Latin America to secure No. 2 seed in their pool

SENIOR SOFTBALL LL WORLD SERIES
Thursday’s scores
West 8, Southeast 7
Asia-Pacific 8, Delaware 0
Southwest 15, Pennsville 5
Central 16, Europe-Africa 1
Pennsville 6, Latin America 3
Canada 11, Europe-Africa 7

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

ROXANA, Del. — The Pennsville All-Stars don’t believe in doing things easy.

The Eagles put themselves in a must-win situation to make the tournament rounds of the Senior Softball Little League World Series, then stared down relegation several times late in that game before rallying in a bizarre ninth inning to beat Latin America champion Puerto Rico 6-3 and secure the No. 2 seed from Pool A.

They scored four runs in the top of the ninth after catcher Kylie Harris tied the game 2-2 with a leadoff homer in the sixth.

It was another late night for the Eagles, as the Thursday game ended 10 minutes before midnight. Not quite as late as the other night when they beat The Philippines to gain the tiebreaker that got them the 2 seed, but it put them in a quick turnaround nonetheless. They play the No. 3 seed from Pool B, West champion Honolulu LL, in the quarterfinals at 12:30 p.m. Friday.

The Eagles came into the day with a chance to win their pool, but after laying a 15-5 egg against two-time reigning World Series champion Texas District 9 that took away any chance of that, they were playing Puerto Rico to either finish second, make the playoffs and play through the weekend or fifth and be relegated to a one-game consolation game.

“We don’t do anything easy here,” Pennsville manager Chris Watson said. “This team doesn’t do anything easy. They don’t get an easy road, really, and they don’t take the easy road when it’s put in front of them. That’s what they did tonight. They did it the hard way.

“My wife hates it. I’m sure she’s at home watching the screen and pulling her hair out. I get a lot of that kind of feedback from parents. They’re always remarking how exciting the games always end up being. They don’t understand how I stay so calm throughout it. I’ve kind of become accustomed to it.”

Things did look dark for Pennsville. The teams were locked in a tight battle and the air kind of went out of the Eagles when they fell behind 2-1 after five innings. But Harris restarted their energy when she led off the sixth with a home run to tie it.

Suddenly, there was excitement from the Pennsville dugout and their side of the stands.

“I don’t even have words to describe that feeling,” Harris said. “It makes this sport the sport. That was one of those you’ll never forget things.”

The teams went to extra innings tied 2-2. The Eagles ran themselves out of a potential run in the eighth when Harris got caught in a rundown trying to tag on Jess Bretz’ long fly to center and it almost cost them. Puerto Rico threatened to win it in the bottom of the inning, putting the potential winning run at third with two outs and dangerous leadoff hitter Jelaidy Rosario at the plate.

Rosario had reached base four straight times in the game, but Kloi Tighe induced her into a grounder to third to end the inning.

Pennsville broke it open in the ninth after loading the bases with no outs. With Gina Shinn on second as international tiebreaker ghost runner, Savannah Palverento hit a ball off the pitcher’s glove and beat the shortstop’s throw to first. Shinn kept moving and was safe at third while Palverento pulled into second. Graillyn Weber then bunted for a single to load the bases.

Avery Watson followed with a looping liner about head high behind second base that was high enough to be an infield fly rule out and fell in between the shortstop, second baseman and charging centerfielder for a single. The infield fly rule wasn’t called because the umpires deemed it would have taken something beyond a reasonable effort by the infielders to make the play.

The infield fly rule is a runners advance at their own risk kind of thing anyway and whether they called it or not Shinn raced home with the go-ahead run. Before the inning was over, Kloi Tighe delivered a sacrifice fly, Lily Edwards squeezed a run home and Harris delivered her fourth straight hit to plate another run.

“I was just thinking don’t call infield fly, please don’t call infield fly,” Avery said. “They didn’t, so everything worked out. My main worry was they were going to call infield fly, not even that they were going to catch it.”

Tighe pitched a complete game for Pennsville in the circle, throwing 121 pitches. The ghost runner scored on her in the ninth, but closed out the game with a couple grounders. She gave up nine hits and struck out six.

“We had Jess ready to go and even warmed her up for extra innings, but Kloi’s a warrior, she wasn’t giving the ball up,” Watson said. “She wasn’t giving up much hard contact at all.”

Harris said nailing down the 2-seed “puts us in a good spot.” If they win Friday, they’ll face either Pool B winner Central (Illinois) or Puerto Rico again in Saturday’s 5:30 p.m. semfinals.

“One was ideal for us,” Harris said, “but 2 we’ll take it any day over going home.”

Pennsville 6, Latin America 3
Pennsville 001 001 004 – 6 8 3
Latin America 001 010 001 – 3 9 1
WP: Kloi Tighe. LP: Reisha Batista. 2B: Ylime Torres (LA), Jelaidy Rosario (LA). HR: Kylie Harris (P).

Southwest 15, Pennsville 5
Southwest 145 203 – 15 14 0
Pennsville 040 100 – 5 8 4
WP:Christi McGuire. LP: Jess Bretz. 2B: Bella Rappa (P), Lindsay Talafuse 2 (SW), Christi McGuire (SW), Jayden Sadler (SW), Miah Corona (SW). HR: Yasmine Traore (SW).

SENIOR SOFTBALL WORLD SERIES
Friday’s quarterfinals
A-2 Pennsville vs. B-3 West (Hawaii), 12:30 p.m.
B-2 Canada (Alberta) vs. A-3 Asia-Pacific (The Philippines), 3 p.m.
B-1 Central (Illinois) vs. A-4 Latin America (Puerto Rico), 5:30 p.m.
A-1 Southwest (Texas) vs. B-4 Southeast (Georgia), 8 p.m.

Cover photo: Pennsville catcher Kylie Harris flies into the plate and her awaiting teammates after hitting the game-tying home run against Latin America Thursday night.

Texas, Illinois only undefeated teams left in pool play (3-0), Pennsville back at it with DH Thursday and a chance to win its pool

SENIOR SOFTBALL LL WORLD SERIES
Wednesday’s scores
West 15, Europe-Africa 1
Central 3, Canada 2
Latin America 6, Delaware 5
Southwest 18, Asia-Pacific 2

By Riverview Sports News

ROXANA, Del. – The Southwest and Central U.S. champions are the only undefeated teams remaining in pool play in the Senior Softball Little League World Series, but after the events of Wednesday night, the Pennsville Eagles have a chance to swoop in and steal the top seed in their pool.

The Eagles had the night off, a welcome respite after playing past midnight the day before. They play their final two pool games Thursday and after Latin America held off Delaware Wednesday night they have a chance to win the No. 1 seed with a sweep of Team Southwest and Latin America.

Here are the recaps of Wednesday night’s games:

POOL A
SOUTHWEST 18, ASIA-PACIFIC 2: Catcher Jayden Sadler hit a three-run homer in the first inning, Journee White and Miah Corona had three hits apiece and pitcher Allyson Schauer came within one out of a four-inning no-hitter as the Southwest champions from Texas moved closer to clinching the No. 1 seed in the pool.

The two-time defending champions from the Waco area can clinch the top seed with a victory over Pennsville in Thursday’s 5:30 p.m. game. The Texans, who’ve outscored their opponents in this year’s tournament 33-4, won it in 2019 and 2022. There were no tournaments in 2020 and 2021. 

LATIN AMERICA 6, DELAWARE 5: The champions from Puerto Rico opened a 6-0 lead through four innings, then held off a furious comeback from last year’s runner-up and host team over the last three innings.

Delaware cut the margin to 6-4 in the fifth on Ashlyn Ullman’s three-run homer and made it 6-5 in the sixth after loading the bases. The Tribe had the tying and go-ahead runners on base with one out in the seventh, but the game ended on a ground ball double play. 

POOL B
CENTRAL 3, CANADA 2: Cora Ellison hit a one-out solo homer in the eighth inning to snap a 2-2 tie and reliever Mia Volpert retired the side in order in the bottom of the inning to preserve the victory that clinched the No. 1 seed in the pool. The Canadians tied the game with a pair of unearned runs in the sixth.

Even if the champions from Illinois lose their final pool game Thursday and finish tied with Canada in the standings, they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.

WEST 15, EUROPE-AFRICA 1: Shelby Baguio drove in five runs with three hits, including a homer, and spun a complete-game three-hitter in the circle to lift the West champions from Honolulu to their first win of the tournament. Baguio had an RBI single in the third inning, a two-run homer in the fourth and a two-run single in the fifth. Tasiana Taufahema had two hits and four RBIs.

SENIOR SOFTBALL LL WORLD SERIES
Thursday’s games
West vs. Southeast
Asia-Pacific vs. Delaware
Southwest vs. Pennsville, 5:30 p.m.
Central vs. Europe-Africa
Pennsville vs. Latin America, 8 p.m.
Europe-Africa vs. Canada
Friday’s games
Game 21: A-2 vs. B-3, 12:30 p.m.
Game 22: Canada (B-2) vs. A-3, 3 p.m.
Game 23: Central (B-1) vs. A-4, 5:30 p.m.
Game 24: Pennsville or Southwest (A-1) vs. B-4, 8 p.m.
Saturday’s game
A-5 vs. B-5, 3 p.m.
Losers of Games 21-22, 3 p.m.
21 vs. 23, 5:30 p.m.
22 vs. 24, 8 p.m.
Losers of Games 23-24, 8 p.m.
Sunday’s game
Third-place game, 11 a.m.
Championship game, 7 p.m.

STANDINGS	W	L	RF	RA	TIEBREAKER NOTES
POOL A
Southwest	3	0	33	4	Beat LA, Del, AP
Pennsville	1	1	12	14	Beat AP; Lost to Del
Delaware	1	2	14	16	Beat Penn; Lost to SW, LA
Latin America	1	2	8	22	Beat Del; Lost to SW, AP
Asia-Pacific	1	2	15	26	Beat LA; Lost to Penn, SW
POOL B
Central	3	0	21	6	Beat W, SE, Can
Canada	2	1	19	5	Beat SE, W; Lost to Cent
Southeast	1	2	8	25	Beat EA; Lost to Can, Cent
West	1	2	20	15	Beat EA; Lost to Cent, Can
Europe-Africa	0	2	5	23	Lost to SE, W

Pennsville gets first World Series victory, 7-6; 8 p.m. game that started at 10, ends at 12:28 a.m.

SENIOR SOFTBALL LL WORLD SERIES
Tuesday’s scores
Central 11, Southeast 1
Canada 7, West 2
Asia-Pacific 7, Latin America 1
Southeast 8, Europe-Africa 4
Southwest 5, Delaware 1
Pennsville 7, Asia-Pacific 6

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

ROXANA, Del. – It’s a good thing the Pennsville All-Stars have a day off from the Senior Softball Little League World Series on Wednesday. They really need to sleep in.

The Eagles played long into the night – Tuesday night into Wednesday morning long – before finally putting away the Asia-Pacific champion from The Philippines 7-6 for their first win in the Series.

“It’s rewarding” Pennsville manager Chris Watson said after it finally came to an end. “You feel like you put in a 12-hour day and got paid.”

The game ended at 12:28 a.m., about a half hour before Little League curfew. The Eagles, who had already taken a day trip to the beach to kill time before their scheduled 8 p.m. game, had been at the ballpark since 5:30 p.m. when they arrived to look in on The Philippines-Puerto Rico game, but that hadn’t even started yet as Canada and Hawaii went long.

The Eagles tried all kinds of things to stay occupied while they waited to play, but after a while you see some strange things. At the stroke of midnight, the dugout could be heard singing “Happy Birthday” to first baseman Bella Rappa, whose 17th birthday is Wednesday. Lily Edwards and Kylie Harris broke out a couple personal rally caps they built out of drink cups. And in the seventh, Watson, Harris and third baseman Bella Farina tried to corral a wayward moth in the infield that threatened to prolong the game even more.

“I was sitting right next to Jess (while they waited) and we were both talking about how bored we were and we just wanted to play,” Watson said. “You can only do so much scouting and we’re sitting there scouting the ballgame, but after a while it’s like, all right, we know these batters and pitchers and we know the other team’s batters and pitchers, just come on, get the game going.”

“I was bored before we started playing,” said Bretz, who hadn’t realized it was past midnight when the game ended. “But now it’s good.” 

Once they got down to the serious business of the game, which started at 10:05 p.m. (after the concession stand shut down for the night), Farina gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead for the second game in a row and Bretz pitched and hit them to a victory.

Bretz returned to the circle as a starter for the first time since the quarterfinals of the East Regional. She gave the Eagles a complete game and with the exception of one inning was as sharp as she was earlier in the tournament.

She put The Philippines down in order in the first, but in the second they batted around to tie the game. Five of their first six hitters of the inning reached on hits or walks and they batted with the bases loaded four times and all four times brought in a run.

But after that, Bretz gave up just four hits, one unearned run and struck out three for her first win since her no-hitter against Morris Plains in the state tournament. 

“My mindset definitely changed (after the big inning),” she said. “It went from throwing the ball and spin it past their bats to just letting them hit the ball. The mindset games kind of fixed everything else. I was spinning the ball more and I thought, oh, let’s just throw it at the bat.”

Bretz was just as effective at the plate. She gave the Eagles a 5-0 lead with a three-run double in the second inning and slammed a two-run homer in the fourth to give them a 7-5 lead after The Philippines reached her for five runs in the second to tie the game.

“Obviously, I couldn’t have done it without the other people getting on,” Bretz said. “It just felt good to stroke the ball well, because I hadn’t been hitting well recently, so it felt good to get a good stroke on the ball.”

Farina gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead with a two-out, two-run single in the first off Jeryll Duller, the second pitcher of the inning. Bretz hit her double off Duller and homered off ace Angelica Jean Latriz, who came on in the third after throwing 93 pitches in The Philippines’ tournament opener against Puerto Rico.

The homer was Bretz’ third this tournament in games in which she was pitching. One of them came after she was lifted from the circle, but it was still a game she started.

“When she came around after hitting the home run I said to her something along the lines of ‘how ‘bout that, you can hit when you’re pitching,’” Watson said. “That’s been the thing all along, right, when she’s pitching she doesn’t have the mindset to hit home runs, but I think we’re kind of getting over that at this point. I think that’s been beaten to death; I think we’re good now. This girl can hit.”

The Philippines didn’t give Bretz another chance to hurt them. They intentionally walked her the next time she came to the plate and tried to do it again in the seventh before Watson reminded them the rules prohibit intentionally walking the same hitter twice in the game. They walked her on four pitches anyway.

“It happened a lot during high school season, too,” Bretz said. “Obviously, I want to hit the ball, but that’s crazy that I gained respect from the coaches from a different country. I think that’s insane.”

The Eagles were scheduled to have a 9 a.m. off-day practice Wednesday and then head to the beach for a little R&R. Given the hour of the game’s finish, practice has been bumped up to noon.

“That kind of solves a problem,” Watson said. “I was worried about them getting sunburned and spending too much energy in the water and everything, so now we’ll just go late and we’ll have dinner. Maybe they can run around the water a little bit, but it’ll be brief.”

SERIES STUFF: Edwards had four hits in the game for Pennsville … Outfielder Savannah Palverento was hit in the head with a pitch in the third inning. She came out for precaution, but appeared fine after the game … Watson’s bad luck with coin tosses continued. The Eagles will be the visitors in all four of their pool games this week as he all four tosses in the coaches meeting … Philippines shortstop Daniela Cabangon was hit in a face with a pitch in the game with Puerto Rico and after being helped to the dugout was transported to a nearby hospital for evaluation … The Eagles’ moth wranglers eventually did capture the insect and carried it over to the fence.

SENIOR SOFTBALL LL WORLD SERIES
Pennsville 7, Asia-Pacific 6
Pennsville      230 200 0 – 7 13   2
Asia-Pacific   050 100 0 – 6   7   0
WP: Jess Bretz. LP: Laira Silverio. 2B: Kylie Harris (P), Jess Bretz (P). HR: Jess Bretz (P). 

STANDINGS	W	L	RF	RA
Pool A
Southwest	2	0	15	2
Delaware	1	1	9	10
Pennsville	1	1	12	14
Asia-Pacific	1	1	13	8
Latin America	0	2	2	17
Pool B
Canada	2	0	17	2
Central	2	0	18	4
Southeast	1	2	8	25
Europe-Africa	0	1	4	8
West	0	2	5	14

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