PORTLAND — The South Snohomish Little League team wasted no time displaying its offensive power.
The squad representing the West scored nine runs in a two-inning span to cap an 11-0 victory over the Asia-Pacific team in its Little League Softball World Series debut Thursday afternoon at Alpenrose Stadium in Portland.
After scoring its first two runs on a wild pitch and a passed ball, the South Snohomish offense came alive in the third inning with four runs against the team from Makati City, Philippines. Serina Penrod scored on an RBI single by Ashley Jacobson and Brooke Jordan followed that with a two-run single to score Jacobson and Kiley Hubby.
South Snohomish head coach Fred Miller credited Maija Gestson for helping spark the third-inning rally. Gestson reached base on a pinch-hit bunt with Hubby returning to the game to run for her.
“That was huge. To have a kid come off the bench like that and make things happen, that was big,” Miller said. “Maija Gestson came through when we really needed her.”
West followed that up with another big inning in the fourth. A three-run bases-clearing triple by Phoebe Schultz capped a five-run inning and gave South Snohomish a 10-run lead — which ended the game under the mercy rule.
“Brooke had a massive hit for a two-run single. … It was good to see them hit,” Miller said. “And (Asia-Pacific’s) pitcher was solid. She was throwing gas.”
The two early runs helped calm the West players’ nerves, Miller said. When Makayla Miller scored on a wild pitch in the first inning and Emily Strong added another run on a passed ball in the second it helped set the stage for a big rally to come.
“You could tell we were nervous at first, that’s why it was so huge that we scored on a couple of passed balls,” Fred Miller said. “When Makayla scored that first run on the (wild pitch) — I remember telling her, too, ‘If there’s a passed ball you’ve got to score.’ That was huge. And then the next inning the same thing. Getting a couple of runs right off the bat relaxed everybody.”
Jordan finished 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBI and Makayla Miller, Jacobson and Hubby added two runs apiece.
“We played well,” Fred Miller said. “… We got some huge clutch hits. If we continue to hit and play good defense, we’re looking good.”
The extra runs were more than enough for Makayla Miller, who struck out seven and didn’t allow a run in four innings. Miller, who played through a kidney infection at the regional tournament in San Bernardino, California in late July, looked much improved in the circle.
“Just another solid performance. She’s got her velocity back up,” Fred Miller said. “We were clocking her at mid-to-high 40s in San Bernardino because of illness. At the beginning of the game (on Thursday) we clocked her at 54. She did a really good job.”
The West squad will face the team from Canada — Layritz Little League from Victoria, British Columbia — at 10 a.m. Friday as pool play continues. The Canadian team lost its opener to Southeast on Thursday 10-1.
South Snohomish then has an off day on Saturday before its third game against Central (Central Iowa LL from Polk City, Iowa) at 7 p.m. Sunday night.
The players from Snohomish then wrap up pool play with a game against the Southeast Team (Rowan LL from Salisbury, North Carolina) at 4 p.m. Monday. The top two teams from Pools A and B qualify for Tuesday’s semifinal games, which will be broadcast live on ESPN 2.
“Getting that first (win) — we figure we need three of them at least, maybe four – getting the first win is huge,” Miller said. “It’s a monster. Now all our concentration is on Canada.”
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