Snohomish downs Southwest in LLWS elimination bracket
Published 9:50 am Tuesday, August 4, 2026
The Snohomish Little League All Stars softball team, representing the Northwest Region at the Little League World Series (LLWS) in Greenville, North Carolina this week, kept their run alive with a 7-3 Tuesday win over Southwest champion Greater Helotes Little League of Helotes, Texas.
Snohomish trailed 2-1 after the first inning and carried that deficit into the fifth, where it scored two runs to go ahead. The All Stars then piled on four runs off a pair of two-out doubles in the sixth to close things out.
The win comes two days after Snohomish was dropped to the Purple Elimination Bracket after a 14-0 loss to the Southeast, meaning the All Stars would need three straight wins to reach the purple championship game. With the result, Snohomish advanced to a second loser-out game at 10 a.m. on Wednesday on ESPN2.
Pitcher Maddie Locke did her part to get Snohomish a third of the way on Tuesday, going 3-for-3 with three runs and four RBI off a double and a homer. In the circle, Locke went all six innings to strike out four hitters while allowing two hits and three earned runs with three walks. Shortstop Joceylnn Day (RBI) also doubled to bring in a run in the win.
Southwest pitcher Avery Cox struck out 12 in six innings, holding Snohomish to 5-for-22 at the plate, but the All Stars saved their best for last to move on.
Locke set the atmosphere in the first inning, taking on two balls in her first at-bat before lofting a fly ball to Stallings Stadium’s center field for an early Northwest solo homer.
The Southwest, however, leveraged a crafty first inning to take the lead. After stealing third, Cox (run, 2 SB) stole home on a strikeout to even things. A sacrifice bunt from Southwest second baseman Bailey Briseno (RBI) made it 2-1.
Greater Helotes, which had dropped to the elimination bracket courtesy of 2-1 loss on Monday to North Carolina, proceeded to hold Snohomish off the board for three consecutive frames. Snohomish sent the minimum three batters to the plate in each scoreless frame, as an inning-ending double play erased a drawn walk in the third.
Meanwhile, Locke and the Northwest defense went on a run of their own. The Southwest got two leadoff walks in the second and third, but two Ks from Locke and some strong turns from the infield kept goose eggs on the board in each frame.
Snohomish, with its run at the LLWS on the line, awoke in the fifth.
Locke singled to open the frame before first baseman Avery Calamusa (1-for-2, run, RBI) brought her home from second on a single to left field. A Snohomish walk loaded the bases with two outs, allowing Calamusa to score on a passed ball to make it 3-2 at the end of the inning.
With time suddenly running short on the Southwest, Snohomish’s defense doubled down. A fly out, ground out, and line out ended the fifth in just 11 Locke pitches.
Snohomish continued its offensive resurgence in the sixth and final inning, loading the bases off three walks with two outs. Locke stepped to the plate with the game in her hands, and delivered a double to center field to clear the bases and score second baseman Jaliyah Wright, outfielder Lucy Carpenter and Hannah Choiniere.
With Locke waiting at third, Day doubled to center on the fourth pitch of her at-bat to make it 7-2. A Southwest score off a wild pitch in the bottom of the sixth brought the game to 7-3 as the All Stars earned the right to keep dancing in Greenville.
