Snohomish All-Star team’s dream season comes to an end

Published 2:00 pm Friday, August 7, 2026

Snohomish gave Florida everything it could handle for most of Friday’s game at the Little League World Series, but it was the Southeast champions that moved on to the semifinals.

The dream season came to an end after district, state and regional championships, plus two victories in Greenville, North Carolina at the World Series. Five days after falling hard to the same Florida team in the tournament’s opening game, the Northwest champions stayed in it for most of Friday’s game before succumbing 5-0.

It was a fourth-inning onslaught by Southeast that began after a one-hour lightning delay that doomed Snohomish. Washington trailed just 1-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth, when Florida plated four runs to break it open.

The Southeast champions will face tournament host North Carolina 6 p.m. Saturday for a spot in the championship game.

The weather delay began after Washington No. 12 batter Hannah Choiniere recorded Washington’s second hit in the game. Chloe Cheek, the author of Sunday’s shutout over Snohomish, entered after the one-hour weather delay, relieving Southeast starting pitcher Brynn Fieser.

Madison Locke, one of only two players to hit an over-the-fence home run through the tournament’s first 17 games, singled with two out, but Florida center fielder Kylie Green threw out Washington trying to advance to third base.

Florida led off the bottom of the fourth with a single and a walk. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch, and Kaylee Whitlock’s safety squeeze bunt plated Southeast’s second run. Kaia Alanah Hoolulu made a catch of a deep fly ball in center field, but Florida scored on a sac fly, and pushed it to 4-0 on the next play after Snohomish’s first charged error of the day.

Early on, it looked like Washington stood a strong chance to avenge Sunday’s 14-0 loss. Snohomish, riding high after wins over Canada and Texas, kept it close before lightning struck.

Washington’s first two batters put the ball in play, but Florida second baseman Zoey Brandon made a pair of running catches in shallow right field for the first two outs of the ballgame.

In the bottom of the inning, Southwest loaded the bases in the first with two infield singles and a walk. Locke, who pitched every inning of the tournament, responded by striking out the next batter and drawing a ground ball to Snohomish second baseman Jaliyah Watts to get out of the jam.

Avery Calamusa mashed a one-out triple — her second in as many games — down the left field line in the second innng, but Fieser stranded her a third with a strikeout and catching a line out for the third out.

Janessa Malone led off the third for Snohomish’s second baserunner. But Fieser struck out the next batter, and Florida turned a double play to keep Washington off the scoreboard.

Florida scored the game’s first run in the third. Avery Little was hit by a pitch, and Brandon, the courtesy runner, stole second. She scored when Fieser hit a ball that ticked off the end of a diving Snohomish infielder’s glove and kicked into left field for a hustle double. Watts, the second baseman, helped keep it to 1-0 through three frames by catching a ball in shallow right field.