By Aaron Coe
For The Herald
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — The Mill Creek Little League All-Stars earned a spot in Friday’s West Regional Tournament championship game with a 6-0 victory over Northern California on Thursday at Al Houghton Stadium.
Friday’s winner qualifies for the Little League Softball World Series.
“I’m confident in these girls,” Mill Creek coach Daryl Stevens said. “That’s what I’ve told them all along. … I can see the spark in their eye that they’re ready to go get this one.”
Mill Creek (4-0 in the tournament, 12-0 overall) pounced on Northern California by scoring all six runs in the first inning, giving pitcher Simone Williams all the support she needed. Williams fired a one-hitter and struck out nine batters in five innings.
“(Williams) was money all night and we made some awesome, awesome plays on defense,” Stevens said.
Helena Ah-Loe, Kalia Zellmer, Annie Coe and Lauren Whitley each recorded RBI-singles for Mill Creek in the first inning. Zellmer singled twice and made a stellar catch by running down a line drive in left-center field.
Next up is second-seeded Utah, which advanced to the title game by beating Oregon 5-0 on Thursday. Utah has outscored opponents 27-5, while Mill Creek holds a 38-4 edge in its four games.
“They’re a solid team,” Stevens said. “They’ve got some good bats and some good pitching. It’ll be fun to see where we wind up against them.”
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