After a disappointing loss to host North Carolina in the semifinals, the Lake Mary All-Stars bounced back with a 5-4 walk-off win over Toms River, New Jersey, on Sunday to finish third at the Little League Softball World Series.
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The consolation final in Greenville, N.C., was a back-and-forth contest with four lead changes in the final four innings.
Lake Mary All-Stars center fielder Kylie Green was the hero; her RBI single scored Avery Little with the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
It was Green’s third hit of the game to go with two stolen bases in her first year of playing organized softball.
“I was just thinking see-ball, hit-ball,” Green said after the game on ESPN. “I put in a lot of hard work and practice, but it’s all paid off.”
Green was lauded by the ESPN announcers multiple times during the week for her defense and speed, comparing her to Jayda Coleman, a four-time College World Series champion at Oklahoma. Green said Coleman is her favorite player.
“She’s the best center fielder ever, and I’m going to be the next one,” Green said confidently.
New Jersey, the Mid-Atlantic Region champs, took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning with the help of two Lake Mary errors. Lake Mary, the Southeast Region champs, bounced back in the third inning with three runs on two hits and two New Jersey errors to take a 3-2 lead.
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In the fourth inning, the lead changed twice. New Jersey scored twice to go ahead 4-3, but Lake Mary tied it in the bottom of the inning on a run-scoring single by Chloe Cheek to drive in Green.
Riley Tolan was the starting pitcher for Lake Mary, going 3.1 innings with three strikeouts and a walk while allowing two earned runs. She also went 2-for-2 at the plate. Brynn Fieser came into the game in relief to get the pitching win.
Little also singled twice for Lake Mary. The catcher finished the World Series with 10 hits, the second-highest total in a tournament week at the LLSWS.
It was the second consecutive appearance at the World Series for the Lake Mary All-Stars. This year’s third-place finish improved on last year’s showing, when the girls were eliminated before reaching the bracket final, which serves as a tournament semifinal.
Lake Mary finished 4-2 in the tournament, opening with 14-0 and 15-0 victories last Sunday against Snohomish, Washington, and Monday against Bologna, Italy. The All-Stars also defeated Washington on Friday to advance to the bracket final.
“I’m so proud of the girls’ resilience to come back after two losses this week with a win in the next game,” said Lake Mary manager Brent Fieser, who was a coach on last year’s squad. “Making the final four is a bar to set for future Lake Mary softball teams.”
North Carolina won the title Sunday, defeating the Central Region champs from Owensboro, Kentucky, 2-0. It was North Carolina’s fourth World Series title and second in the past three years.
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