The Rising Sun All-Stars dominated the Little League Maryland District 5 Junior Division softball tournament to give manager Paul Taylor his first title in 13 tries. Rising Sun cinched the crown with a 9-1 triumph over Elkton at Eder Park Tuesday night, July 5. Madison Perry tossed a four-hitter to propel Rising Sun.
"It feels amazing," Perry said. "I got so excited. I had no doubt. But we did go against a good team in Elkton. They're really good." Elkton struck first in the top of the fourth. Mack Sweeney got things started with a single to center, her second hit of the game. She advanced to second on a throwing error on a pickoff play following the second out of the inning. A Maddie Sheets infield single put runners on the corners and Kendall Veasey delivered an RBI single to left. Perry did not panic and made sure her teammates followed suit. "I had to call timeout to get my team back together," Perry said. "I told them, 'It's ok. We need to get this last out. Play's at first. And we did it." Rising Sun responded with three runs in the home half after nearly squandering a bases-loaded, no-out situation. Abby Backert led off with a walk and taylor Mantyk reached when Elkton committed an error while trying to get a force at second on a grounder to the shortstop. Alyssa Paulette walked to load the bases. Elkton pitcher Riley Grant got a strikeout and force at home and almost wriggled out of the jam. Hannah Martin hit a grounder to shortstop but the baserunner on first, Madison Cooper, beat the throw to second to allow the tying run to score. Rising Sun then scored two runs on a wild pitch and throwing error at the plate. Rising Sun tacked on three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Perry ignited the rally with a single to center. The pinch-runner Backert stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a Mantyk single to left. Mantyk went to third on an error on the play. Paulette drove in a run on a fielder's choice and reached safely on an error. Miller notched an RBI on a comebacker. In the sixth, Perry and Marissa Cooper had consecutive one-out hits and eventually scored on a two-run single by Mantyk with two outs. "I was thinking we need to play our best to come out on top," said Perry. "And we played with all we got. My whole team came together and we did it." The state tournament will be played at Eder Park. Rising Sun's first game is scheduled for this Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Taylor had an inkling this team could be special. "We had really good pitching and a disciplined team," he said. "I knew, just from practice, the fielding was superb in every position. Usually, you don't have that. Usually, you have one or two where you're going, 'Ok, what do I do?.' I didn't have that. So they made my job easy. And the fact that they showed up hungry every night, that's a big deal. I didn't have to motivate them." Taylor is managing an All-Stars team for the 13th straight season, the first time in the Junior Division since 2010. He had never won a district title. "I don't how it feels yet," Taylor said after the game. "I'm kind of in a wave of emotions. It's been a long journey and they came through." Taylor said he was reluctant to manage an All-Stars team this season but agreed since it was an opportunity to mentor up-and-coming coaches Claudia Miller and Sierra Hayden. Miller and Hayden are cousins and have sisters on the squad. "It's just been a blast," Taylor said. "I love it." Comments are closed.
|
Categories
All
Archives
December 2018
|