SAN BERNARDINO – This is shaping up to be quite the summer for Nevada’s Summerlin Little League.
Led by star pitcher Ava Koenig, Nevada’s 11- and 12-year-old softball champions are their state’s first representative to advance to the Little League Softball World Series, and the first to win a West Region championship game at Al Houghton Stadium after a dominant 10-0 competition-rule shortened five-inning victory over Arizona on Friday.
“It’s really exciting because I’ve never had an experience like this before,” Koenig said. “I think we might be able to get far in the World Series.”
Koenig struck out 11 and walked two in tossing a two-hitter for Nevada, which went unbeaten in San Bernardino after allowing only two runs and scoring 43 over four games at the week-long tournament.
“We’re getting better and I don’t think we’ve peaked yet, but we are getting better each game, each time out,” said Summerlin LL manager Jim Lenahan, whose team is the first from Nevada to win more than one game at the West Region tournament.
Summerlin LL moves on to play at the Little League Softball World Series, held this year in Greenville, N.C., starting Aug. 11.
“It means the world for Summerlin Little League and the community, and both the baseball and softball programs just continue to get better,” Lenahan said.
In another first, Summerlin Little League also will represent Nevada at the West Region baseball tournament starting Aug. 8. It’s the first time the same Little League has represented Nevada in San Bernardino.
“We’re excited. Our boys are coming and they’ll be (in San Bernardino) in two weeks and it’s amazing,” Lenahan said.
Koenig dominated from the outset on Friday, striking out the first two batters of the game in a 77-pitch effort. She faced just four batters above the minimum.
“We don’t want to say we have an MVP but she runs the show. She took the mound and took command and said we’re going to ride her back to the World Series,” Lenahan said.
Nevada’s No. 2 batter, Koenig was hit by a pitch and came around to score her team’s first run on an RBI single from Jovani Corneil as Summerlin tacked three on the scoreboard in the first inning.
Gia Christmas came off the bench and provided a spark with a pair of RBI singles as Nevada grabbed a 6-0 lead in the third, and a 7-0 lead in the fourth.
“Gia’s a sub and she’s always been a sub for us, but she had two hits today and I couldn’t be happier,” Lenahan said. “We’re the only team that brought 14 players and we’re not here without each of those 14 girls contributing.”
Koenig singled and scored again in the fifth as Nevada took a 10-0 lead, then posted strikeouts10 and 11 in a 1-2-3 fifth to finish the game. She pitched complete games to win the final two games.
“She never shows it, but she had a little extra adrenaline today and a little more juice on her fastball,” Lenahan said. “Her rise ball was phenomenal and her changeup kept them off balance all the way through. Her changeup was filthy.”
Corniel and Julianna Phee both singled twice and scored twice for Nevada, which totaled 12 hits.
The Link LonkJuly 31, 2021 at 06:15AM
https://www.sbsun.com/2021/07/30/nevadas-summerlin-little-league-earns-west-region-title-in-san-bernardino/
Nevada’s Summerlin Little League earns West Region title in San Bernardino - San Bernardino County Sun
https://news.google.com/search?q=little&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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