“Extremely cold! Those water bottles were full of ice,” Moorefield 8-10 Softball All-Stars coach Morgan See exclaimed after receiving the championship celebration shower from a myriad of team bottles.
Moorefield 8-10 Softball All-Stars beat the triple degree temperatures with plenty of hydration, hitting power and pitching finesse taking a 10-nil lead over Grant County in the West Virginia Little League District 6 Championship and crushing to an 11-5 victory at Sager Field.
The entire fence line surrounding the field was full of cheering fans and the Moorefield team greeted their supporters with the championship banner during a trot around the field.
This group of Moorefield players have won back-to-back crowns.
“It is fun to watch them play and win back-to-back championships. You see a lot of growth from year to year. They knew what it feels like to hold the banner and wanted to do it again. The top of the lineup stepped up and we capitalized on each play to get the win. It took all 12 of them to finish out the District championship. They worked hard for this. It will be a really cool experience for them playing the state tournament on turf in South Charleston. This group of girls have played together for a long time and it is exciting to see what the future holds for them. Their energy has been non-stop, they have been out in the heat all day and adapted for it. They showed up and wanted to keep that banner in Moorefield. Margo’s 200 strikeouts is for the Spring season and it is exciting to see her grow. In life you want a little bit of reward and hopefully this helps her achieving goals. You can’t just single her out, it took the entire team to get the championship,” Coach See commented.
Moorefield 8-10 Softball All-Stars pitching duo limited Grant County to only three hits as starting ace Margo See swirled 14 strikeouts and Danica Mongold added three strikeouts in the win.
Moorefield opened the District 6 Championship with a 5-nil edge in the first inning.
Moorefield’s first two baserunners were Addie Baldwin (stole to third base) and Tinley Crites received walks from Grant County pitcher Elovie Bogan.
Margo See ripped RBI double into right field for Moorefield’s first scoreboard mark.
Mongold hit a sharp grounder to third base where the ball was mishandled allowing another run to score.
Smart base running was key as See scored on a pickoff error, then Presley Shockey tapped a single.
A pitch eluded the catcher and Mongold swiped home plate.
Sada Michael hit a sharp grounder down the first base line for an RBI single as Moorefield took a 5-0 lead.
Bogan notched a strikeout, then hit Hadley Weese with a pitch and the defense caught two line drives to retire the side.
Grant County leadoff batter Kambrie Shriver smacked a single, then See countered with a strikeout and jammed the next batter for a pop-out.
After a walk, See closed the frame with a strikeout.
In the second inning, Moorefield added three runs for an 8-0 lead.
Zoey Lee and Brinley Thorn drew walks with one out.
Baldwin weaved an RBI single down the third base line, 6-0.
Crites was given a free pass to load the bases.
See smoked a two-run producing double into center field for the 8-0 advantage.
Crites was caught stealing, then Mongold was beaned and Shockey reached base on an error to load the bases.
Grant County got out of the jam collecting a groundout.
See fanned all three Grant County batters.
Moorefield’s Sadie Wolfe was hit by a pitch to commence the third inning.
Weese poked the ball up the middle for a single.
Parker Sions launched a pop-up and the pitcher couldn’t make the diving catch.
Teagan Hines was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to send one run home.
After a fly out, Thorn drew a bases loaded walk from Harper to put Moorefield up 10-0.
Baldwin hit into a fielder’s choice and a strikeout left the remaining runners on the pond.
Mongold came in to pitch for Moorefield and started by sandwiching a strikeouts around a walk to Grant County.
An error allowed Grant County to score.
Mongold pitched three straight walks and two wild pitches sent two more runs across home plate.
After an error created a run, Mongold ended the frame with a strikeout as Grant County closed the gap 10-4.
See returned to the circle pitching six consecutive strikeouts over the next two innings for Moorefield.
In the sixth inning, Sions and Lee received walks with Baldwin creating an RBI fielder’s choice and the second run attempt was denied for the third out as Moorefield took an 11-4 lead.
See allowed a single to Grant County’s Nataleigh Riggleman, then tossed two strikeouts.
Riggleman scored on a passed ball, 11-5.
See iced the championship with a strikeout, her 14th for the game.
See has accumulated 215 strikeouts during this season of Little League and travel ball and was honored with a special banner recognizing the 200 K milestone which had occurred in the semifinals.
“[200K] It is very special and it just feels good. It feels good winning the championship two years in a row. It is just good to win. It is good to go to state. Sometimes it can be good having my parents coach. It is good having dad call my pitches. My favorite thing is cheering with my teammates in the dugout,” Moorefield 8-10 Softball All-Stars pitcher Margo See remarked.
See noted her pre-game favorite snack is pretzels and those must have been the good luck charm once again.
Moorefield will embark for the state tournament in South Charleston this weekend.
