Lefty AndiJo Howard fired a three-hit shutout, retiring 16 straight batters, Wednesday night to lift Central champion Wheelersburg, Ohio to a 3-0 victory over Tunkhannock in the Little League Softball World Series championship game in Portland, Ore.
Howard struck out seven during her streak, which ran from one out in the first to two out in the bottom of the sixth.
After striking out the side in the fifth inning, Howard retired the first two batters of the sixth before Tunkhannock put together one last rally attempt.
Ella McNeff, Tunkhannock’s batting leader throughout the series, playing on her 13th birthday, singled to right-center field.
Despite being down by three runs and down to the final out, Tunkhannock remained aggressive on the bases. That aggression, combined with an Elaina Kulsicavage single through the left side, put two runners in scoring position before Howard got a grounder to first to end the game.
Tunkhannock won Pool A at the series for the top 11-12-year-old, all-star softball teams in Little League around the world. It followed up with quarterfinal and semifinal wins before falling to the first Ohio team to win a Little League baseball or softball world championship.
Wheelersburg, from southern Ohio, near the Kentucky and West Virginia borders, went 2-2 in Pool B before Howard dominated in the elimination portion of the tournament.
Howard finished the tournament 5-1 with an 0.36 earned run average. She struck out 24 and allowed just two runs, none earned, during three games of bracket play. Overall, she had 53 strikeouts and just nine walks while giving up 18 hits in 33 innings.
Tunkhannock’s Kaya Hannon threw a four-hitter and did not allow an earned run Wednesday while finishing the tournament with similar numbers.
Hannon struck out 54 in 38 innings to finish 4-2 with an 0.95 ERA. She gave up 27 hits and walked five.
During the final, Hannon walked one and struck out six.
After committing just six errors total in the first six World Series games, Tunkhannock was hurt by three errors in the final.
Kulsicavage went 2-for-2 for Tunkhannock, including a one-out single in the first.
Wheelersburg did not manage a hit until Maddison Kotcamp’s one-out double in the fourth.
The Central champions scored their first two runs in the inning with the help of a single by Haley Meyers, who had the team’s other two hits. They also added a run in the sixth inning.
McNeff finished the tournament 11-for-22 for a .500 batting average. She led the team in hits, average, doubles (four), triples (two), runs (seven), RBI (seven) and stolen bases (four).
Paige Marabell added nine hits, Cali Wisnosky had eight, Kulsicavage and Sydney Huff seven and Hannon six.
Marabell was second on the team with five RBI and tied for second in runs scored. Marabell, Kulsicavage and Hannon each scored five times.
The first half of the final was televised by ESPNews, then the rest of the game moved to ESPN after a Major League game ended.
