Florence stops 10-year-old softball squad
By: Justin Feil
West Windsor started fast.
Florence finished faster. It was the difference in a nail-biting 8-7 win by Florence in the District 12 Little League 10-and-under Softball Tournament final Thursday.
West Windsor, which lost the championship game to Florence on Tuesday to force Thursday’s if game, looked to rebound quickly as they posted a 3-0 lead after one inning and a 6-0 lead by the end of the fourth inning Thursday.
Florence battled back with four runs in the fifth inning, held West Windsor to one run in the sixth and then scored four more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to end the game.
Emily Weinberg led off the game with a walk, stole second and after a sacrifice bunt by Lindsay Philbin, scored on a wild pitch. Mary Fortino singled – the first of three hits on the day for her – and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Sarah Bush reached via error and also scored on a wild pitch.
In the third inning, West Windsor expanded its lead to 5-0 as Fortino singled, stole a base and scored on a single by Anjelica Sitek. An error allowed Bush on base again and she scored on a bunt by Jennifer Mykietyn.
In the fourth inning, Weinberg singled, moved up when Philbin grounded out and scored on an error to make it 6-0. At the same point, Weinberg was in the midst of a no-hitter in the circle.
But the Florence batters’ increasingly patient approach over the final three innings paid of as they managed to draw walks and piece them around their only two hits of the game to score four runs in the fifth and another four runs in the seventh, the last three coming with two outs.
Florence advances to the Section 3 Tournament. West Windsor’s District 12 tournament ends with a 6-2 record.