By Thomas Grant Jr.
The Irmo Senior softball team managed to reach Sunday’s championship game of the Little League Senior Softball World Series in Sussex County, Del.
It rebounded from a 1-3 showing in pool play by winning two games. The Southeast Region champions opened tournament play Friday with a 14-10 win over top-seeded Southwest Region champion Louisiana District 5.
The game saw the two teams combine for 28 hits and Irmo starting pitcher Layla Peppers of Dutch Fork throwing 125 pitches in seven innings.
After Louisiana took a 1-0 lead in the Bottom 1st, Irmo stormed back with 13 unanswered runs. Eason Davis of Chapin was responsible for three RBI, including a two-run homer in the fifth inning.
Haley Alderman went 2-3 with a team-high four RBI and Reagan Haggard of Chapin and Brynley Pigate both had two RBI.
Down 13-1, Louisiana refused to lose on the 10-run rule. They scored three with two outs to get within 13-4, then answered a run scored by Irmo in the sixth with a 2-run homer by Taylor Madison to close the gap to 14-6 in the sixth inning.
Irmo held off a 4-run rally in the Top 7th to set up a Saturday rematch with Honolulu, Hi. The West Region champion edged Irmo 4-3 earlier in the week in pool play.
Teammates surround Eason Davis of Chapin High School following her solo home run versus Honolulu, HI.
Davis homered again in the second inning to put Irmo on the board. Honolulu tied the game in the bottom half of the inning as three passed balls allowed Madisyn Ueyama to score from first base.
Irmo’s bats responded in the Bottom 2nd. Three straight hits loaded the bases and Makenna Reimer scored when catcher Jelsey Arakawa was unable to catch the putout throw.
The Hill sisters, Olivia, and Kathryn, followed with an RBI single and 2-run double to extend their lead to 5-1. Layla Peppers’ single scored Kathryn Hill to put Irmo up 6-1.
Kathryn Hill added another RBI double in the third inning. After Honolulu picked up a run in the Top 4th, Reimer drove in her second run of the game on a groundout in bottom half of the inning to make it 8-2.
Honolulu added a run in the fifth and two runs in the sixth inning. After allowing an RBI double in relief, Peppers retired five of the last six batters faced to give Irmo the 8-5 victory.
This set up another rematch in the championship game Sunday. This time, Irmo looked to avenge a 3-1 loss in pool play to defending World Series champion and Central Region representative Beardstown, Illinois.
Irmo fared no better in an 11-0 loss. After striking out 15 batters in the first meeting, Beardstown, Illinois pitcher Audrey Gilman was even more dominant.
This time, she struck out 16 batters and the lone hit allowed was a leadoff single in the fourth inning by Peppers. Meanwhile, Illinois collected 13 hits, three by Taryn Griffin who drove in three runs and home runs by Ava Rodriguez-Mansholt and Kylee Robinson.
Ironically, players from both teams met two years ago in the Junior League World Series also won by Illinois.
Feature Photo courtesy of Irmo Senior Softball.
