Rockies take home Little League Softball Championship with win over Kats
B
Game two of Thursday night’s championship double header pitted the 10-0 Rockies against the 6-4 Kats in the Little League division.
Game two unfolded in a similar fashion to game one, with the Rockies completing their perfect season and taking home the hardware, topping the Kats 13-2.
Ashley Blackburn got the start in the circle for the Rockies, and took command of the game from the start. She’d strike out 8 in her four innings.
“It was a big deal. She was a valuable player on this team last year, and to get her just taking over the team was a big deal for us,” said Rockies head coach Daniel Webb in the postgame. “She’s a really great kid, a really great pitcher, she’s accurate and she throws it hard.”
It was a great performance from the Rockies in the field as well, including steady play from Gingie Brooks at shortstop, who took home the win in the home run derby prior to the game.
After holding the Kats scoreless in the top of the first, the Rockies came out hot at the plate with each of their first seven batters managing to get on base, including RBI’s from Blackburn, Maggie Laster and Emma Greer. The Rockies were the aggressors early.
“We just wanted to come out and be aggressive. Hit the ball, we’ve been able to rely on our pitching all year, and it stayed good for us tonight,” said Webb. “The defense was good, they made some plays, but just an aggressive mindset. Running the bases tough, hitting the ball hard and running like we’ve got no tomorrow.”
Greer’s two-RBI double to center field brought the lead to 5-0, and was followed by a pair of RBI groundouts that left the score at 7-0 heading into the second inning.
Neither team managed to score a run in the second, then in the top of the third Blackburn really began to find her groove. She struck out the side, and did again in the fourth.
An RBI double from Blackburn highlighted a three run inning in the third for the Rockies, with Laster and Greer each batting one in themselves, bringing the lead to 10-0.
A pitching switch by the Rockies allowed the Kats to gain some momentum in the fifth and final inning, with Ava Wolfe’s two-RBI shot to right field putting them on the board. They left three on to close out the inning however, as Rockies pitcher Addi Webb was able to dig herself out of a hole and strike out the final batter she faced.
You couldn’t have written a more poetic finish to the game than Blackburn hitting a two-run homer on the final pitch of the game. She did just that, crescendoing an incredible individual and collective performance with a shot into left field to cap off a perfect season for the Rockies.
The Rockies end the season 11-0 as Morristown Parks and Rec Little League Champions.

