The fifth inning for the Thornydale Little League All-Stars on Friday night will sting, but the joy of the 11 victories this summer, including a captivating run to the West Region championship game behind ace Kenzie Scott, will be substantial as time goes on.
Thornydale, which went 3-0 in the winners’ bracket of the West Region at San Bernardino, lost 12-2 by run rule in five innings in the winner-take-all game against elimination-bracket finalist Southern California in front of an ESPN audience.
Southern California rallied for 11 runs in the fifth inning, which included Scott being forced to exit the circle because Little League rules allow for only two visits by a coach there during the course of a game. The visits reached three after Southern California tied the game at 2 on a single by Gaby Uribe with no outs.
Southern California proceeded to score 10 more times in the inning after three different relievers were used.
Uribe, Southern California’s starting pitcher, returned to the circle in the bottom of the fifth after she was relieved following the first three innings. Uribe retired the side to end the game.
After falling behind 1-0 in the third inning — the first time Thornydale trailed in the tournament — the team from Northwest Tucson rallied for two runs after two outs were recorded in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 2-1 lead.
Scott walked to spark the rally. She advanced to second base following an infield single by Aubrey Neighbors. Sophia Rodriguez then hit a single up the middle that scored Scott to tie the game at 1.
A wild pitch allowed Neighbors to score.
An error on a grounder hit by Southern California’s leadoff batter in the fifth started the game-clinching rally. The next batter reached on a fielder’s choice, and then a walk loaded the bases. Uribe followed with her second RBI single of the game.
Thornydale went 11-2 overall during the summer, including a two-game sweep over Marana for the District 5 championship and a 5-1 mark toward a state title.
In the state tournament, Thornydale was unbeaten in the winners’ bracket before losing to Goodyear in the championship round, similar to what occurred in the West Regional.
The state tournament has a different format, however, allowing a rematch for a final game if the team from the winners’ bracket loses. Thornydale rebounded in the deciding game, beating Goodyear 14-0 in five innings.
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