Snohomish moves on to Little League Softball World Series quarterfinal with 9-1 win over Canada

The Snohomish Little League All-Stars representing the Northwest region at the Little League Softball World Series collected another win on Wednesday, beating Canada 9-1 and securing a quarterfinals appearance.

Washington’s Madison Locke put the team on her back with a stellar pitching performance, hurling a six-inning complete game while racking up 12 strikeouts. Locke also went 2-3 at the plate with an RBI and a run.

“I was feeling really confident in my stuff today because everything was working,” Locke said after the game, according to The Everett Herald.

Outfielder Janessa Malone also shined on offense, going 3-for-3 with two RBIs and one run.

Washington took advantage of several Canadian errors to build an early lead and cruise to the win.

A complete video recap of the Washington v. Canada game is available here.

Snohomish now faces a rematch against the team that blanked them 14-0

Following Washington’s second straight win, the girls will play their next game on Friday at noon against a familiar foe in Florida’s Lake Mary team, representing the Southeast region.

Washington failed to score in a 14-0 loss to Florida in the first game of the tournament, ushering the Snohomish group into the elimination bracket of the double-elimination tournament in Greenville, North Carolina.

Following the early loss, Washington has since outscored their opponents 16-4, with wins over Texas and Canada.

“We’ve been so much more energized,” Locke said of their past two games, “and we’ve just been so much better as a team.”

Washington’s next opponent, Florida, has been dominant in the tournament thus far, primarily due to the group’s strong pitching and defense, as they have not allowed a single run in their first two games.

As the girls gear up for the rematch, they’ll lean on the tenacity and grit that have fueled their tournament run to this point. The team lost their first game of the Washington state tourney to Woodinville before they went on to win seven straight games to secure the state championship.

Washington then moved on to the Northwest Region Tournament, where they were flawless in San Bernardino, California. Washington went undefeated in the regionals, beating Oregon 2-0 in the first round and securing two wins over Idaho, including an 11-3 championship victory, punching a ticket to the Little League Softball World Series.

Locke pitched all 18 innings of the regional tournament, striking out 34 batters, according to The Everett Herald.

Washington will look to recreate some of that resiliency from the local tournaments as they must win out to secure the title.

The full Snohomish Little League All-Stars roster is available here.

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