Toms River Little League Moves On In Softball World Series

GREENVILLE, NC — The Toms River Little League Softball All-Stars will play another game.

The girls from Toms River, the Mid-Atlantic Region champions, defeated New England champion Connecticut on Tuesday 13-3 in an elimination game. But not before enduring another rain delay en route to securing the victory.

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Toms River, which is making the first appearance in the Softball World Series for the town, got out to a quick lead against Connecticut.

After Jaelyn Brown struck out two hitters and induced a fly ball in the top of the first inning, Toms River sent every batter to the plate in the bottom of the inning and took a 9-0 lead.

Analiese Curley opened with a single and Franki Velardi bunted and beat the throw to first to put batters on first and second. Brown walked on four pitches, and Briella Bognar was hit by a pitch to score Curley. Carly Leonard then drove a 2-2 pitch to center field to bring in Velardi.

Juliana Florek-Doslik then drilled a ball down the left-field line for a bases-clearing triple that put Toms River up 5-0.

Aviana Gay reached on an error that allowed Florek-Doslik to score, and Sophia Tolentino's sacrifice moved Gay to second. She then scored when her sister, Leiana Gay, hit a fly ball that fell between two Connecticut outfielders.

After Gia Gatto grounded out, she went in as a courtesy runner for Leiana Gay, the team's catcher, and Mischa Koeppen walked. Shaelyn Seaman then hit a grounder that Connecticut misplayed, and Gatto and Koeppen both scored to put Toms River up 9-0.

Toms River made quick work of Connecticut in the top of the second inning, with Brown giving up only a single while the defense smothered a pair of ground balls and Velardi made a beautiful diving snare of a line drive at shortstop.

Toms River then added four runs in the bottom of the second. Velardi reached on an error and advanced to third on a fielder's choice grounder and wild pitch, then Leonard walked. An error allowed Velardi to score, and Leonard, who reached third on a passed ball, then scored on another passed ball. Florek-Doslik walked and scored on a single by Tolentino before Connecticut finally closed out the inning.

Connecticut was able to muster a pair of runs in the top of the third inning, and had added a third run in the top of the fourth as they desperately tried to avoid the 10-run rule and extend the game.

With two outs and the game-extending runner at third base, the rain that had been making things difficult for both pitchers forced a halt to the game as Brown was just two strikes away from ending the game.

After a 50-minute rain delay — much shorter than the delay Toms River faced on Monday in the loss to Japan — Brown was able to induce a ground ball and finish off Connecticut.

Toms River now is scheduled to play at 10 a.m. Wednesday against the winner of the elimination game between Japan and California, which was ongoing as of 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Toms River's players are as follows:

1 Jaelyn Brown
2 Aviana Gay
5 Leiana Gay
6 Briella Bognar
7 Carly Leonard
8 Sophia Tolentino
11 Mischa Koeppen
12 Franki Velardi
14 Juliana Florek-Doslik
18 Analeise Curley
25 Gia Gatto
32 Shaelyn Seaman