The winner-take-all game of the Little League State championship series wasn’t going according to plan for the Gastineau Channel Little League softball team.
Playing the role of visitors against Anchorage O’Rabbit (AOR), the GCLL squad wanted to jump out to a lead early and take control. That didn’t happen, as AOR led 14-6 after four innings. Then the team from down south came alive.
Manager Nicole Adair felt that the team was overdue for a big inning, and it came in the fifth. The team plated 11 runs that inning, surging ahead en route to a 21-15 victory that earned the Alaska state title.
“Somehow, some way, that fifth inning, the girls started hitting,” Adair said over the phone from Anchorage. “Our girls just chomped at the bit. They just went for it. It became contagious.”
Now the team heads to San Bernardino, California, for the Western Regional. Representing Alaska, GCLL will play Northern California at 7:30 p.m. Friday before playing Utah at 9 a.m. Monday. That wraps up pool play, and the playoffs start next Tuesday, July 25.
The five-game state title series with AOR was laced with drama. GCLL dropped the first game, then won on a walk-off double from Anna Dale in game two and won game three in another walk-off, courtesy of a two-run single from Peyton Carson. AOR forced a fifth and final game with a 10-8 victory.
Adair said she’s not sure when the last time was that GCLL won the state title, but she’s heard that it’s been at least a few years. The team left from Anchorage for California at midnight last night, and Adair said she’s been trying to keep the players — aged 11, 12 and 13 — relaxed going into the regional.
“We’ve talked about moving on,” Adair said. “It’s gonna be a different stadium. It’s, to them, gonna feel like a lot of pressure, going up another level. … Keeping it simple and light for them is really what works.”
The Gastineau Channel Little League softball team poses after winning the Alaska state championship. The team trailed 14-6 before an 11-run fifth inning in the final game of the championship series, beating Anchorage O’Rabbit 21-15. (Photo courtesy of Ethan Billings)
