World Series by the numbers: Puerto Rico wins final over Canada

A team from Maunabo, Puerto Rico won the Junior Softball World Series on Saturday, August 6, at Everest Park in Kirkland, holding off a late-game rally to beat Victoria, British Columbia, 8-6 and win the city's fourth world championship since 2007.

By John William Howard • August 8, 2016 7:03 pm
Players from Maunabo
Players from Maunabo

A team from Maunabo, Puerto Rico won the Junior Softball World Series on Saturday, August 6, at Everest Park in Kirkland, holding off a late-game rally to beat Victoria, British Columbia, 8-6 and win the city’s fourth world championship since 2007.

Maunabo, which won the tournament in 2007, 2009 and 2010, went undefeated through pool play before beating teams from Kirkland and La Grange, Texas to reach the championship game.

An estimated 600 fans showed up for Saturday’s finale, which was broadcast live on ESPN2. The Latin American champions led Canada 7-0 in the top of the fourth inning, but the girls from British Columbia rallied to 7-6 by the bottom of the sixth.

Maunabo scored again in the top of the seventh, and with runners on second and third, three of the best Canadian hitters popped up for easy outs. Thaliannette Noble had four hits and three RBIs for Maunabo.

The Kirkland Junior League team, the tournament’s host squad, finished sixth after losing to Rowan, N.C. on Saturday morning. Kirkland beat Poland, Ohio on Friday afternoon in the first round of consolation.

Kirkland went 2-2 in pool play with wins over the Philippines and Poland. Kirkland made the elimination bracket, but lost to Maunabo, 8-3, on Thursday, August 4.

Jane Wilson hit the team’s only home run in the seven-game tournament, a grand slam to center field in the top of the sixth inning in the consolation game against Poland.

Wilson, who plays for Lake Washington High School in the spring, was also Kirkland’s leader in the circle, pitching 21 innings with 14 strikeouts.

Sasha Mitchell, a future Juanita High School player, carried the team offensively with 15 RBIs and 11 hits. Mitchell had only two strikeouts in 26 plate appearances, led the tournament with total runs batted in despite a pair of Kirkland shutouts.

Jentri Meadows and Olivia Marshall, both from the Rowan, led the tournament with 14 and 13 hits, respectively.

The tournament was first played in Kirkland in 1999, the first summer of Junior League softball, at Everest Park. The Southeast region has won seven world titles and Latin America has won four, all belonging to Maunabo. The Central and Southwest regions have won twice, with a single title belonging to the West, Asia-Pacific, and Europe-Africa regions.

Junior Softball World Series

Saturday, August 6

Championship, Latin America def. Canada, 8-6

3rd place, East def. Southwest, 18-8

5th place, Southeast def. Kirkland, 12-0

Other results:

Asia-Pacific def. Central, 2-0

West def. Europe-Africa, 14-2

Tournament leaders

Hits

14, Jentri Meadows, Southeast

13, Olivia Marshall, Southeast

13, Izzy Mendoza, West

12, Coralys Santiago, Latin America

12, Joanlly Rodriguez, Latin America

12, Natalie Blackwell, Southwest

11, Sasha Mitchell, Kirkland

11, Alexandria Romero-Salas, Asia-Pacific

11, Alexa Brown, East

11, Hailey Lane, Southeast

11, Imara Harrell, Southeast

11, Thaliannette Noble, Latin America

RBIs

15, Sasha Mitchell, Kirkland

12, Izzy Mendoza, West

11, Connor Menefee, Southwest

9, Haley Brown, Kirkland

8, Jackie Grisdale, Central

8, Joanlly Rodriguez, Latin America

8, Thaliannette Noble, Latin America