Softball:
2022 Little League World Series
August 9-15, in Greenville, North Carolina
By Brian Reed-Baiotto
The La Verne Little League softball program will be making history tomorrow.
For the first time, the city of La Verne will be represented in the Little League World Series.
And that includes boys or girls.
They open first-round play at 1 pm (our time) against Pitt County, North Carolina.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
To get to the LLWS, La Verne went 8-0, and outscored their opponents by a combined margin of 95-2.
To make their trip to North Carolina even more satisfying was the fact that they had to beat Arizona twice to get there.
In 2021, it was Arizona who ended the LL season in the Western Regional.
This year, La Verne beat Arizona twice, and did so by a margin of 20-1.
Katie Coldiron has been off-the-charts dominant.
Coldiron has allowed just one run, issued one walk and has struck out 44 batters along the way.
The offense is doing their part as well.
In all eight wins, La Verne has scored 10 runs or more.
Ryan Torres and Laila Washington pace the offense, but just below you’ll see each player’s role during this historic run.
At the very bottom of this story is a link to the La Verne team page, and it has all the info, including schedules for the World Series.
Good luck to the young ladies from La Verne.
We’re all rooting for you!
Roles for La Verne Players by Coach Mike Mann:
Peyton Mann – great speed on the bases, multi-sport athlete, youngest player on the team
Laila Washington – Scrapy player, finds a way to put the ball in play, aggressive base runner
Sofia Ayabarreno – cannon for an arm, covers a lot of ground in the outfield, plays outfield and catcher
Adie Ortiz – brings a lot of positive energy, fast-twitch athlete with great speed
Laney Sweeney – catcher–block balls,-west reg: best off performance of anyone in tourney
Ryan Torres – team leader—power hitter—-now starting shortstop–brings energy to the team
Kylie Chavez – she’s came up with some big hits for us in the Western Regional tournament. Has played an outstanding 1st base defensively.
Katie Coldiron – power hitter, one of the best pitchers in the World Series, throws a lot of strikes (44 strikeouts combined for all tournaments, only 1 walk)
Ainsley Doornik – Lefty pitcher, has led us to wins in State and Western Regionals.
Ava Fisher – Great kid, solid corner defensive player at third, good listener to her coaches and teammates
Zoey Colburn – righty pitcher with good velocity, threw two shutout innings in Western Regionals, makes plays in the outfield
Bailey Osbourn – A lot of natural power, aggressive at the plate, good speed
Erin Garcia – starting outfielder with a strong arm and has good pop on her bat
Tuesday’s First-Round Schedule:
Central vs Mid-Atlantic at 7 am
Southwest vs Northwest at 10 am
California vs North Carolina at 1 pm
Canada vs Asia-Pacific (Negros Occidental, Bacolod, Philippines) at 4 pm
2022 La Verne Little League Players:
Peyton Mann (#2)
Laila Washington (#3)
Sofia Ayabarreno (#4)
Adrienne Ortiz (#6)
Laney Sweeney (#7)
Ryan Torres (#8)
Kylie Chavez (#9)
Katie Coldiron (#10)
Ainsley Doornik (#12)
Ava Fisher (#13)
Zoey Colburn (#14)
Bailey Osbourne (#15)
Erin Garcia (#16)
Manager: Kristen Torres
Coaches: Loretta Washington & Mike Mann
Path to World Series:
10-0 vs Baldwin Park
15-0 vs South Pasadena
12-0 vs West LA
16-0 vs Palmdale
12-1 vs West LA
10-0 vs AZ
10-0 vs Nevada
10-1 vs AZ
Quotable:
LL coach, Mike Mann: “What makes this group special: These girls have been playing together for several years. They have developed friendships on and off the field. Their chemistry when playing softball has shown all the way through the season, which ultimately helped them get to the World Series. Their mindset is to have fun by competing at their very best. They step on the field with confidence, regardless of the opponent, because they try to focus on what they can control and allow the game to happen naturally. All 13 players have recorded hits, RBI’s, and runs at some point during the season, as they all have the ability to contribute to a win.”
La Verne Little League World Series team page: West Region – Little League
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