'I can’t be any more proud of these girls': Host District 4 falls to Delaware in LL Senior League regional final

WORCESTER — The runs were flowing from the start of Wednesday's Senior League Softball East Regional championship game.

After scoring four runs through the first two innings, it looked like the District 4 all-stars may have been ready to overwhelm the the stars from Middletown, Delaware.

However, the District 4 bats fell silent as Delaware retired 15 batters in a row and put up three runs in the second inning and five in the fourth of an 11-7 victory over the Worcester squad to claim the championship at Vernon Hill.

Middletown will stay in state for the World Series, as play begins Monday in Lower Sussex, Delaware. Middletown is about 80 miles from Lower Sussex.

The District 4 stars, the East Regional hosts, made one final push in the seventh inning when Izzy Llanos broke through with an infield single, the team's first base runner since the second. Madison Snow's single put runners on the corners for Ava Grant, who ripped a two-run triple to close Worcester to within five.

Grant, who drove in four runs, scored on a passed ball during the next at-bat, but final two batters flied out to end the game.

District 4 manager Drew Courtemanche was proud of his team's effort and was glad they hung in to the very end.

"This team has all the heart in the world," he said. "I can’t be any more proud of these girls. Nothing but pride is coming out of me now. It doesn’t feel like a loss, and I feel like we're going to be right back here next year, and we’re going to win this next year."

Worcester, which went 4-2 for the tournament, scored two runs, both with two out, in the first inning. Grant doubled in Llanos (walk) and crossed on Mackenzie Snow's double.

Delaware (5-1) answered immediately when Grace Riccio crushed a two-run homer in the bottom half to tie the game at 2.

District 4 scored two more in the top of the second. Courtemanche, who reached on a perfectly placed bunt, scored on a bases-loaded walk, and Grant later singled in Riley Cormier for a 4-2 lead.

Despite winning the pregame coin toss, Courtemanche chose to be the away team.

"We love being the away team," he said, "because we like getting out on top first, which is what we’ve done throughout the tournament. We didn’t let that 500-foot smash deter us. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?"

Delaware pulled to within one in the bottom of the second before Riccio ripped a two-run double to the left field wall to make it 5-4 Delaware through two.

Delaware pulled away in the fourth inning by sending 10 batters to the plate, with five scoring.

As if having two hits and four RBIs wasn't impressive enough, Riccio had one more big clout in the fifth inning, launching a foul ball, which went farther than her homer, into the windshield of a parked car.

Delaware pitcher Myranda Talmadge shined. While retiring 15 straight,, she struck out six while scattering seven hits.

"We have a very good hitting team and put up many runs in this tournament," Coutremanche said, "and credit to her, she neutralized our big bats."

Drew Courtemanche is confident the District 4 Seniors can return for a shot at next year's regionals.

“We’re only losing two girls," he said, "so everyone is coming back.”

—Contact Michael Shattuck at michael.shattuck@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @MikeShattuck.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: 'I can’t be any more proud of these girls': Host District 4 falls to Delaware in LL Senior League regional final