EP 14U All Stars Come Back To Win Squeaker 5-4, Advance To Semi-Finals In LL World Series

EVERGREEN PARK, IL — The Evergreen Park 14U All Stars survived a tense elimination game in the Little League Junior Softball World Series after a tough Philippine team did their best to play spoilers in Kirkland, Wash. The 14U team came from behind to win 5-4 over the girls from Bacolod City.

Meanwhile, they were sweating bullets at American Legion Post 854 and Porter Cullen's, which have been running the games all week as the EP 14U All Stars dominated the first pool of bracket play.

The EP 14U roster includes Molly Goyoke, Layne Schillo, Addison Mrskos, Sam Johnson, Ava Krueger, Liv Hovanec, Makenna Juarez, Mackenzie Norbut, Molly Racz and Ceci Chavez. The team is managed by Adam Goyke and his assistant coaches, Bill Hovanex and Megan Schillo.

First, respect for the Philippines pitcher Faith Tamba who kept Evergreen Park bats quiet for much of the game, striking out six EP batters. Wearing neither helmet nor visor, Tamba went old- school, rolling up her sleeves and stepping into the circle, throwing over 120 pitches in Thursday's game.

Evergreen Park picked up two runs in the first inning, including Makenna Juarez scoring on a Molly Racz sacrifice fly.

Bacolod City answered back with a run on a single. The Philippine team picked up three more runs in the bottom of the second, completing their run total for the day, bringing the score to 4-2, in Bacolod’s favor. Two of the runs scored were on an error by Mackenzie Norbut.

Evergreen Park got back one of the lost runs in the top of the third inning, with Molly Goyke scoring on a Racz single.

But the 14U All Stars showed their mettle in the top of the fifth, picking up two runs on a Norbut single, scoring Juarez. Norbut scored on an error by catcher Alexsyres Mariano, putting Evergreen Park ahead 5-4. The team hung on to win in the seventh, surviving elimination in what could have been the upset of the week.

Evergreen Park moves on to the semi-finals in a rematch against Puerto Rico, whom they beat Wednesday in pool play, 12-5. Puerto Rico roared back to smoke Canada, 11-9, in Thursday's quarter-final. The game starts at 6 p.m. CT, Friday, Aug. 1. View the game with your neighbors

Enjoy the reel.

Courtesy of Little League Organization

The top ten teams are divided into two pools of five members each. The top four teams from each pool then advance to the quarter-finals (Pool A 1st vs. Pool B 4th, Pool B 2nd vs. Pool A 3rd, etc). The winners of each quarter-final face off in the semi-finals. The semi-final games will be played Aug. 1, with two semi-final winners playing for the World Series Championship on Aug. 2.

Games will be streamed on ESPN+, accessible through most streaming platforms (Hulu, Prime, Apple TV, YouTube, etc.) or through your cable provider. (I got it through Hulu Live via Verizon 5G). You can also peruse plans on EPSN+ or sign up for a free trial on Amazon Prime Video. (Don’t forget to cancel it).

The ESPN+ app is also available on Apple or for your Android phone via Google Play. Or, keep up with the EP 14U All Stars’ progress on EPSN Live Box Score.