Massapequa Park, N.Y. and Winterville, N.C. faced off in the Little League Softball World Series on Sunday afternoon from Stallings Stadium.
New York ultimately came out victorious with its first ever title in a 5-2 win over North Carolina. The first-time world champs caught an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first thanks to Abigail Long's two-run RBI, and then added another in the second. North Carolina finally answered with two runs in the top of the third to cut the lead in half.
That was all North Carolina could pull from their hat, however; in the bottom of the fourth, New York added one more run, to solidify its 5-2 win and take the crown. Texas (Southwest) defeated Connecticut (New England) 5-1 for the bronze.
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, NEW YORK WINS THE LITTLE LEAGUE SOFTBALL WORLD SERIES 🙌🗽 pic.twitter.com/2GCg4rJCJj
— ESPN (@espn) August 13, 2023
MORE: Watch the Little League Softball World Series with Fubo (free trial)
The Sporting News tracked the Little League Softball World Series finals. Read below for scoring updates and highlights:
Little League Softball World Series scoreboard
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | F | |
| North Carolina (Southeast) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| New York (Mid-Atlantic) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 5 |
Little League Softball World Series updates, highlights from New York vs. North Carolina
All times Eastern
5:00 p.m.: New York walks away with its first ever Little League Softball World Series title!
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, NEW YORK WINS THE LITTLE LEAGUE SOFTBALL WORLD SERIES 🙌🗽 pic.twitter.com/2GCg4rJCJj
— ESPN (@espn) August 13, 2023
4:40 p.m.: Sienna Erker scores, extending New York's lead 5-2.
4:09 p.m.: Alexis Fontana gets her first strikeout. North Carolina has runners on second and third, who are brought home from a nice drive by Aurora Edwards. North Carolina is officially back in the game after cutting the lead in half, 4-2.
3:55 p.m.: Jocelyn Vandenberg gets her first hit of this World Series, bringing home Mia Victor all the way from first base. New York now up 4-0.
3:49 p.m.: Alexis Feldman gets the ground ball to the first baseman and North Carolina is down with three outs. Next time.
3:44 p.m.: "If you're late, that's OK. We make mistakes, we're not looking to play perfect softball." Really good advice for those girls in the field from the New York coaching staff.
3:42 p.m.: North Carolina finally loads two bases, only one out. Will their retaliation to New York coming out swinging be heard?
3:32 p.m.: Play at the plate — Abigail Long slides into home and is called safe — was reviewed. It was confirmed, she indeed made it under the tag and New York is now 3-0 with still only one out on the inning. Brad Medhus makes a pitching change for North Carolina.
3:30 p.m.: Rayne Knittle (catcher) takes a foul ball to the face mask. She remains in the game and is all good. Two strikes, one out. Abigail Long knocks one to the back of center field to get Olivia Feldman home and New York up 2-0.
3:25 p.m.: New York on the board in the bottom of the first as Alexis Fontana runs it home. There's another runner on third with only one out.
Little League Softball World Series start time, channel today
- Date: Sunday, Aug. 13
- Start time: 3 p.m. ET
- TV channel: ESPN3
- Live stream: ESPN app | Fubo (free trial)
The finals for the Little League Softball World Series will be broadcast live on ESPN3 at 3 p.m. ET from Stallings Stadium in Greenville, N.C. Don't worry if you recently cut cords, there are multiple options to stream the game as well, including through the ESPN app and Fubo, which is offering a seven-day free trial to new subscribers.
Little League Softball World Series rosters
Here are the rosters for New York (Mid-Atlantic) and North Carolina (Southeast):
New York (Mid-Atlantic)
| Number | Player | Pos. | B/T |
| 9 | Kylie Longaro | LF | R/R |
| 10 | Emmerson Moore | RF | R/R |
| 12 | Ava Rios | P/OF | R/R |
| 13 | Eden Tesoriere | C/OF | R/R |
| 14 | Mia Victor | 2B/P | R/R |
| 15 | Olivia Feldman | P/SS | R/R |
| 16 | Alexis Fontana | P/SS | R/R |
| 17 | Abigail Long | 1B | R/R |
| 18 | Cassie Van Schuyler | 3B | R/R |
| 21 | Sienna Erker | C | R/R |
| 22 | Jocelyn Vandenberg | CF | R/R |
| 24 | Emma Brown | OF | R/R |
Coaching staff: Dom Fontana, Joe Fackler, Richard Eaton (manager)
North Carolina (Southeast)
| Number | Player | Pos. | B/T |
| 3 | Brooke Rose | 2B | R/R |
| 6 | Riley Shaw | 1B/OF | L/L |
| 9 | Monica Jones | P/LF | R/R |
| 10 | Rayne Knittle | C/3B/SS | L/R |
| 12 | Lilliana Whitehurst | OF | R/R |
| 15 | Aurora Edwards | C/SS | R/R |
| 16 | Peyton James | P/OF | R/R |
| 17 | Braelyn Johnson | P/1B/CF | R/L |
| 18 | Candace Lynn | OF | L/R |
| 21 | Kenzie Carson | 1B/3B | R/R |
| 22 | Brooklyn Medhus | P/3B/SS | R/R |
| 24 | Kailey Garner | 1B/3B | R/R |
Coaching staff: Brandon Peebles, Percy Edwards, Brad Medhus (manager)
