Littlefield wins MS softball championship

May 11—LUMBERTON — Littlefield Middle School had a three-year reign as Robeson County's middle-school softball champions, as no season was held the last two school years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After beating Pembroke Middle on Tuesday, the Hornets will hold the title for another year.

Littlefield beat the Warriors 14-6 in the championship game, played at Lumberton Junior High, to win the county championship title again.

"They worked really hard. I have two girls that have played softball consistently, so it was definitely a 'season' in the beginning," Littlefield coach Amylee Lancaster said. "But they worked hard every day in practice, Saturdays and Sundays too, to get better."

Littlefield (13-0) held a 4-2 lead after the first inning and extended its lead to 8-3 after four innings. Pembroke (11-2) scored three runs in the top of the fifth; the Hornets answered in the bottom half, breaking the game open with a bases-clearing three-run hit by Keelee Pittman.

Ava Hana was the winning pitcher for Littlefield with nine strikeouts. She was also 3-for-3 with a walk at the plate.

"She has been a saving grace, if I can say that," Lancaster said. "Just because middle school softball, as a whole, if you've got a pitcher and a catcher, you can pretty well say you're going to have a good season."

Jayla Hunt also had three hits for Littlefield and Jaelyn Hammond and Kinsley Martin each had two hits in the championship game.

"I'm just very proud of the effort that they gave, that the girls have given us from start to finish," Lancaster said. "I couldn't ask for a better season."

Chris Stiles can be reached at 910-816-1977 or by email at cstiles@robesonian.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @StilesOnSports.