LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Floyds Knobs Community Club 12U softball team hasn’t just been good at the Little League Softball World Series. It’s been almost untouchable. Through 32 innings in Greenville, it has held opponents scoreless in 31 of them — including a current streak of 26 straight.
That dominance — and that streak — are still alive.
On Saturday, the Indiana state champs blanked defending champion North Carolina 2-0 in extra innings, earning the program’s first-ever trip to the championship game. The win came in front of a packed Stallings Stadium crowd and a national ESPN audience, with every pitch carrying championship weight.
They will face the winner of a semifinal between Pennsylvania and Oklahoma for the Little League World Series championship at 3 p.m. Sunday on ABC.
The semifinal was a masterclass in poise and pitching depth. Ace Briley Mercer threw five shutout innings before handing the ball to Grace Fiore, who worked the final two frames to finish the combined shutout and preserve Mercer’s availability for Sunday’s final.
“I knew Grace was a great pitcher and I knew she would shut them out,” Mercer said.
“I had to have her back,” Fiore told ESPN.
After six scoreless innings, Floyds Knobs finally broke through in the seventh under the international tiebreaker rule. Alyvia Kolish started on second base, advanced to third on Swayer Abel’s bunt single, then scored on Scarlet Renn’s RBI groundout. Abel later came home on Fiore’s infield grounder to make it 2-0.
In the stands, parents wiped away tears. On the field, players hugged in disbelief. One more win, and they’ll be Little League Softball World Series champions.
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