LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — For five innings, it looked like Floyds Knobs had picked up right where its dominant postseason left off.
But in one stunning sixth-inning swing, the script flipped.
Representing the Central Region, the Indiana state champs surrendered a five-run rally in the top of the sixth inning and couldn't recover, falling 5-3 to defending LLWS Champion Pitt County, North Carolina on Monday morning in its opening game of the Little League Softball World Series.
Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Eric Crawford
Floyds Knobs had controlled the game from the outset. Grace Fiore opened the scoring with a sharp RBI single down the right-field line. Kennedy Nickels followed with a double to center to make it 2-0. Scarlett Renn kept the hit parade going with an RBI single of her own, giving Indiana a 3-0 cushion before North Carolina recorded an out in the first.
Floyds Knobs players in their dugout before their Little League World Series opener in Greenville, N.C.
That lead held — until it didn't.
Both teams went down in order in the fifth, and Floyds Knobs pitcher Briley Mercer had worked out of multiple jams, including a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the second and another scare in the fourth. She also got help from a replay review that overturned what would have been a bunt single by Sawyer Abel.
But in the top of the sixth, North Carolina came alive.
Emily Mills delivered a two-run single to trim the lead to 3-2. Ava Wilson tied it with an RBI single of her own. Then Avery Cash beat out an infield hit to push North Carolina in front. Gemma Braxton added insurance with a run-scoring single to make it 5-3.
Mercer finished with five strikeouts, allowing 12 hits but just one earned run in a complete-game effort.
Fiore and Nickels each had two hits and an RBI for Floyds Knobs, while Renn added another. Indiana finished with eight hits on the day but couldn't solve North Carolina starter Makayla Montgomery after the first inning.
Floyds Knobs will move to the consolation bracket and look to keep its tournament run alive against Prague on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
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