Your guide to the District 12 Little League softball tournament
Five local squads begin a journey that could end at the Little League Softball World Series in Oregon when the District 12 tournament gets underway on Sunday afternoon.
Robbinsville is once again the favorite as the powerhouse program, which won the LLWS in 2014, looks for a seventh straight championship.
“The expectation for every league is to win the district, but we know we have tough competition,” R’ville coach Mike Rosica said. “We’re going to play everybody hard, just like they are going to against us.”
Four-time champion Bordentown hasn’t won since 2002, but a talented roster gives the B’town girls a chance.
“It’s the same group of girls who have been together for a long time,” coach Michael Hoppe said. “We have a couple strong additions with good solid pitching. These girls have experience and they are a good group.”
Bordentown plays the winner of the game between Robbinsville and West Windsor.
Before R’ville burst onto the scene to win 10 of the last 11 D-12 titles, West Windsor had run off three in a row.
This group is hoping to reclaim that top spot.
“The key to these tournaments are pitching and defense, and I think we’re pretty strong in both of those areas,” coach Joe Dorfman said. “We’re led by our pitchers and we have a solid defense behind them. Hopefully, with some timely hitting we’ll find a way to come out on top.”
Lawrence is also determined to make some noise. It opens up against East Windsor.
“We’re super young, dynamic and have girls who love the game,” coach Vicky Martinez said. “I don’t think they know how good they are going to be until we get on the field because they play on different travel clubs. They’re excited to have fun and that should translate well to a strong showing in the tournament.”
East Windsor is the last team not named Robbinsville to win the district title when it was champion in 2011.
“If we are on top of our games, I like our chances to make a lot of noise in this tourna- ment,” coach Brian Pignatello said. “This group has a lot of fight in them and a never say die attitude that makes this a great team to be a part of. The sky’s the limit.” Game 2: West Windsor/Robbinsville winner vs. Bordentown, 8 p.m. Game 4: West Windsor/Robbinsville loser vs. Lawrence/East Windsor loser, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, June 26
Game 5: Game 2 winner vs. Lawrence/ East Windsor winner, 8 p.m.
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 2 loser, 6 p.m.
Thursday, June 28
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 9: Game 8 winner vs. Game 8 loser, if necessary, 8 p.m.