Rowan 12U softball with Potato Dog mascot.

 

Brett, Peyton and Jac Mulkey.

By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

GREENVILLE, N.C. — How much did people care about Rowan Little League’s latest softball run?

The Post received several requests on Sunday morning — from law-abiding, church-going folks who were sitting in their pews or in their Sunday School classes — for updates on the World Series game taking place in Greenville.

The updates weren’t favorable. A 2-1 loss to Louisiana in a semifinal ended the season, but a run that lasted until Championship Sunday provided lifetime memories for players, parents, fans and coaches.

“The girls were upset when they lost, but you’re always upset whenever it’s the last game because you’ve been having such a great time and you don’t want the ride to ever end,” Rowan manager Brett Mulkey said. “There’s a great deal to be proud of, both in the way that the girls played and in the way they represented the people back home. This team improved so much and came so far from the start to the finish. We lost a game in our district tournament. We lost a game in our state tournament. It felt like we were playing elimination games all summer. But we were there on the very last day of the season and we lost a one-run game to a great team and a great pitcher.”

After winning against Rowan, Louisiana lost 1-0 to Pitt County in the championship game.

Pitt County, which beat Rowan in the state tournament to gain a direct entry into the World Series as the representative of the host state, went undefeated in the World Series. Pitt County is Rowan’s biggest rival at every age level of Little League softball and will continue to be a powerful adversary going forward, especially with the World Series being played in its backyard.

This was Rowan’s seventh trip to the 12U World Series. Rowan won it all in 2015 and 2019 and was runner-up in 2016 and 2017.

“I think people see the Little League softball World Series on TV, see the level of play, and they realize it would be a good thing to get their girls involved,” Mulkey said. “More and more programs are starting to get their players involved at the younger ages, putting teams together with the goal of one day playing in the World Series. It’s growing all over the country, but I think what people saw here this week with Pitt County and with our team is that North Carolina is still one of the strongest areas for Little League softball.”

After losing to Pitt County in the state tournament, Rowan had to win three straight games to get to the regional for a second chance. Rowan was a buzz saw in the Southeast Regional in Georgia, won four straight games against state champs and qualified for the World Series.

Somewhere on the road to the regional, “Potato Dog” became the team’s lucky mascot.

“Evee Baxter, the shortstop started it, playing that “Oh Potato Dog” song on the van ride to Georgia, and then they all were singing it,” Mulkey said. “I’ve heard that song 1,000 times this summer.”

The team displayed a “Potato Dog” mascot in the dugout, fashioned from a potato and adding a head and feet from a stuffed animal. Pitcher Bristol Smith’s father created the mascot, dressed in the same gold colors worn by the Southeast champions.

Rowan dropped its first game in the World Series to Ohio, but bounced back to trounce Idaho the next day. After Debby dumped so much rain on Wednesday and Thursday that the games had to be moved from the Little League stadium to East Carolina, Rowan returned to the field and beat Mexico on Friday to earn a quarterfinal rematch with Ohio on Saturday night.

Rowan won the rematch with the Central Region champs, 3-1.

“Well, we struck out 13 times the first time we faced that Ohio pitcher, but we changed our approaches some, cut the strikeouts down to six and put the ball in play often enough to score a few runs,” Mulkey said.

Smith had a key hit in the first inning, a single through the right side that scored a sprinting Tenley Shell from second base.

“A really big run because we hadn’t scored against them the first time,” Mulkey said. “That gave us some confidence, and girls  took it from there. We played really well.”

Rowan made two terrific defensive plays in the Ohio game. Right fielder Ashlynn Pfister caught a fly ball and made a strong throw home to Shell, who made the tag on a runner trying to tag up and score from third. That was huge double play.

Left fielder Emory Stewart made a play that saved two runs. She charged in for a sinking line driver, got to the ball when it was an inch from the ground and made a tumbling catch.

“Definitely a game-saver,” Mulkey said.

That win put Rowan in the semifinals, but Louisiana, the Southwest champs, took the Sunday morning pitching duel, 2-1. LeNiyah Ratcliffe scored the only Rowan run when Louisiana made a throwing error on Baxter’s ground ball.

“We struck out 15 times,” Mulkey said. “Our hitters kept saying she had more spin on the ball than anyone they’d ever seen. They’d never faced anyone quite like her.”

With Smith pitching, Rowan led 1-0 going to the fifth, but Louisiana was able to rally.

“There was no one we couldn’t compete with,” Mulkey said. “And we weren’t just competing against state champions, we were competing against teams that were the best in their region of the country, as well as international teams. We played in some great games.”

Pitt County got a triple in the championship game and was able to score a run and beat Louisiana 1-0 for the world title on Sunday afternoon. Pitt County had three excellent pitchers. Pitt County’s No. 3 pitcher threw a perfect game early in the World Series.

Mulkey said 10 of Rowan’s 13 girls will age out of Little League, but the program has a chance to continue to be a factor at the highest level. One of the three who will be eligible to return is Mulkey’s daughter, Peyton, who will be a student at West Rowan Middle School. That means the husband-wife team of Brett and Jac Mulkey will likely return to coach. They were assisted by Jeff Bernhardt.

“We’ll lose some great kids, but our 10U and 11U Rowan Little League teams won state and regional championships,” Mulkey said. “We’ve got a lot of good players and a great deal of community support. Hopefully, we’ll be back for another run.”