MILROY — The West Point 10/11-year-old All-Stars were tested — and passed the test — for the second consecutive game.
West Point scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to rally for an 8-7 victory against Danville in the Pennsylvania Little League Softball 11-year-old Western Regional.
Morgan Defloria smacked a two-run double on an 0-2 pitch with two outs to cap the rally.
"This win was huge," West Point coach Tom Hendrick said. "We grew as a team after we defeated Everett on Sunday, and we became tighter after we rallied to win this one.
"We were hitting the ball, and we knew if we started positive we would come through."
West Point trailed 7-3 after 3.1 innings, but scored twice in the fourth before adding three more in the sixth.
West Point finished the tournament 3-0 and will enter the state semifinals Thursday at Milroy (Mifflin County) as the No. 1 seed from the West. Everett, which lost to West Point, 3-1, is the second seed from the West.
West Point will play Avon Grove at 6 p.m., while Everett tangles with Drexel Hills.
Kelsie Hendrick, the coach's daughter, blanked Danville over the final 22/3 innings to earn the win. She struck out four.
West Point pounded out 17 hits. Kylie Gansor and Michaela LeDonne each went 3-for-3 with a double. Rachel Bates also doubled for West Point.
11/12-year-old softball
West Point 12, West Albany 0 (4 inn.) — In Albany, N.Y., West Point has made winning look very easy at the East Regional.
Three games into the tournament, West Point has outscored its opponents, 30-0; allowed two hits, both in a 4-0 win in its first game against Pearl River, N.Y.; and has no-hitters in its past two games, including a four-inning perfect game from Amber Reeping against West Albany.
"You just never know," West Point coach Tom Appleby said. "You come to a place like this, and you don't know what to expect and you just have to wait and see what happens. But, I think we're well prepared."
West Point (3-0) will have a day off today before finishing pool play with a game against Maryland at 11 a.m. on Thursday. With a victory in that game, West Point would clinch first place in its pool and set up a regional semifinal game at 3 p.m. Friday. The championship game is slated for 12:30 p.m. Saturday with a spot in the Little League Softball World Series in Portland, Ore. at stake.
"We're going to give the girls a day off and go to a water park and have some fun," Appleby said. "They deserve it after the last three days."
13/14-year-old softball
West Point got the easy route into the Pennsylvania semifinals when Worthington, a Kittanning area team that had already been eliminated from semifinal contention, opted to forfeit yesterday's game instead of paying for another night's hotel stay.
Because of a projection of inclement weather, both the semifinals and finals will be played in a tripleheader today. West Point will face Radnor-Wayne in the semifinals at 6 p.m. and, if it wins, will play in the championship game at 8 p.m. against the victor of the 4 p.m. matchup between Nanticoke-Newport and Warrior Run.
The winner of that 8 p.m. state final will earn a berth in the Eastern Regional in West Haven, Conn.
"It's difficult on the strategy side, because you have to worry about pitching, because pitchers can only throw 10 innings on a given day, so if you play two seven-inning games, you have to worry about pitching," coach Ed DiOrio said. "We're fortunate to have two or three pitchers that we can rely on."
9/10-year-old softball
West Point 15, Mifflin County 8 — Morgan Ryan struck out 14 to lead West Point into the state championship tournament and a return trip to Milton.
West Point finished second in the tournament and will play at 5 p.m. Thursday against an opponent not yet determined.
