Anything can happen on a given night as the Cape Coral Little League Softball Tournament game between the Wildcats and Wolverines proved Wednesday night.

The game began Tuesday night at Burton Park, and in the first inning the Wolverines hammered ‘Cats starting pitcher Mallory Gerrero for eight runs.

The Wildcats were batting when lightning and rain suspended the game until Wednesday. Because the inning was not completed, the teams started over.

Boy, was it a brand new game. The Wildcats got on the scoreboard first, scoring a run in the first inning on a two-out double to center by Jessica Nuccio.

“Yeah, these are 11-12 year old kids,” said Wolverines manager Brian Sullivan. “Absolutely anything can happen on any given night. When a game starts, it’s 0-0. You can be the best team in the league playing the worst team in the league … it doesn’t matter.”

Like all good teams do, the Wolverines regained their composure and scored five times in the final two innings to defeat the Wildcats 6-1 in the major division semifinal.

Gerrero seemed more confident on the mound, and her strikeout with two runners on in the fourth preserved the tie and a chance for the Cats to take the lead, but Wolverines ace Meghan Sullivan would have none of that. Though she started a little shaky, she finished with eight strikeouts.

Back-to-back singles by twins Hannah and Shyann Del Negro in the fifth scored three runs giving the Wolverines a 4-1 edge. They nailed down the win with two sixth-inning runs.

The Wildcats face the Seminoles at 8 p.m. Thursday in the loser’s bracket final. The winner advances to play the Wolverines in the championship game Friday.

If the Seminoles win, it would be a Wolverines/Noles showdown identical to the Lee County Championship, won by the Wolverines. Whether it’s the Seminoles or Wildcats, they would have to beat the Wolverines twice in the double-elimination format.



Wolverines 010 032 — 6 8 0

Wildcats 100 000 — 1 3 2

W — Sullivan. L — Gerrero

2B — Nuccio (Wildcats)



At Jason Verdow Park: The Mets were crowned Cape Coral National tee-ball baseball champions with a 20-19 victory over the Braves in the division title game Wednesday night.

The championship game was a rematch of the first game of the tournament, which the Mets won 24-21, forcing the Braves to battle back through the loser’s bracket with a pair of 19-17 victories.

In rookie baseball, the Brewers knocked off the Phillies 13-4 in the semifinal, dropping the Phillies into the loser’s bracket final next week. The Giants play the Braves in the loser’s bracket Thursday night with the winner advancing to meet the Phillies.

In minor baseball, the Rockies ousted the Nationals 7-5 in the loser’s bracket final. The Rockies face the Reds Thursday night in the championship game.

In major baseball, the Cubs downed the Mets 8-4 to advance to Thursday’s loser’s bracket final against the Cardinals. The winner goes on to play the Brewers in the championship game next week.



Sports editor Jim Linette contributed to this report.