WILLCOX, Ariz. — Willcox's 11 and 12-year-old girls' softball team finished third in the western softball regionals last year. They fixed that this weekend.
The team from the southeast Arizona town of 3,200 that's known for old-time country singer Rex Allen and the thousands of Sand Hill cranes that migrate there every winter, is going to the Little League World Series in Greenville, North Carolina.
“We were real wide-eyed and booger-nosed last year but we came back this year with the expectation that, ‘Hey, we can play with anybody,’” the team's manager Patrick Macumber told the San Bernadino Sun.
The team recently traveled to San Bernardino, California for the West Region Championship, defeating Northern California's Dublin Little League 5-0 to earn their spot in the Little League World Series.
Willcox’s road to the championship wasn’t easy, however, as they had to have showdowns with teams from more populated cities. On July 20, Willcox defeated Nevada 2-0 to advance to the next round. The next day, Willcox defeated Hawaii 2-0. Three days later, on July 24, Willcox defeated Dublin Little League 6-3 in their first of two games. Finally, on July 26, Willcox overcame Dublin Little League again 5-0 to win the west region.
Star pitcher Hattie Macumber, daughter of head coach Patrick Macumber, pitched all four games in San Bernardino, with three games being shutouts. Macumber only gave up three runs during the entire West Region Tournament to propel her team to the apex.
On Friday, Willcox became the fifth team from southern Arizona to punch their ticket to the Little League World Series. According to All Sports Tuscon, Willcox joins Santa Rita, Tucson Mountain, San Xavier, and Sunnyside as the only teams from southern Arizona to make it to the Little League World Series. The last team from Southern Arizona to win the Little League World Series was Sunnyside in 2013 when they defeated McLean from Virginia. Willcox joins an exclusive list of teams to represent their state on the biggest stage of Little League Softball.
Willcox will represent Arizona and the entire West region in the Little League World Series starting on Aug. 4.
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