PORTLAND, Ore. — A South Snohomish softball team in the thick of a major league-sized scandal has been eliminated from the Little League Softball World Series after losing a mandated one-game playoff.
South Snohomish lost a rematch Tuesday against Central Iowa, 3-2, ESPN reports. The single-game playoff followed regular pool play -- where South Snohomish went undefeated -- and was required after Central Iowa levied accusations of game-throwing against the local team.
On Monday, the previously unbeaten team of girls from South Snohomish lost 8-0 in pool play to a team from North Carolina at the world series tournament in Portland. In complicated play rules, the loss in the final game of pool play bumped the tough Central Iowa squad from the tournament, while still allowing Snohomish to move on.
But early into South Snohomish’s loss Monday, officials from other teams suspected something was up.
According to the Des Moines Register, the South Snohomish team didn’t only lose to North Carolina, they lost badly. The previously hard-to beat team didn’t get a hit, and they allegedly hardly tried to swing. When they did swing, they allegedly tried to bunt on two strikes or swung at balls in the dirt.
The Snohomish team’s four best players were also benched during the game, the Des Moines Register reported.
For a Central Iowa team that needed Snohomish to win in order to move on, the loss looked suspicious. It seemed the Snohomish team was losing on purpose in order to not have to face the Central Iowa team — widely considered to be one of the tournament’s favorites — later on.
“It’s clear to everyone that they basically threw the game,” Chris Chadd, the president of the Central Iowa Little League, told the Register.
Heartbroken girls on the Central Iowa team quickly realized what was going on while they watched the Snohomish v. North Carolina game, WHOTV.com reports.
“It took about a half inning for the girls to catch on,” Central Iowa Coach Charlie Husak told WHOTV.com. “We were trying to keep it from them, but you could see when they caught on that the tears started to pile up. It was pretty emotional.”
South Snohomish Little League president Jeff Taylor denies any wrongdoing, the Everett Herald reports.
The Central Iowa team filed a protest with the league. A ruling in their favor was issued, and Iowa played Snohomish in a one-game playoff. Holly Rowe of ESPN called Tuesday's game "the most dramatic game I've ever witnessed here."
When Snohomish lost, Rowe said, the players were very gracious, and stood in line to shake the hands of the Central Iowa players. Rowe said it was a tough exit for a Snohomish team that played well throughout the tournament.
Parents from Snohomish allegedly said their decision was not to purposefully lose Monday, and it was just a strategic play.
The South Snohomish Little League released the following statement Tuesday: