Delta Dusters pitcher Laken Wilson grimaces as she delivers a pitch in the championship game of the 10-and-under division of the Rumble on the River. The Dusters, a Cleveland team, won the title. Below, Vicksburg Diamond Dolls shortstop Tiffany Diamond scoops up a ground ball as Vicksburg Explosion’s Laura Beth Lyons cruises into second.(C. Todd Sherman The Vicksburg Post)

[7/14/03] Before Sunday’s championship game in the under-16 bracket of the Rumble on the River softball tournament, coaches Lamar Shelby of the Vicksburg Explosion and Howard Johnson of the Vicksburg Diamond Dolls discussed what it would take to win.

“Me and Howard said, All it comes down to is who makes the first mistake,'” Shelby said.

Finally that mistake came.

With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Alex Hawkins of the Explosion scored the first and only run in the title bout from first base when Dolls pitcher Danielle Ryan handled a bunt and fired the throw past first baseman Lauren Anderson into deep right field.

Hawkins easily scored the walkoff run, giving the Explosion the tournament win over their fellow Vicksburg squad, 1-0.

“That was rough,” Shelby said. “It was exactly what we expected.”

Brittany Fuller was the winning pitcher for the Explosion, pitching scoreless sixth and seventh innings. Ryan took the loss for the Dolls.

The Dolls, normally an under-14 team, moved up to compete in the under-16 bracket.

Explosion and the Dolls played earlier in the day in the second round, with the Explosion winning 3-1. The Dolls then battled through the losers’ bracket to make it to the championship game.

“I can’t complain,” Johnson said. “I’m very proud of (my players).

“We didn’t expect to win. But we didn’t count it out.”

Johnson’s team almost managed a victory, pressuring the Explosion with their offense and the strong pitching of Ryan, a Madison Central standout.

The Dolls even outhit the Explosion eight to five. Sarah Kerut led the Dolls’ offense, belting out four of the team’s hits with three singles and a double.

Neither team could manage to put a run across, however, until the unearned score to end the game.

“That’s the way fast-pitch softball is supposed to be played,” Johnson said.

In both the third and fourth innings the Dolls threatened against Explosion pitcher Laura Beth Lyons.

Kerut’s double with two outs in the third would have turned into a run, but Explosion center fielder Lisa Ainsworth made a running catch to steal an extra-base hit by the next batter.

Ainsworth stole another hit to start the fourth, which could have been a run as the next two batters connected for a single and a double.

“That center fielder made excellent catches,” Johnson said.

Shelby said he only added Ainsworth to the squad after his normal center fielder, Ainsworth’s cousin, suffered an injury.

The Explosion’s offense managed even less production than the Dolls for most of the game, stymied by Ryan’s hurling.

Ryan struck out seven and didn’t allow Explosion batters to make good contact.

“Danielle is an ace pitcher,” Shelby said. “She’s outstanding.”

With both teams getting great defense and solid pitching, the only way a run could score was on a mistake, and it just happened that the Dolls faltered first.

Shelby said it was a hard game for most involved, and especially for him as he previously had coached most of the Dolls’ players.

“That’s the heart-breaking part,” he said.

In the 10-and-under bracket, the Delta Dusters claimed the championship by beating the Madison Motion, 2-1.

On Saturday, the Vicksburg Sluggers won the 12-and-under bracket, giving Vicksburg two championships in the three age groups.