Staff report

Rowan Little League softball (ages 10-12) won the state tournament held in Pfafftown.

Rowan went 3-0 in the event, beating Wilkes, 4-1 and Wilmington, 9-7, to reach the championship game, a rematch with Wilkes.

In Rowan’s 5-3 win in the title game, Karsen Simpson and Kendall Robinson provided outstanding pitching. Allie Burns and Brooke Kennerly had the key hits.

Johnny Meadows is the manager of the team. Assistants are Elizabeth Clarke and Brandon Piper.

Players who won the championship included Burns, Emma Clarke, Ashlee Ennis, Lilli Heard, Jada Hussey, Kennerly, Bentli Meadows, Brooke Piper, Robinson, Simpson, Kenadi Sproul, Madelyn VonCanon and Katie Zocchi.

Burns, Clarke, Sproul, Simpson, Kennerly, Ennis, and VonCanon are West Rowan Middle School students. Heard is a Southeast Middle School student. Robinson, Piper, Meadows, Hussey and Zocchi are Iredell County girls.

Rowan advances to the Southeast Regional for the third straight year and will play in Warner-Robins, Ga. The seven-team regional field includes Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The tournament starts July 27.

Rowan’s first game is on Friday, July 28, at 11 a.m. against the winner of Thursday’s Virginia-Tennessee contest.

The Southeast Regional winner advances to the Little League World Series in Portland, Ore., on Aug. 9-16.