Special to The OBSERVER

The 8-10 year old Little League Softball State Tournament continued Thursday in Dunkirk. Here is a report of the action on Thursday.

Maine-Endwell 17, South Orangetown 16

Maine Endwell scored 10 runs in the second inning and then hung on to remain in the winner’s bracket in dramatic fashion. The final out was recorded on a bases loaded strikeout as South Orangetown’s game-long comeback fell one run short.

Tessa LaMoreaux was the winning pitcher in relief of Isabel Hunter, who re-entered the game in the last of the sixth to pick up the save after her team broke a 15-15 tie in the top of the sixth. LaMoreaux had an RBI double during the winning rally and the second Maine-Endwell run scored on a wild pitch. LaMoreaux and Maddie Ocker had three hits and Kaylee Hurba and Natalie Chesna two hits and two RBI each.

For South Orangetown, which raliled from a 10-0 deficit, Adrianna D’Orio had three hits and four RBI, Savannah Nordstrom had two hits and two RBI, and Alyssa Chiapra had two RBI. Starting pitcher Haley Arvidson left the game after one inning because of an injury, yet her teammates recovered from the early deficit with two runs in the second, three in the third, four in the fourth, and six in the fifth.

Penfield 7, Longwood 3

A five-run first inning propelled Penfield past Longwood in the second of two games Friday at the Dunkirk Little League complex. The uprising included an RBI double by MacKenzie Whitehead, a two-run homer by Lexi Cimino, and a two-run single by winning pitcher Cadence Brecker.

Penfield added a single run in the third inning as Cimino picked up her second hit of the game. Longwood cut the deficit in half with three runs in the top of the fourth, two of them on a single by Veronia Schag, her third of three hits. Giulianna Tantillo also had an RBI during the inning. Penfield added an insurance run in the fourth on an RBI single by Ella Maley.

Brecker recorded 10 strikeouts and allowed no runs during her five innings in the circle. Losing pitcher Olivia Thomas had nine strikeouts.

Today’s schedule consists of three games, two in the losers’ bracket: Ozone Howard vs. South Orangetown at 11 a.m., and Merrick-Bellmore vs. Longwood at 2 p.m. The third game of the day is the winners’ bracket final between Maine-Endwell and Penfield at 5 p.m.