Local Little Leaguers Compete on the Big Stage

MLB Pitch, Hit & Run competition winners (clockwise from top): Annalynn Trimbell (8) posing  with her Team Champion award outside Citi Field in Queens, NY; Kendall Howard (11), Mason Hubbard (11), Brodie Miller (8). 

FLUSHING, QUEENS — On the morning of Labor Day at Citi Field (home of the New York Mets), Annalynn Trimbell, an eight-year-old softball player from Hobart, won a Major League Baseball Pitch, Hit & Run Team Championship for a chance to compete at the World Series. Later that evening, Trimbell and other winners were honored in a pre-game ceremony before the Mets took the field. 

“It was awesome to be up on the big screen,” said Trimbell who is one of four local athletes who had an unforgettable experience over the last few weeks getting to test their skills on the big stage. 

Each of them were “Local Champions” in their age groups at a Pitch, Hit & Run competition hosted in July by the Catskill Mountain Little League in Stamford, NY. At the event, baseball and softball players were scored on five pitches made at a target representing a major league strike zone, five hits off a tee and the fastest run time of 90 feet, the distance between bases in Major League Baseball. Scores were submitted by League officials and parents were notified by email of the invitation to compete at the Team Championships, representing the best scores from each region. 

Other local winners who competed at Team Championships were Brodie Miller, 8 of South Kortright at Yankee Stadium on August 20th. Mason Hubbard, 11 of Roxbury and Kendall Howard, 11 of Bloomville competed at Williamsport, PA before the championship game of the Little League World Series. Liam Schmitt, 10 of Jefferson also won his age group but was not able to attend a Team Championship. 

Over 65,000 children ages 7-14 participated in the Pitch, Hit & Run events throughout the US and Canada in 2024. The Trimbell family will be watching the leaderboard over the next few weeks to see if Annalynn will advance to the World Series.