Randall's 1st year playing baseball culminates with her reaching LLWS
Imagine playing baseball for only one year and making it to the Little League World Series? And how about making a little history in the process?
As we celebrate 50 years of the passing of Title IX, Falynn Randall recently became the 21st female to play in the annual Little League World Series tournament that culminates with a championship game Sunday between the winner of the U.S. bracket and the winner of the international bracket. Randall is the only girl on the team that represented the Mountain Region and the only girl playing in the tournament.
The 12-year-old is a multi-sport athlete who also plays softball, basketball, soccer and flag football. She hails from Santa Clara, Utah, and though she just recently began her baseball career, Randall made an instant impact to make her local All-Star team from Snow Canyon Little League.
Randall, who typically plays second base, competed on the first team from Utah to ever qualify for the LLWS. She helped lead her team to Williamsport when she hit .500, scored twice and only struck out one time (out of eight at-bats) during the Mountain Region Tournament.
This has been a special week filled with lots of memories for Randall, especially since this is her first time in Pennsylvania. She is fully aware of the significance of her achievement and spoke about what it meant to play in the Little League World Series as only the 21st girl.
“It means a lot, but like, we got here as a team," Randall said. "We didn’t do so well here, but we still got here."
While Snow Canyon lost both games in the LLWS and was eliminated, they qualified as one of only 10 teams from the United States. Randall’s highlight from her first season of baseball was winning regionals to qualify for the LLWS.
Williamsport is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for any young baseball player. For the first time this year the tournament expanded from 16 to 20 teams (10 U.S. and 10 international teams) after being canceled in 2020 and having an expanded U.S.-only field in 2021, both due to the COVID pandemic.
This year, Little League Baseball also celebrated 75 years with a special statue dedicated in downtown Williamsport to three special visitors to the tournament -- Jackie Robinson in 1965, Cy Young in 1951 and President George W. Bush in 2001. President Bush was on-hand Sunday night after the dedication to start the first pitch relay before the Little League Classic. A representative from each region -- 20 total -- threw the ball to the next player to mark the longest first pitch ever, which eventually landed in Randall’s glove. She threw from the pitcher’s mound to a catcher from Canada named Mitch Tsang.
Randall’s time in Williamsport will never be forgotten, as she made lasting memories. During the end of her stay, she said she was most excited to “watch the game [MLB Little League Classic], because I love the game.”