Orange — It took more than five hours and 14 innings of softball, but the Ledyard Senior League team (ages 15-16) saw its season come to an end Monday night.

Ledyard, entering Monday unbeaten, lost to host Orange 12-2 in a five-inning, mercy-rule game to set up a winner-take-all final in the state tournament. Orange won that game 10-8 in nine innings and advanced to the East Regional tournament at Worcester, Mass.

After earning the victory in the first game, Orange pitcher Ivy Santos started Game 2 and returned late in the game to close out the victory.

"We had a lot of confidence," Santos said. "We came back last year and had to win against Plainfield twice. We had the confidence and the energy."

Orange picked up right where it left off after Game 1, with three singles to start off the first inning. With the bases loaded, a passed ball scored a run. Brianna Brissell added to Orange's lead with a two-run double to right-center field.

In the bottom half of the inning, Ledyard battled back, a theme throughout the game.

After a walk, Ledyard's Amanda Cox launched a home run to deep center field, cutting into the lead.

Trailing 4-2 in the third inning, Ledyard chipped away at the lead once more. Hannah Smith hit a leadoff double and came around to score on a wild pitch. Shailynn Williams laid down a bunt to tie the game 4-4 after three innings.

Ledyard took its first lead of the day in the bottom of the fourth inning. With runners on second and third, an error brought both runners home, giving Ledyard the 6-4 advantage.

With Orange trailing 6-5 in the top of the sixth inning, Orange loaded the bases. Lolly Mendillo ripped a double to deep center field, bringing home the game-tying and go-ahead runs and putting Orange three outs away from victory.

With two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, however, Codee Carroll hit a triple to keep Ledyard alive, and put the winning run at the plate. Smith singled to drive Carroll in and push the game into extras.

After Orange took the lead in the top half of the seventh inning, Ledyard's Cox hit her second home run of the game to keep the team alive and extend the game.

The sun had set for some time by the time the ninth inning rolled around and Orange was able to grab and keep the lead this time. Mendillo drove in another run to give Orange the lead. Hailey Laforte followed her with an RBI single of her own to push the lead to 10-8 and secure the victory after playing for nearly three straight hours.

"They pick each other up," said Rob Vallombroso, the manager for Orange. "They've got each other's backs and they fight."

Mendillo had four hits, while driving in three runs.

Mckenzie Jones earned the start for Ledyard and lasted eight plus innings while striking out seven batters.

Orange won the first game in convincing fashion.

Orange took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and added to it in a major way in the fourth and fifth innings. Outfielder Dede Rodriguez ripped an RBI double to get things started. Miranda Schlauder followed her with an RBI double, one of two doubles she hit in Game 1, giving Orange a 6-0 lead.

Orange continued to add to its lead in the fifth. With the bases loaded, Mendillo hit an RBI single, one of her two hits on the afternoon. Laforte followed Medillo's at-bat with a grand slam over the right field wall, giving Orange a 12-0 lead. Schlauder added two hits.

Ledyard scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning when Abby Fowler stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded. She just missed a home run when the ball skipped off the top of the left field fence and bounced back into play, being ruled a ground-rule double and scoring two runs.

Orange was led by Santos, who struck out nine.