Anything can happen when to two best teams in the league square off on the diamond – even in Little League Softball.

That was the case Thursday night when the Cape Coral Red Knights and Cape Coral Tritons, meeting for the fourth time this season, played for the Lee County Championship at Burton Park. The Red Knights had won two of the previous three meetings in league play.

The Red Knights put five runs on the board in their first at-bat Thursday and held on to beat the Tritons 11-4 to take home the championship trophy.

“I knew early on it would be a battle,” said Red Knights manager Tony Krolczyk. “We got some key hits early the helped us later on.”

With two out and a runner on second base, Cheyenne Krolczyk hit a long drive down the left field line for an RBI triple. Antonia Rich drove in a run with a single then, with the bases loaded, Myrissa Reed dropped a three-run triple in almost the same spot to stake the Red Knights to a 5-0 lead.

“That gave us a big breather against them because they have some big hitters, too.” manager Krolczyk said. “I was proud of the way our pitcher, Cheyenne, shut them down for most of four innings (1K, 4R, 3H, 3BB). Then Marion (Reed) pitched the last two innings (2K, 0R, 1H, 1BB), throwing off-speed stuff and keeping them off balance.”

The Red Knights (14-3 overall) added a run in the second and five more in the fourth to open an 11-0 advantage.

The top of the Tritons’ batting order fought back, scoring four runs in the fourth on a combination of two hits, two walks and one fielding error.

Gillian Takais singled with one out. After Amanda Higgins drew a walk, Mo Pineda singled to drive in the first run. The second run scored on Katie England’s groundout to second. After another walk, Mak Buss reached on an error allowing the fourth run to score. The rally removed the 10-run rule and extended the game to the full six innings.

“I was proud of the way the girls played defense tonight,” added manager Krolczyk.

This is the first year the teams at Burton Park chose names of the local high schools instead of the traditional nicknames.

“We have players in the seventh and eighth grades who are looking to go to North Fort Myers High School because of the program they have,” said manager Krolczyk. “It makes them feel more pride and gives us a local flavor.”

The Red Knights and Tritons could meet again during the league’s city tournament that starts next week, followed later by the selection of the all-star teams for the District 9 Little League Softball Tournament.

Red Knights 510 500 – 11

Tritons 000 400 – 4

W – Krolczyk. L – Peterson.

3B – Krolczyk (RK), Reed (RK).