Overview

• Judge Robert Malestein set a noon deadline for Little League Baseball’s defense and will issue a ruling at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in Gloucester County Chancery
• The emergency order challenges the one-game suspension of Marco Rocco after umpires ejected the 12-year-old for a celebratory bat flip on July 16
• Joseph Rocco’s lawsuit accuses Little League Baseball of breach of contract, negligence and promissory estoppel over the unexplained suspension
• The league is expected to defend its action by citing its rules against horseplay and deference to umpire safety judgments
• A decision hours before Haddonfield’s state tournament final will determine whether its star hitter can play in Thursday’s championship game