Photo by John Larson
Fastpitch and baseball all-stars in the 9/10-year old division from Fife Milton Edgewood Little League (FMELL) participated in the District 10 All-Star Tournament, held at Federal Way National Little League’s complex. It was a double-elimination tournament.
The softball team consisted of Hallie Johnson, Bella Robertson, Karen Ishiguro, Nicole Richardson, Emma Froembling, Kate Gain, Daisy Garcia, McKenzie Schwan, Susan Stall, Erica Grenlund, Nicole Burns, Shelby Heglund and Alyssa Haworth.
They got off to a strong start, defeating Auburn 22-12 on June 13 in a game halted as a result of the 10-run lead rule.
They had a tougher outing on June 14. Their opponent, Tahoma, had a 5-0 lead after three innings.
In the top of the fourth Johnson advanced to third base with two outs. Gain struck out to end the inning.
Three Auburn runners in a row stole home on wild pitches, pushing their lead to 9-0 after four innings. In the fifth an Auburn batter laid down a bunt that allowed a base runner on third to score, invoking the 10-run rule.
They faced Federal Way National on June 15. FMELL held a 4-2 lead when Federal Way came to bat in the bottom of the fourth and proceeded to score five runs.
“Gut check time. Here we go,” manager Dave Richardson told his squad as they went to bat in the top of the sixth and final inning.
Burns was walked. Next up was Heglund, who hit a ball caught by the Federal Way first baseman, who tagged out Burns.
They loaded the bases with two outs, with Haworth and Garcia drawing walks and Robertson hitting a single. Schwan nailed a pitch, but was thrown out at first to end the game.
“They showed a lot of character and heart. We just could not get the bats going against Tahoma,” said Richardson.
He noted many of his team’s fans did not have a child on the squad. “The community comes out and supports these teams.”
The baseball team consisted of Kevin Nakamura, Collin Starks, Luke Ostrander, Noah Duszynski, Connor Sobotka, Mason Albertin, Joe Bridges, Ethan Ancira, Josh Elder, Jameson Gardner, Jakob Wolfe and Joey Bader. Brad Nakamura was the manager and Mario Ancira was the assistant coach.
They were drilled 21-0 by Auburn on June 13, with the game called after four innings.
They regrouped the following day and faced Chinook.
They loaded the bases in the first inning but were unable to score.
In each of the first three innings Chinook scored a run with two outs.
In the bottom of the fifth Chinook’s Trevor Truax hit a single that drove in two runs. A teammate hit a sacrifice fly to drive in another and Chinook led 6-1.
It was do or die for FMELL in the top of the sixth. After they scored four runs the Chinook manager put in a new pitcher. They notched one more to tie it up.
With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, a Chinook runner stole home to end the valiant comeback effort.
“It was night and day between our first game and the second,” said Brad Nakamura. “Our guys kept their heads up and never gave up.”
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