Important start

VILLE PLATTE -- The Ville Platte Dixie Youth T-Ball All-Stars got off to an important start here this past weekend as they took first place in the East Sub-District Tournament.
Despite going 4-2 in tourney play, Ville Platte was able to win the tiebreaker over Mamou and Oakdale after the tournament could not be completed due to rains forcing the cancellation of all games on Sunday, the last day of tournament play.
“We had shades of brilliance and we had shades of inconsistent play,” stated Ville Platte head coach David LaHaye. “But, I think that is pretty normal for kids this age. The most important thing is that they got to experience it and they learned. I really think we got better. That is what you try to do everyday.”
Ville Platte began the tournament on Thursday with a 24-13 win over Mamou. That win gave the All-Stars some confidence going into Friday’s action.
The very next day, Ville Platte continued to play with great enthusiasm and a ton of poise. In game two of the tournament, the All-Stars were able to produce a ton of offense in their 26-16 win over Vernon National.
Ville Platte surrendered five runs to their opponent in the top of the first, but answered with seven runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning.
A four run second for Vernon National was overshadowed by the seven runs put up by Ville Platte in the same inning. Vernon National out scored Ville Platte in the third inning 7-6, but the boys in blue still led 19-16.
The Ville Platte defense held firm in the fourth inning, holding Vernon National to no runs. That allowed the All-Stars to put up six more in the bottom of the inning and secure the run-rule win.
With Ville Platte now at 2-0 in the tournament, the All-Stars faced a tough Pine Prairie squad in the nightcap Friday. Unfortunately, Pine Prairie was able to break out the bats and match the Ville Platte offense stride for stride as they took a 29-28 win over the home town team.
The two teams scored the exact amount of runs in each of the first three innings of play, making it a 18-18 deadlock. The turning point came in the fourth inning when Pine Prairie outgunned Ville Platte 7-1 to take a six run advantage.
Ville Platte plated 10 runs in the top of the fifth. But, Pine Prairie, needing only four runs to end the game, found a way to get the needed points to take the win.
Undaunted by the loss, Ville Platte came back on Saturday and took their frustrations out on Oakdale, blasting their way to a 17-2 run-rule victory.
Ville Platte produced fourteen runs in their first two at-bats while holding Oakdale scoreless in two of their three trips to the plate. The All-Stars led 14-2 heading into the bottom of the third and needed only three runs to end the game.
The second Saturday game saw Ville Platte maintain their offensive prowess as they ran past Vernon National for the second time in the tournament. This time, the All-Stars batted their way to a 19-4 win.
Ville Platte started on fire once again driving in seven runs in their first two trips to the plate, while holding Vernon National to only two runs in that same time frame. The All-Stars closed out the win outpacing Vernon National 5-2 in the final inning of play.
Ville Platte stumbled in their last game of the tournament, a 16-15 loss to Mamou. In the first inning, the All-Stars in green garnered a 7-1 lead and never looked back.
Ville Platte tried to get back into the game, out scoring Mamou 8-2 over the next two innings. However, Mamou, being the home team, took the win with a 7-6 advantage in the final inning.