Pitching Machine All-Stars earn runner-up spot

MAMOU -- Although the Ville Platte Pitching Machine All-Stars did not take home the first place trophy this past weekend in the Dixie Youth East Sub-District Tournament, they did gain a ton of experience and pride.
Ville Platte came out of the tournament with an overall record of 4-1 and the runner-up title. According to head coach Nick Fontenot, the All-Stars still have a lot of work to do, especially at the plate.
“Defensively, we looked really good,” stated Fontenot. “We are just not hitting the ball the way I would like them to. We have way too many strikeouts right now. You have to be able to hit the ball in order to be a great team. If we start hitting we are going to be tough to beat. We just feel that if we can get them hitting like they did in league play, we are going to be tough to beat.”
In game one, Ville Platte picked up 12 strikeouts, but also racked up seven hits, including three for extra bases in a 9-2 win over Mamou.
The All-Stars jumped out to a 3-1 advantage over their cross-parish rivals after two innings of play and then proceeded to score four runs in the third inning to increase the lead to 7-1.
Mamou plated a single run in the fourth, but not before Ville Platte could add two more in the same inning.
Game two was a close call for the All-Stars, as they slipped past Vernon 3-2. Ville Platte put up the first two runs of the game in the first inning.
Vernon responded with two runs of their own in the third inning. However, Ville Platte finished off the game with a single run in the third to pick up their second win of the tournament.
Another nail biter was in store for game three, as Ville Platte eased past another cross-parish rival, Pine Prairie, by the score of 6-5.
By the time the first inning had concluded, Ville Platte owned a 3-2 lead. The All-Stars scratched together three more runs in the third inning to increase their advantage to 6-2.
Pine Prairie made a run in the fourth and final inning by putting up three runs of their own, but the Ville Platte defense shut them down to secure the win.
The only blemish to the All-Star’s tourney record came in game four against Oakdale. In that game, Ville Platte could not mount any type of offensive threat and fell to the Allen parish All-Stars 10-0.
Undeterred, Ville Platte bounced back in game five with a 10-0 route of Oberlin. The All-Stars collected four huge runs in the first inning to jump out to a commanding lead.
Ville Platte picked up a solo run in the second inning and blew the game open wide in the third inning by plating four more runs. The final run for the All-Stars came in the fourth inning when Ville Platte tacked on a solo run.
The All-Stars will be back in action this coming weekend as they will participate in a Dixie Open tournament in Minden.
“The main focus before district will be hitting,” said Fontenot. “We are going to Minden this weekend to get some more practice in and hopefully face some good competition.”