EUNICE -- The VPGSA 10U Fast Pitch All-Stars came to the PONY Regional Tournament last weekend with the hope of playing as well as they have been in the tournaments leading up to this one.
So far this All-Star season Ville Platte has not disappointed their fans and the town they represent with their play. This past weekend was no exception to that as they went 5-2 in the tournament and placed third amongst all teams.
Not too bad for a group of mostly nine-year old players having to play against girls older than themselves.
Ville Platte will now participate in the PONY World Series to be held in Youngsville. The tournament begins with opening ceremonies on July 16 and play starts the very next day.
“The girls played their hearts out this weekend,” stated Ville Platte head coach Lance Fontenot. “They definitely left everything out on the field. I just think the heat burnt us out on the Saturday, and we fell flat come Sunday. So far this season, the girls have come ready and prepared every tournament we have played in. Hopefully that will continue on at the World Series.”
Ville Platte began the regional tournament with two big wins in pool play. On Friday, the All-Stars opened up competition with a 9-1 win over Lake Arthur.
In that game, Ville Platte picked up six runs in the very first inning to jump out to an early 6-0 lead. After blanking Lake Arthur in the top of the second inning, the All-Stars plated three more runs in the bottom half of the inning. Lake Arthur’s only run came in the top of the third.
Ville Platte’s second pool game on Friday was a close one, as the All-Stars were able to sneak away with a 2-0 win over Eunice. Ville Platte’s two runs came in the second inning.
On Saturday, the All-Stars began bracket play against a familiar opponent, Eunice. This time around Ville Platte left no doubt as to who the better team was, blowing past the St. Landry Parish team 14-3.
The second bracket game on Saturday did not go the way the All-Stars wanted as they fell to Opelousas 9-7. Falling behind 2-0 after one inning of play, Ville Platte tried to mount a comeback, scoring seven runs over the next two innings. However, Opelousas matched that number in the same amount of time.
The first game on Sunday showed just what Ville Platte was made of, as they pushed past North Vermilion 9-5. In that game, the All-Stars found themselves down 5-0 after two innings of play.
Undeterred, Ville Platte plated all nine runs in the fourth inning to pick up the win and advance in the tournament.
The All-Stars were not done collecting wins. The second bracket game on Sunday saw the Ville Platte bats continue to smolder red hot as they rolled past Kaplan 13-2.
The All-Stars put up crooked numbers four of the five innings played to take the win and move ahead in the tournament.
Unfortunately, Ville Platte ran out steam, losing to Kinder 12-6 in the game before the finals.
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Tracey Jagneaux
Sports Editor