Girls won twice, missed state title game on tiebreaker
St. Cloud Little League Girls All-Star Softball came up just short of making the state championship title game this weekend, when the team of 8-10 year olds was eliminated in pool play this past weekend at home.
St. Cloud opened the tournament on Friday night, losing a wild 10-9 game to Paxton in extra innings. The teams battled to a 2-2 stalemate through six innings. In the top of the eighth, Paxton sent 13 batters to the plate and scored eight runs to take a 10-2 lead. St. Cloud battled back in the bottom of the eight, sending 10 batters to the plate to cut the lead to 10-9. With the tying run on first, Paxton got a gameending pop-up.
The loss sent St. Cloud into Saturday’s action and they responded with an impressive 10-3 win over Tampa Bay. Elyssa Staley reached base three times and scored three runs, and Zoey Valazquez struck out 17 in the pitching circle.
In a game that started on Saturday afternoon but was completed Sunday morning because of a remain delay, St. Cloud got three runs from Staley and two from Nila Josue in a 10-0 win over Ft. Lauderdale.
Under tournament rules, the eight state championship qualifiers were placed in two fourteam pools. The winner of each pool met on Sunday for the state championship. St. Cloud finished in a tie for first place with Tampa Bay and Paxton with a 2-1 record.
Since the first tiebreaker (head-to-head competition) did not settle the pool winner, the second tie-breaker – runs allowed — was used. Although St. Cloud allowed just 13 runs in the tournament, Tampa Bay gave up just 11 to secure the pool championship.
“It was that close, we came two runs short of taking the tie-breaker,” manager Cory Whitehouse said. “That extra inning loss to Paxton was a heartbreaker , especially when we came back and handled Tampa Bay and Ft. Lauderdale with ease. Still, I am extremely proud of this team for winning a district and sectional championship and coming so close to a state championship.”
It was an impressive post-season for St. Cloud. The All-Stars earned their way to the state championship by defeating South Orange by 12-1 and 13-0 scores to win the District 3 championship. Advancing to sectional play, the team defeated Windermere 17-0 in the semifinals before knocking off Delaney Park by a 23-4 score in the championship game. Valazquez threw a perfect game in the Windermere victory and Staley had a no-hitter in the Delaney Park win.
“This a great experience for our girls and I don’t think it would have been possible without the help of my assistant coaches,” Whitehouse added. “St. Cloud Little League President Debbie Henderson deserves a lot of thanks for putting on a great tournament especially under really trying weather conditions.”
The roster for the sectional champs as seen in the picture with this story, is Assistant Coach Jeremy Vazquez, Arika Reavis, Aubrey Whitehouse, Head Coach Cory Whitehouse, Zoey Valazquez, Brooklyn Murling, Maryann Rodriguez, Ireland Wright, Laice Horseley, Elyssa Staley, Dylan Strauch, Emma Lynn Gaddis, Brielle Parsygnat, Nila Josue, Assistant Coach Tony Staley.
