What A Run!

Well, it's over. Tonight we lost to Portland which put us out of the tournament. But what a run we made!

Undefeated in the district, facing elimination after the first night of the state tournament, and yet these girls summoned the courage to continue their quest. As they all lined up along first base line to receive their parting gifts and just before having to go remove their banner from the fence, I walked the line, looked each of them in the eye and said, "I'm proud of you. You are a champion!"

In my book they are champions and I wouldn't trade a single one of them.

We are. . . Wayne County!

All is well in the softball universe, at least the Wayne County Softball universe that is. We bounced back admirably tonight following last nights trip to the wood shed.

Tonight we beat Decatur County 4-1 in a game that never was in question. It would have been easy for the girls to lay down, say they'd had a good time, and relish in the honor that comes from just making it to the state tournament. Not our girls, they came here to win and they showed it tonight. Our victory puts us among the top five teams in the state and gave us the reputation that we are not a team that gives up when up against the wall.

Every game we play now is an elimination game. We lose, we go home. The girls seem to relish the position we are in. Our battle cry has become, "We are. . . Wayne County!" An homage to the Thundering Herd of Marshall University who refused to give up in the face of adversity. While the heights we must climb are nothing when compared to that of those who carried the torch for a devastated Marshall team, we do have mountains to climb.

We are the smallest community represented here, we are the first team from Wayne County to ever earn a bid to the Dixie Youth State tournament in softball, and not many people have given us a chance. We refuse to listen to the reasons why we cannot win but instead we choose to focus on why not. Why not Wayne County?

These girls are special. They all have contributed something positive to each win we have notched in our belt this far, that is what a team does. We may be from a small town, but our desire to win is by no means small. We may be the first, but someone always must blaze the way.

So again I ask, Why not Wayne County? I can't think of a single reason why.

Tough Loss

We had a tough game tonight, however the score doesn't reflect our effort. Getting beat 14-0 is hard to swallow. But we hit the ball hard, it just so happened that Pleasant View had someone standing everywhere we hit. Our defense could have been better, we made several errors both mental and physical.

Tomorrow is a new day and we are in this to win! We play Decatur Co. At 6:00.

State Tournament: Opening Ceremony

The girls had a great time at the Opening Ceremony to the state tournament! We all enjoyed a meal with barbecue and all the fixings. Following the meal, the seven teams in the tournament were introduced to the cheers of all their supporters in attendance. All the girls received a poster with their team picture that commemorates the accomplishment of earning a state tournament berth.

This was a night that these girls will never forget. Tomorrow we begin our journey. Our first game is against Pleasant View, last years state champions, first pitch is at 6:00 PM.

On Our Way!

Since Reagan, my ten-year-old daughter, was four, she has played softball. I have been blessed each year with the opportunity to coach her team. We have always had fun and a little success along the way. We have won a few league championships and played on All-Star teams, but never made it past our local district tournament.

This year we've done it! Tonight we won our district tournament and earned a place in the state tournament. We not only won, we were undefeated, beating every team in the tournament.

I couldn't be prouder! These girls worked hard all year with this goal in mind. It was amazing watching these girls use their God given talents, they played so well that, at times, you forgot that they were all just nine and ten years old.

If you see these girls around, give them a pat on the back and wish them luck. They are true champions.

Here they are in no particular order: Reagan Skelton, Sam Skelton, Haley Morris, Madison Keating, Cristin Brewer, Cassie Mathis, Ashley Bumphus, Ashley Templeton, Mckenzie Rich, Mia Robertson, Maranda Keeton, and Shalayna Bratcher.