Riding the wave

As the saying goes, you want to peak at the right time of the season.
But, for the Ville Platte Girl’s Softball Association 10-and-under all-stars, the peak has been reached and now they are just trying to ride the wave of success all the way back to the World Series.
The all-stars are coming off of their third successive tournament title after going undefeated once again in bracket play at the Kaplan tournament and that has head coach Shane Darbonne brimming with excitement about his team’s effort over the past three weekends.
“I am really fired up about this team,” stated Darbonne. “The level of play that these young ladies are at is amazing to see. The last few tournaments we have had other teams come and watch us play. They have really been getting better every single game.”
This team is not your typical 10-and-under all-star team. All of these young ladies are actually playing as nine year-olds. That means that they are facing off against opposing teams that are one year older than they are.
But, these young ladies are not unfamiliar with success. Eight of the twelve players were on the all-star team that took home the World Series championship last year as eight year-olds.
“Having a major part of our team know what it is to be successful is a big contributing factor in how we are playing this year,” commented Darbonne. “The maturity level and commitment of every one of the players is beyond their ages. They are very competitive, but know how to have fun playing the game and how to handle any adversity.”
That adversity has only resulted in one loss this season; that loss coming in a pool play game (warm-up game) to Mamou this past weekend. But that loss was eventually avenged in a bracket game later in the tournament.
As eight year-olds this group of young, talented players were in a league where the pitcher was a coach and the ball was delivered over the plate almost 100 percent of the time. However, competing as 10 year-olds, the game is totally different. Now, they must face a pitcher and know the ins and outs of the fast pitch game.
But, according to Darbonne, so far there has been only one obstacle that the players have had to overcome in their transition to the next level.
“Really the only thing that we had to get used to was the fact that we were only nine and we would have to compete against teams that would have older players,” said Darbonne. “They have really adjusted to the game, especially on defense. From our pitching to our catching to the rest of the players out on the field, we have really played outstanding defense. That is the major reason why we continue to play well.”
That defense was evident this past weekend, as the all-stars ran through bracket play. In their first bracket game, the ladies had to flash the leather and hold off their old nemesis Rayne in a 2-1 victory.
Rayne scored first and led 1-0 after one inning of play. Ville Platte rallied, plating single runs in the third and fifth innings to secure the win.
Game two saw Ville Platte break out the bats in a big way, as they powered past Kaplan 14-1. The offensive barrage for Ville Platte started in the first inning, as they belted their way to 12 runs. The all-stars added two more runs in the second to close out the scoring.
Going into game three, Ville Platte had revenge on their minds, as they faced off against Mamou. Ville Platte scored 10 runs in the first inning, motoring their way to a 10-0 win over their intra-parish rivals.
The championship game saw Ville Platte face a familiar foe once again, as the all-stars battled Rayne for the title. This time Ville Platte wasted no time in putting away Rayne, taking a 4-1 lead after one inning of play in a 7-3 win. The game was never close after that, as Ville Platte added runs in the second and fourth innings to seal the championship.
Ville Platte will be at home this weekend, as they compete in the PONY Sectional tournament beginning on Friday and running through Sunday. The Ville Platte Recreation District is the host for this huge event.