Great showing gives VPGSA 8U All-Stars runner-up position

With another fine performance on the field, the VPGSA eight and under all-stars claimed the runner-up title for the PONY sectional tournament held this past weekend in Ville Platte.
The all-stars fought hard throughout the tournament, losing only two games; one pool play game and the championship.
“I thought we played well the entire tournament, despite the loss in the finals,” said head coach Jason Fontenot. “I really think that the heat and the fact that we had to wait almost two hours between the semi-final game and the championship was a factor in the loss. It seemed as if we did not play with a lot of energy in the last game.”
In most tournaments, pool play games are basically practice games to gear a team up for bracket play. However, in the sectional tournament the pool play games counted toward each team’s seeding heading into the bracket part of the tournament. So, all games counted for something this past weekend.
Ville Platte got off to a great start in their first pool game. The all-stars hammered home a huge 17-2 win over Youngsville.
Ville Platte next faced a tough Rayne all-star team in the second pool game of the tournament. Rayne proved to be one run better, as Ville Platte fell in a tough 13-12 loss.
Ville Platte got back on track in their first bracket game of the tournament with a resounding 12-3 win over Youngsville.
The all-stars continued their winning streak in bracket play with a 9-1 win over Gonzales. In that game Ville Platte scored all of their runs in the second and third innings of play.
The next game saw Ville Platte face Rayne for the second time. While Rayne could only put up single digits, Ville Platte put up crooked numbers in three innings to take the 9-3 win.
The all-stars blasted the ball in semi-finals to overpower Scott 13-0. But, Rayne gained revenge in the championship by outlasting Ville Platte 7-3.
Ville Platte will take part in the regional tournament to be held starting Friday in Crowley.
“We are going to need to put the ball in play when we have runners in scoring position if we want to have a chance to win regionals,” stated Fontenot. “Also we have to get better at fielding the ball cleanly on defense.”