VPGSA 8U All-Stars move on to PONY World Series

For the Ville Platte eight and under all-stars, advancing to the PONY World Series was definitely a goal at the beginning of the post-season.
Well, that goal has been achieved, as the young ladies from “Flat Town” have punched a ticket to that same World Series beginning on Wednesday July 13 in Youngsville.
The all-stars had to battle back through the loser’s bracket, but found the drive and determination possible to garner a second place finish in this past weekend’s regional tournament held in Crowley.
That second place finish guaranteed them a spot in the World Series and gave the team some reinforced confidence that they could fight through an adverse situation.
“We did not play well our first game Sunday,” said head coach Jason Fontenot. “That is unusual for us, because we usually play pretty well in the morning games. But, give it to the girls, they really fought hard the rest of the tournament and put themselves in position to take the tournament title. Unfortunately, we just fell a little short in the championship game. I am so proud of them and how they handled the grind of the entire tournament.”
Ville Platte opened the tournament on Friday in pool play. Their very first game, the all-stars came out with a definite winning attitude, as they strode past North Vermilion 17-7.
Pool game number two was a little tougher for Ville Platte. However, the all-stars played excellent defense on their way to an 8-1 win over the host team Crowley.
Bracket play began on Saturday and in game one, Ville Platte showed that they were going to carry the momentum over from Friday. The all-stars ran roughshod over Texas by the score of 16-0.
An easy win in game one did not translate in game two, as Ville Platte had to hold off a determined Crowley team for a 6-5 win.
In that game, Ville Platte actually trailed Crowley 5-4 going into the bottom of the fourth inning. The all-stars managed to squeeze through two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to take the one run lead and then held off Crowley in the top of the fifth to secure the win.
The first bracket game on Sunday did not bode well for Ville Platte. The all-stars came out flat and took a hard 10-2 loss on the chin from Gonzales.
Ville Platte rebounded in a huge way in their next contest against Iowa. The all-stars struck early and often in big 12-1 win.
Another tough opponent stood in the wings for the next bracket game. The Youngsville all-stars mounted a quick 4-2 lead, but Ville Platte fought back and secured an 8-6 win to continue advancing in the tournament.
A chance to reach the championship game was on the line in the next bracket game for Ville Platte. The only thing standing in the way was a Gonzales team that had defeated Ville Platte earlier in the day.
However, Ville Platte dug deep inside and found some much needed offense in a 13-4 win. With the victory, the all-stars now were guaranteed second place, but were looking for more against an undefeated Rayne team.
In the championship game, Ville Platte fell behind early to Rayne and could not muster the needed offense late in the game, as they lost in a close 10-7 game.
Ville Platte surrendered two runs to Rayne in the bottom of the first, but managed to cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning.
Rayne scrapped their way to three more runs in the bottom of the second, and then proceeded to hold Ville Platte scoreless in the bottom half of the inning.
Ville Platte bested Rayne in the third inning, outscoring the Acadia Parish all-stars 3-1 to make the score 6-4. The Evangeline Parish crew repeated that scenario in the fourth inning to tie the game at seven runs apiece.
But, it was all Rayne in the fifth and final inning, as they tacked on three more runs and subsequently held Ville Platte scoreless to claim the win and the title.
“It was a great experience for the team,” said Fontenot. “We are going to now prepare ourselves for the World Series. We have a few things to work on, but we will be ready for the next challenge.”