I mentioned in my previous post how Ellie's softball team placed well enough in Districts to advance to the Southern CA State Softball tournament in lovely Lancaster CA. So over a long weekend (July 9 - 11) we made the trek with the team to Lancaster where it averages about 110 degrees in July.
To play 5 games in that heat over the course of 2-days is no joke. We kept the girls hydrated and bought each girl cooling towels and a couple team misters for the dugout. When we weren't playing ball we were running amok at the Hilton Garden Inn.
The girls did great and out of 34 10U Gold teams from SoCal in the tournament we placed 10th.
Game 1 (Friday): beat El Segundo 3 to 2
Game 2 (Friday): lost to Santee 0 to 12
Game 3 (Saturday): beat San Marcos 5 to 3
Game 4 (Saturday): beat La Costa 6 to 5
Game 5 (Saturday): lost to Carlsbad 0 to 7
By the end of that last game on Saturday evening many of the girls, including Ellie, were emotional wrecks. A lot of heat and pressure will do that to you. Ellie played well throughout the tournament making some key plays and getting some timely hits. I was proud of her.
Unfortunately I didn't get many pics of Ellie playing ball but there was a ceremony Friday night where each team in the tournament was recognized in a parade. Across all age division there were something like 110 teams. It is tradition for each teams to dress-up in costume. I got in the action by dyeing my beard "teal" in honor of our motto (and team colors) "Deal with the Teal". After the parade and each team was recognized the girls got to trade their league pins with other girls from other leagues which created a great memory for Ellie.
And that ends a very intense 8 weeks of softball with Ellie's team. I really enjoyed being part of the coaching staff. Overall, they won 13 games and lost 12. It also closes the chapter on Ellie's 10U softball career. She moves up an age division, to 12U, starting in the Fall.
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