Local all-stars prevail at districts

The 11- and 12-year-old all-star softball team comprised of Bennett’s Creek Little League and Chesapeake Little League players made the most of a helping hand it received from the Suffolk community.

Donations helped the squad participate in the Virginia District 6 Little League Softball Tournament last week in Portsmouth, where the girls showed both dominance and tenacity on their way to going 3-0, winning the event.

The local all-stars defeated the Olive Branch Little League 11- and 12-year-old all-stars 6-5 in the championship game to advance to the state tournament.

“They played really well,” manager Bryan Gill said of his team. “It was a fight.”

In order to put the team in position to win, “we had some people make key plays at the right time,” Gill said.

While the local all-stars never trailed in the game, they fell into a 5-5 tie in the top of the fourth inning. In the bottom of the fourth, Madison Wright got on base as her team had one out, then she stole second and third to get in scoring position.

When Chesapeake Little League’s Kanizah Riddick came up to bat, she hit a sacrifice fly as Madison scored the go-ahead run.

Gill said the overall deciding factor in the game was his team’s pitching. Kailey Dorcsis of Chesapeake Little League threw 11 strikeouts in the contest, which was a duplication of what she accomplished the game before.

Niya Velez was a strong contributor in the title game, scoring three runs on offense. Defensively, “She did really good on third, too,” Gill said.

One girl made a key impact as a pinch-hitter.

“Madeline Lape had a triple in the third that knocked in two runs,” Gill said. “She came in just to bat one time, and she hit that clutch triple.”

Though many players on the squad had been all-star teammates last year, the tournament represented the first time the group had played together this year. It hit the ground blazing in game one with a 26-1 victory over the Western Branch Little League 11- and 12-year-old all-stars.

Before facing the Olive Branch all-stars in the championship, the local all-stars sent them to the losers’ bracket via a 10-4 defeat.

Madison Wright was a standout throughout the tournament. She pitched early in game one, before settling in at shortstop later. Through three games on offense, she scored seven runs.

But Gill also noted his stat book showed a team full of key contributors.

Showing solidarity on the way to the state tourney, the girls described themselves as “13 players with one heartbeat.”

The team used a car wash and a cornhole tournament over the weekend to help raise money to go to the 2014 Virginia State Little League Softball Tournament in McLean, running July 10-16. But the squad also had other help.

“The Suffolk community really rallied around us,” Gill said. “We had several local businesses make fairly good-sized donations to help us out on the trip.”