The Columbia 10u softball all-stars battled their first adversity of the summer in the USSSA Southern National Sunday in Picayune but bounced back to be crowned champions.
After falling into the losers’ bracket with a 3-1 loss to Petal in the second round of bracket play, Columbia 10u went on a tear and got revenge in the championship with an 8-1 victory over Petal.
“This group has been together for a while and won state in 6u and won it again in 8u. Now having a chance to win 10u state and also win this Southern regional it just shows to me how much hard work the kids have put in and how much hard work the parents have put in making sure all these kids continue to work, improve and get better,” head coach Kyle Wilks said.
The all-stars began Saturday morning in pool play with a 14-0 win over Picayune and an 8-7 victory over Wayne County. The all-stars topped Sumrall 7-1 in the first bracket game Sunday before losing to Petal 3-1 to enter the losers’ bracket. They battled their way out with a 1-0 win over Semmes (Ala.) and a 5-0 victory over Sumrall to reach the championship where they claimed the title and got redemption.
“Since we started (USSSA) we got the chance to play some different teams, and they responded to it well,” Wilks said. “To go down to Picayune and play in the Southern Nationals, we played really good. We started out kind of slow Sunday in pool play and got beat, but we got it going after that and beat some good teams.”
Columbia 10u finished the summer 19-1 and ranked No. 1 in the nation in USSSA’s power rankings.
Pictured Above: Columbia 10 includes, not in order, Macey Branch, Izzy Pittman, Caydance Brumfield, Emma Sanders, Maddie Edwards, Maggie Smith, Kate Fortenberry, Kady Stringer, Malea Martin, Macie Wilks and Ellie Miller and coaches Paul Stringer, Danny Wilks and Kyle Wilks.
