With the Dixie Youth Softball state tournament not until mid-July, the Columbia 8u all-stars took the field in a different affiliation the past two weekends to gain some extra experience and exposure to good competition.
This past weekend in Magee, the Darlings played seven games in a two-day span to earn third place in the USSSA All-State Tournament in a crowded 16-team event.
“There’s a couple of teams we played this weekend that we will be playing in the Dixie tournament. There were a couple of different teams, but the competition was about the same overall,” head coach Kyle Wilks said. “Obviously we would have loved to finish higher, but a 16-team tournament in two days in that kind of heat it’s still an accomplishment to finish where we did.”
Columbia 8u began Saturday with a back-and-forth affair with second-place finisher Magee but ultimately fell 14-13. The all-star squad responded with back-to-back blowout victories over Mendenhall 13-2 and Pike County 16-1 to conclude Saturday’s action.
However, the Columbia all-stars started Sunday’s action with a 16-7 loss to eventual tournament champion Northside Park (Philadelphia). With their backs against the wall and needing wins to continue playing, the sluggers crushed Wesson 18-7 and Pike County 17-8 to set up a semifinal matchup with Magee. However, Magee got the upper hand once again and eliminated Columbia 12-4.
“We played good, but we didn’t hit the ball like we’re capable of. We had a couple games where we had a couple miscues on defense, but it was a long, hot weekend and played well for the most part,” Wilks said. “It was good practice for us leading up to the Dixie state tournament in a few weeks, so it was good for us to play some good competition.”
The weekend prior on June 15 and June 16, though, the Columbia 8u All-Stars dominated the USSSA Pearl All-Star Tournament, going 5-0 to claim the first-place trophy and outscored their opponents a combined 84-28.
Columbia knocked off Lawrence County 19-11, Northwest Rankin (Brandon) 18-1, Vicksburg 16-4, Wesson 15-4 and Lawrence County in the championship 16-8 in the 11-team tournament.
The Columbia 8u all-stars will take a couple weeks off before playing in the Dixie Youth Softball State Tournament in Mendenhall, which begins July 13.
The all-star squad includes Macie Wilks #15, Macey Branch #5, Ellie Miller #54, Kate Fortenberry #20, Malea Martin #11, Maycee McKenzie #13, X’Zayiah Buckley #2, Laleigh Duncan #14, Rebekah White #22, Griffyn Harmon #12, Grace Bennett #1 and Carter Harrison #99 and coaches Kelli Harmon, Todd Harmon and Jorge Miller.
