The Española Little League All-Stars for ages nine through 11, took home a third place finish in the state softball tournament, July 16, as they won their first two games, but ended up dropping their last two to exit, before the championship game.
The All-Stars won their district against the Pojoaque All-Stars, July 1, and received the honor of participating in the state tournament from July 14 through 17, in Gallup.
For their first-round game, the Española contingent matched up against the Las Vegas All-Stars, and came out with a commanding 17-7 victory. They carried that momentum to the next game, when they faced off against the Diné Nation All-Stars and came away with a 19-3 victory.
Throughout the tournament, Española produced some significant offensive stats. Kylie Torrez produced a hit on 13 of her 16 at-bats, and she had 12 stolen bases in the Gallup tournament.
But that early momentum faded away as Española played the Copper Little League All-Stars, from Silver City. This game was technically the semi-finals, and a win here would have launched Española into the championship game.
However, they came up short against Copper, losing 2-12, July 15, which knocked them into the loser’s bracket for the double-elimination tournament.
“In the end, I think our pitchers were a little tired from the two days prior,” coach Leonard Torrez said of the game. He added that because the usually reliable pitchers were tired, the team gave up too many walks, which put the Copper runners into scoring positions without their needing to hit.
In Little League softball, the pitching restrictions are more relaxed than in Little League baseball. Each pitcher is allowed to pitch for six innings every day, instead of there being a designated pitch count that they cannot go above.
Española’s starting pitcher throughout the tournament was Estrella Diaz, who pitched six innings per day, for three consecutive days.
“She (Diaz) really pulled the load for the majority of the tournament for us,” Leonard Torrez said.
After Española lost to Copper, they played the Belen Little League All-Stars, July 16, in perhaps the most exciting game of the tournament.
Española fell behind with an initial deficit of 12-0, but came back in the bottom of the fourth inning to rally and tie the game at 12. The high scoring continued for the remainder of the game, as Española lost 16-25.
“Again, the pitching caught up with us, and the walks compiled,” Leonard Torrez said.
Copper defeated Belen in the championship game, July 17, and they will continue on to the Southwest regionals on July 27 in Waco, Texas.