The West Plains Bandits 16U softball team competed in the Pumpkin Classic, Oct. 10 – 11 at Selah’s Carlon Park, earning their way out of their pool into the Gold Bracket before losing in the semifinals to a team from North Idaho.
The Bandits won their bracket opener by knocking off the Northwest Spark 18-6. They lost their second game, a 9-4 setback at the hands of the Menace Guereca, but finished with a 7-4 win over the Clark County Breeze to advance to 16U/18U Gold Bracket play on Sunday.
The Bandits opened Gold Bracket play with a 6-5 win over the Northwest Spark-Williams, rallying with three runs in the top of the fourth and holding on for the victory. In the semis, West Plains ran up against a somewhat familiar foe, the North Idaho Extreme 97, and the team from Coeur d’Alene ended the Bandits run with a 12-0 shutout.
Bandits head coach Byron Pavao said in an email that the North Idaho team was originally not supposed to be playing in the tournament as “they are an 18U Gold team and this was a 16U/18U A/B division.”
“They were later disqualified from winning the 16/18U bracket because they had players switching between the two other 16U/18U teams they brought,” Pavao said. “The (eventual Gold Bracket champions Washington) Force won via disqualification/forfeit. It is disappointing to see the North Idaho Xtreme team/coach/organization willing to win at all costs.”
Pavao said highlights of the tournament included Cheney’s Rachel Barsness hitting .875 on Saturday with a “couple highlight reel double plays.” Medical Lake’s Sarah Mayer batted .571 for the tournament and had an on base percentage of .667.
“We are done playing tournaments for the year and will begin winter practices in December,” Pavao added.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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