Seven standout 11- and 12-year-old softball stars lifted Camp Verde’s only Little League majors softball team to wins over Verde Valley and Bagdad and a District 10 Tournament of Champions title June 7.
It was head coach Jody Young’s first Tournament of Champions victory after winning 10 games in the regular season, with the team’s only two losses to Verde Valley Little League majors division teams, the Huskies and Bulldogs — the same team Camp Verde defeated 14-9 in six innings June 7 in the tournament’s first round.
“We pretty much knew Verde Valley was going to be our biggest competition,” Young said. “Our last game against the Bulldogs, we had to steal as many bases as we could — that was our strategy to win the game. As will be in the All-Stars, too, Verde Valley was the real test.”
That test, highlighted by a comeback from a 6-2 second-inning deficit, had to be surmounted and followed with a win over Bagdad a mere three-and-a-half hours after the 4 p.m. start against the Bulldogs.
“When we’re down by runs, we can’t fall apart as a team,” she said. “We have to stick together and get through it. They all just played awesome: We got caught up around the third inning.”
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, June 18, issue of the Camp Verde Journal.
