WILSON COUNTY, N.C. — It just wasn’t to be for the 2009 Port Angeles 12U All-Star softball team.
In its final pool game at the Babe Ruth League World Series, Port Angeles lost 8-2 to Plaquemine, La., to get knocked out of the tournament.
The North Olympic team, the second Port Angeles squad in this age group to qualify for the World Series, won its first game Thursday but lost the next three to go 1-3 in pool play.
That record kept Port Angeles from advancing to the championship bracket, which starts Tuesday.
The top three teams in both divisions moved on to the double-elimination championship round.
“We ran into some good teams,” North Olympic manager Randy Steinman said, “that was the bottom line.”
Port Angeles finished 12-4 in postseason action after winning the Babe Ruth state and regional titles.
The team, which featured outstanding hitting, ran into stiff pitching and tremendous speed at the World Series.
“They put some pressure on us and we made mistakes,” Steinman said.
But the Port Angeles club enjoyed itself tremendously, according to Steinman.
“The girls had a blast,” he said. “It has been a great opportunity for these girls, and it has been a good learning experience,” he said.
Most players from this level will move up to the 16U team, where they will have a few more opportunities to qualify for the World Series.
The weather cooperated, for the most part, for Port Angeles, with the temperature hovering around the high 80s for most of the week before shooting up to the 90s on Saturday.
It got to a high of 98 degrees with high humidity on Sunday and was set to hit 101 degrees today.
That’s one reason the Port Angeles team is heading to the North Carolina beach today.
At the World Series, Port Angeles beat Dover, N.H., 6-4, in the first round before losing 12-8 to North Carolina state champion Kinston/Lenoir on Friday, 10-2 to D.C. Everest, Wisc., on Saturday, and 8-2 to Plaquemine on Sunday.
Dusti Lucas pitched the first four innings of Sunday’s game while Hannah Stewart threw the final two innings.
Lois Harding, named MVP of the game for Port Angeles, went 2-for-3 with a double to lead the offense while Ashlee Reid was 2-for-4 with a double and Sarah Steinman went 1-for-3 with a double.
Port Angeles has tickets to take a flight back Friday but the team will try to come home sooner if it can get tickets for an earlier flight, Steinman said.
