12U All-Stars finish second at SE Regional

Published 2:30 pm Monday, July 21, 2014

WAYNE PEEL | CONTRIBUTED

WAYNE PEEL | CONTRIBUTED

MORGANTON — The Eastern Division Champion Washington 12U All-Star softball team entered the Southeast Regional Tournament with an impeccable resume, an experienced coaching staff and an ingrained desire to win.

It was an unrelenting desire incased in every at bat, every defensive play and every softball Abbi Tucker and Summer Campbell hurled towards home plate. The goal was nothing short of a regional championship.

A week removed from winning the state title, Washington picked up right where it left off with a statement win against the No. 3 seed in the pool, Union County, on Wednesday. The duo of Tucker and Campbell held the Heat to just one run, while recording nine strikeouts.

With rain in the forecast for Friday, Washington needed to stay hot in a Thursday doubleheader to move on to the knockout stage. Again, the offense outscored both opponents by double digits, while Campbell proved virtually unhittable in Game 1 against Rockville (Va.) and Tucker notched nine strikeouts in Game 2 against Shenandoah (Va.). Both pitchers gave up just one run in their respective outings.

It was a formula head coach Dallis Tucker and Washington has obeyed throughout the season: send one of his two aces to the mound and let the offense do the work. Against Tavares (Fla.) on Saturday, Campbell pitched a masterful six innings, allowing just a handful of base runners and striking out five, while Tavaras’ starter gave up just one run in the bottom of the fifth.

“Those two girls are our bread and butter,” said coach Tucker, referring to his pair of starters. “Before the last game, in five games they gave up three runs. That’s in the Southeast Regionals. We just had to put the ball in play and win and the defense behind them this year was absolutely unbelievable.”

Despite the lack of offense against Tavaras, coach Tucker’s team moved into the knockout stage boasting a 4-0 record in the National Division, as neighboring Pitt County also exited the American Division undefeated as well.

A 1-0-Washington win over Bunker Hill and a Pitt County win over Shenandoah in the semi-final games set up a rematch of the Eastern Division Championship game in the Southeast Regional final.

Washington, who had beaten Pitt County on two other occasions this season, had to knock off its rival one more time to clinch a spot in the Babe Ruth Softball World Series.

Unlike the last meeting, Pitt County’s bats got to Campbell early, plating two runs in the top of the first on a walk, single and a double by Madison Bowers. Facing a deficit for the first time in the tournament, Desiree Maurizzo, Campbell and Tucker responded with three-straight singles in the bottom half of the inning to ignite the Washington offense. Mauirzzo and Campbell eventually came around to score.

“They came out and hit the ball very well. It’s hard to beat somebody three times,” coach Tucker said. “After that first inning, we seemed to hit it to them more than we did anywhere else. I think we only had one strikeout. The rest were all hard-hit balls … we just couldn’t find a gap.”

On two walks, a hit and some sloppy fielding, Pitt County posted another three runs in the second, a lead Washington would struggle to chip away at.

Campbell and, later in the fifth, Tucker shut down the opposing offense through the final four innings, but Washington failed to push across a run. Pitt County would win, 5-2, and book its ticket to Alachua, Fla.

“I’m very proud of our girls for coming together and playing so well against the region, being a small community,” coach Tucker said.

Despite the World Series invitational snub, Washington finishes its season with an impressive 15-1 record.