The Washington 8U All-Stars wild run came to an end on Sunday as they bumped into a hard-hitting Wayne County team and fell 17-9. The All-Stars have had an exciting ride during the tourney and coach Scott Campbell said he was thrilled the kids could go home with the bronze.
“I’m very happy with it,” Campbell said. “I never expected this. I was just hoping they would make it to bracket play but I think taking third is pretty darn good.”
The All-Stars battled hard in every game they played and Sunday’s matchup with Wayne County was no different.
Washington began the contest with a three-run first inning, but Wayne County answered with an explosive eight-run rally to go ahead 8-3.
Washington fought back with a five-run rally in the second to tie it up. A two-run hit by Chloe Boyd cut the deficit to 8-6, while RBIs by Erin Everett and Bryan Miller tied the contest at eight.
Boyd finished the game going 3-4 with three RBIs to pace Washington.
“In the second inning we were able to come back and tie the game,” Campbell said. “We tried some small ball on them and it was successful. We got the bases loaded on them and had a couple of big hits and drove in some runs but in the end they were just too strong. They were a really strong hitting team.”
Wayne County was able to rack up two runs in the second and third innings and five runs in the fifth to close out the contest.
The third-place finish was good enough to earn an invite to the regional tournament in Virginia, an offer the team was contemplating as of Sunday.
Overall, Campbell said he was pleased with his team’s progress this summer.
“The strength of them has increased and their fielding abilities has increased so much in about three weeks of play,” Campbell said. “The maturity of the players has grown. You can see them following the plays in their heads and picking up on the game. The players advanced and its fun to watch them evolve.”

Washington    350    01 —    9
Wayne County    822    5X —    17
Hitting: Olivia Paszt 1-4, Lacie Campbell 1-3, Abby Gardner 2-3, Chloe Boyd 3-4, Alexis Spain 2-3, Bryan Miller 1-3, Savannah Hale 2-3, Emory Watkins 2-3.