Pitt County All-Star teams dominated the Eastern Division State Championship earlier this month, taking all six age classifications, but the county’s 12U team will have to get through the Washington 12U All-Stars for a third-straight time this summer to keep its World Series hopes alive. Despite Washington’s apparent youth, it’s a task that won’t come easy.

With just one returning player from last season’s state championship team, one that defeated Pitt County 5-2 in the title game, the 2015 version of the Washington All-Stars has all but mirrored the success of their forerunner, taking second place in both the District 6 Tournament in Chocowinity and the Eastern Division State Tournament in Winterville (June 27-July 1) and boasting an overall record of 10-4.

“The development of our young team has definitely been a building process,” said head coach Franz Holscher. “I believe it would be accurate to say that many thought this year would simply be a learning experience to build on for next year, given the age of most of our girls. From the very beginning, our coaches set very specific, realistic goals for the team. In the District Tournament, we met those specific goals.  In the State Tournament, the girls exceeded our goals.”

An unusual amount of offense coupled with consistent pitching has been the storyline for a young Washington team this summer. Hannah Daniel and Savanna Craft use their plus fastball to challenge opposing lineups, while Sidney O’Neal and Emma Tucker have been reliable backstops throughout the season.

The offensive punch has been generated Cameron Rose, Cierra Linton and Sidney O’Neal, along with returning 12U All-Star starter Grace Paszt. Defensively, it’s been Mary Emma Holscher up the middle who has anchored the infield by limiting errors, while Janna McHargue and Kipper Case have provided speed on the base paths.

At the state tournament, the 12U team barreled its way through pool play with a 4-0 record, knocking off South Greenville (13-3), New Bern (17-0), Laurinbury (11-1) and Wilson County (3-2) in extra innings. The strong pool performance advanced Washington to the double-elimination round as the No. 1 seed.

The success continued in the bracket, as the 12U All-Stars routed East Beaufort, 10-0, before falling to perennial power Pitt County, 7-2, in the second round. The loss shoveled the all-stars into the loser’s bracket, where the met county foe East Beaufort once again. Washington came through with a 6-2 victory, aligning a matchup with Pitt County in the championship game.

“Needless to say, we were all very impressed with the way this young team navigated the ENC State Tournament,” Holscher said. In fact, in our first game against Pitt County which is a much older, more experienced team that I understand has been planning on going to the World Series for quite some time, we were tied 3-3 going into the bottom of the fifth inning. I think that performance really opened some eyes.  We are very proud of what they have already accomplished.”

The Washington All-Stars fell to the District 7 champions, but the run impressed the Babe Ruth World Series committee, which offered a bid to the 2015 Babe Ruth World Series in Alachua, Fla., from July 29 to Aug. 5, a bid the coaching staff graciously accepted.

“It’s hard to know what to expect when you will be competing against teams from all over the country that you know very little about,” Holscher said. “Once we get there and analyze what we are facing, we will set some specific, realistic goals. However, our coaches have told the girls that we expect them to represent their community well, continue to play hard with a winning attitude and have fun.

“The challenge will be surviving pool play. If we survive pool play, who knows what might happen if these girls continue to improve as players and as a team.”

The Washington 12U All-Stars are the third team from Beaufort County to accept a bid to the Babe Ruth Softball World Series, joining the Chocowinity 16U All-Stars and the Washington 8U All-Stars.

As part of its fundraising efforts to offset the cost for the World Series, the team is conducting a 50-50 raffle and will hold a car wash on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at the old P&G building beside Lee Chevrolet. For more information, contact Amy Craft at 252-943-9067.