The Ville Platte 10-year-old All-Starts went to Harlingen, Texas and battled through a war zone to come out on top and win the nationals. They battled teams from all throughout Texas and even some very tough competition from Louisiana. They had to battle through eight grueling games in the heat, sun, and, at times, the rain.

They took on the All-Stars from Lake Travis, Texas in game one. Ville Platte put things together and pulled away with a 3-0 victory. Karli Grace Fontenot got the win in the first game. She fanned five batters and allowed just one runner to reach base.

Ville Platte scored all three runs in the same inning. Emilyse Bergeron walked and stole her way around the horn. Kaitlyn Bergeron did the same thing after she singled her way on base, making it 2-0. Fontenot helped her cause when she walked and scored on a single from Kelsey Tate.

The local girls crushed the Tri-City All-Stars 10-0 in their second game. Olivia Hernandez went 2-2 at the plate and scored twice. Ville Platte scored four runs in the first inning, five runs in the second inning and one in the third inning to overcome their Texas opponent.

Kelsey Tate got the win in the circle. She fanned five batters and allowed just one hit.

In game three, Ville Platte flew by the Oakhill Adrenaline 11-1. Karli Grace Fontenot and Kailey Doucet combined for the win in the circle. However, it was the offense that exploded for 11 runs over the course of four innings. Hernandez and Soileau led the show. Hernandez was 2-3 at the plate with a pair of doubles and she scored twice. Soileau was 2-4 at the plate. She hit a pair of doubles and scored twice. Doucet also doubled in the game. Camille Fontenot scored three times in the game.

Liberty Hill of Texas stood in the way of Ville Platte and Rayne clashing in the biggest game of the tournament. Ville Platte smashed Liberty Hill 16-0. Whitney Tate fired a perfect game for the local girls. She fanned five batters.

Ville Platte scored four runs in the first inning and seven runs in the second to go up 11-0. They added five more runs in the third frame. Whitney Tate went 2-2 at the plate with a triple. She also scored three times. Emilyse Bergeron also doubled in the game and scored twice. Blair Lafleur doubled and scored in the third inning.

Ville Platte and Rayne collided in game five. Both teams were undefeated and both teams knew it would be a good game. Ville Platte sent Tate back to the circle to face Rayne’s Sidney Simon.

Ville Platte missed a chance to score in the first inning when Soileau tripled with two outs. Then, in the third frame, Hernandez reached on a error and got all the way to third base with only one out.

Rayne made the most of their first chance to score. A single with two outs was followed by a double. That allowed the girls from Acadia Parish to score a run and go up 1-0. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Rayne scored one more run. A single from Simon got things started. After back-to-back fielder’s choices, she found her way home on a passed ball.

The 2-0 lead would stand and Ville Platte suffered their first loss of the event. However, it would not be the last time they met the girls from Rayne.

Ville Platte met Harlingen Extreme in the elimination game. With a chance to meet Rayne again Ville Platte came ready to play. They defeated Harlingen 8-2 by taking advantage of any mistake the Texas-based team made. In the top of the first inning, Ville Platte scored four runs. Hernandez and Camille Fontenot each walked and scored later in the inning to get things going. Emilyse Fontenot and Karli Lafleur also reached base and scored in the inning.

Ville Platte had great pitching from Whitney Tate and Karli Lafleur in the game. The duo combined for eight strikeouts. The offense did the rest.

VP scored three runs in the third inning and one run in the fourth inning. Camille Fontenot went on to score twice in the game and so did Lafleur.

The win allowed Ville Platte to meet Rayne in a position in which they had to win back-to-back games, because Rayne was undefeated. Ville Platte sent Tate back to the circle in the first game. She struck out eight batters and allowed no runs to come home.

Ville Platte’s offense got rolling early. They score three runs in the first inning. Hernandez singled and scored on a hit from Soileau. A hit from Tate kept the inning going and moments later a hit from Lafleur cleared the bases.

Hernandez singled and scored in the second inning. A hit from Camille Fontenot brought Hernandez home to make it a 4-0 contest. Two more runs came home for Ville Plate in the third inning for the local girls. Lafleur walked and Kaitlyn Bergeron singled with one out. Kaily Doucet later drove both runners home.

Hernandez, Soileau and Tate each finished the game with 2-3 performances at the plate. The 6-0 win handed Rayne their first loss and Ville Platte had a ton of momentum going for them.

The only way to describe Whitney Tate’s performance in the circle in the second game is amazing. She fanned 14 batters and allowed just one hit. She made all but one out in the game.

Ville Platte scored six runs in their first trip to the plate. Hernandez was hit by a pitch and things started from there. Camille Fontenot singled and Soileau finished with a walk. Tate hit a ball right by the left fielder and emptied the bases. The inning would continue as Lafleur and Tobi Landry scored moments later.

VP added a run in the second inning. Emilyse Fontenot singled and scored on a double from Kelsey Tate. In the third inning, Anna Grace Tuminaro walked and scored on a hit from Hernandez.

Ville Platte’s amazing performance in the finals was nothing less than heroic. Despite the elements and the opponents, they never gave up. They simply kept pushing for more and in the end they achieved their goal.

“What these girls have done this summer has been awesome,” said Head Coach Jessie Fontenot. “They won the VP all-star tournament, won the Crowley all-star tournament, won the Mamou all-star tournament and the National Championship. All of the pitchers: Whitney Tate, Camille Fontenot, and Karli Grace Fontenot threw several complete game shutouts and Karli threw a perfect game in the Mamou tournament. We scored a total of 284 runs and gave up only 27 throughout the entire summer. We accomplished all of this with 12 girls on the team and four of them were nine year olds. So we have plenty returning for next year!”