The Magnolia 10-year-old all-stars had an impressive three-win opening to the District 8 tournament before finally falling to the tournament champions. Nevertheless, the team played hard throughout the tournament, impressing fans as well as their opponents with smart, tenacious defense and tough pitching.
This year Magnolia Little League chose 12 10-year-olds from the ranks of Majors and AAA divisions to form an all-star team. The team represented Magnolia in the 14-team District 8 tournament, with the winner advancing to the state tournament. This year's team was coached by John Ulacia and Matt Murphy, who between them boast more than 25 years of baseball coaching experience.
The team practiced for two weeks, with only a few days off. Practices were focused on fundamentals, with extensive warm-ups, throwing and fielding drills, along with hours of infield and outfield practice.
Assistant coaches were also critical to getting the team in shape. Mario Brockl threw batting practice most days, while Elissa Heller lofted hundreds of balls skyward to drill the outfielders on proper fly-ball technique.
Later on, the team worked on more subtle points of the game such as backing up throws, situational defensive play with runners on, coaching signs and proper positioning with a runner in a "pickle."
In their first game July 1 against Queen Anne, the team displayed error-free defense and six strong innings of pitching by Jack Murphy, who struck out eight and walked only one. The boys got off to an early lead, and key defensive plays shut down QA.
In the third inning, with a runner on third, shortstop Keenan Heller stabbed a fast grounder, checked the runner, then threw to Sam Deane at first to record an out. The runner at third took off for home, and Deane nailed the runner at the plate, with catcher Nick Reeves applying the tag to complete the double play.
Reeves also had the longest hit of the game, a deep shot into left-center field that bounced over the fence for a ground-rule double. Magnolia ultimately triumphed 6-1.
The next day, Magnolia faced the Northwest League all-stars. Deane pitched a complete game and held Northwest scoreless through the first five innings. The team got off to an early three-run lead on the strength of four straight hits including a clutch 2-RBI single by John DeGarmo. Another double play-from Heller to Jack Murphy at first to John Reed at third-stopped a NW rally. Jordan Dale and Eliott Brockl had back-to-back RBI singles in the fifth inning to seal the 8-4 victory.
In their third game, against an undefeated Kenmore team, Magnolia rallied to overcome a 3-0 deficit and post another victory. Critical hits by John Peterson and Peter Rakita keyed a four-run third inning.
A late Kenmore rally was cut short by back-to-back spectacular running outfield catches by Jimmy Sheldrup and Andrew Kennedy to preserve a 6-3 win. Murphy pitched his second complete game and hit his third double of the tournament.
The neighborhood team's run ended with back-to-back losses to eventual champion West Woodinville and then runner-up Northeast. Although these games produced fewer highlights, a notable moment was Sheldrup's solo homerun over the centerfield fence against Northeast, one of the longest hits of the tournament.
"Matt and I are proud of our team's performance, " coach Ulacia said. "Finishing third out of 14 teams is quite an accomplishment. Our kids learned a lot, played tough defense and didn't commit a single error in their first three games. It was a lot of fun for the kids, coaches and parents.
"Best of luck to West Woodinville in the state tournament," coach Ulacia added.
Full District 8 tournament results are available at www.d8umpires.org.[[In-content Ad]]
