Sportswatch

PHOTO BY ERIC SIMS

THE FIFE MILTON EDGEWOOD SENIOR LITTLE LEAGUE TEAM ENJOYS THE MOMENT AS THEY ARE CROWNED STATE CHAMPS.

FME LITTLE LEAGUE SENIORS TAKE STATE

Jordan Zumach, 16 years old, has been playing softball since she was 3. Last week, she enjoyed the rare excitement of winning the fastpitch softball state championship with her teammates from the Fife-Milton-Edgewood Little League, aka FMELL.The team is in the senior division, which includes players ages 14-16. FMELL is one of 12 leagues that makes up District 10 of Washington State Little League, and there are 13 districts within the state.“Oh my,” Jordan said at practice earlier this week, regarding the achievement. “It was just such a great feeling. We have worked so hard and we had a lot of ups and downs this year, but these girls really got it together when it mattered the most.”

Jordan, the daughter of coach Darrin Zumach, is referring to the two back-to-back victories on July 17 against a team from North Kitsap. The doubleheader victory against the team that had defeated them earlier in the tournament earned the FME team the state title and a trip to Butte, Mont., this weekend for the regional tournament and a chance to advance to the nationals.

Jordan, Ashley Derrick and Allyson Lindstrom have been together as teammates since 2004.

“It’s amazing that we made it,” Allyson said. “Not like we didn’t think we could, but we had some games this year when we weren’t at our best and it was, like, we knew we could do it if we kept our focus.”

The team will play at least six games in the regional of the Western District tournament, which includes 13 teams. The two teams with the most wins advance.

The winner of the regional tournament goes on to play the winner of the other four regions across the country, as well as some foreign entries in the league’s “World Series.”

Players for the FME team are Savannah Dena, Ashley Derrick, Kaytlynn Dixon, Allanah Fisher, Sara Heuett, Allyson Lindstrom, Krista Littlefield, Stephanie Martin, Shiann McLellan, Allie Sims, Julia Templeton, and Jordan Zumach.

In addition to Darrin Zumach, the team is coached by Norm Derrick and Dan Littlefield.

– Rick Walter

COBRAS CLINCH TOP PLAYOFF SPOT

Marcus Reed and Jerrell Patterson led a balanced attack on offense, while De Sean McQueen and his defensive line mates contained Cody Oakes and the explosive Bellingham Blitz offense to lead the Tacoma Cobras to a 44-22 win and clinch the top seed into the PDFL playoffs this week against the Portland Thunderbolts at Curtis Vikings Stadium.

Reed rushed for 190 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns. Patterson had two catches for 112 yards and two touchdowns.

“Our offense was a lot more efficient and our D-line did a great job of containing Oakes,” coach Dave McEachern said.

The Cobras will have the home–field advantage for the duration of the playoffs. Tacoma got off to a quick start piling up a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. But Bellingham trimmed that lead to 21-16 at the half. Tacoma’s defense shut down the Blitz running game and forced Oakes to throw constantly for most of the night.

“I can’t say enough about the way our team responded after they cut the deficit to five at the half. Our interior lines on both sides of the ball dominated the game in the second half, and that was huge,” McEachern said.

If Tacoma defeats Portland on July 31 at Curtis (kickoff at 6:30 p.m.), they will face the winner of the Bellingham vs. Boise game on Aug 14 for the PDFL championship.

– Steve Mullen

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