On June 17-18, the Forks Spartans 10U fastpitch team played in the state tournament in Olympia at Stevens Field. The Lady Spartans finished with three wins and two losses for a respectable fifth-place finish in the double elimination tournament.

On Saturday, the first day of action, the Spartans started off against the Flame from Issaquah. The girls jumped off to a 4-0 lead but the Flame came back in the late innings to win the game 6-5. The next matchup was against the Pioneer Pirates of South Bend. Forks got the bats going early and jumped off to 5-0 lead. Forks hung on to win 6-3 with the help of a 12 strikeout performance pitching. The third and final game of the day was against the North Creek Jaguars of Bothel. The Spartans bats were hot and pitching was excellent with a dominating win 9-1.

Entering Sunday, the Spartans started off the day playing the Montesano Bulldogs. The girls played great defense and had another strong pitching outing to coast to a 7-1 victory. Forks’ next game was against the familiar foe and eventual tournament runner-up the Issaquah Flame. The Flame jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first and the Flame pitcher proved problematic to Spartan hitters. The Flame controlled the game from start to finish, winning 11-3 to eliminate the Forks girls.

“The season might not have ended as we had planned, but the girls showed a lot of heart to fight their way back up the consolation bracket and win three games after losing the first. I couldn’t be more proud of this great bunch of girls. These girls practiced and played hard all season devoting a lot of time. Each and every girl showed a lot of improvement. I’m excited about next season,” said Coach William Johnson.

A big Thanks to team sponsors the Soroptimists Club, the Elks Club, the Lions Club, Forks Outfitters, West End Youth League, Dilley and Soloman logging, STR8 Jacket T’s and Lake Pleasant Grocery for your generous donations, this season would not have been possible without your help.