The West Chatham 12U All-Stars finished third in the 2024 Dixie Softball Ponytails X-Play World Series, which was held in Disputanta, Virginia from July 21-24.
In the double-elimination tournament, which faced multiple cancellations and rescheduled games due to rain, West Chatham, playing under the title of “North Carolina,” went 2-2 and won the sportsmanship award. It lost its first-round game to Prince George (Virginia), 3-2, and followed that with two straight wins over Alabama and Florida.
With a trip to the title game on the line against South Carolina, the eventual world series champions, West Chatham ended its journey with an 8-3 loss.
West Chatham’s Presley Walters went 1-for-2 from the plate in the final game and led her team with two RBIs. Five other batters, including Aubrey Covington, Kaylin Allen, Paisley Hutchins, Katherine Purvis and Sadie Luther also recorded a hit, with Covington knocking in one run.
West Chatham head coach Bucky Josey said his team “played with a lot of heart” as multiple players played through injuries and had to adapt to schedule changes throughout the tournament.
The team’s best performance of the world series came in an 11-0 run rule win over Alabama in the first loser bracket game.
Allison Lineberry was lights out from the mound as she threw a one-hit shutout in just 70 pitches and struck out six batters across four innings.
Hutchins, Covington, Walters and Adie Beck all went 3-for-3 at the plate, and Hutchins directed the scoring attack with four RBIs.
Walters had one of the hottest bats for West Chatham throughout the tournament as she also went 3-for-3 in the close, 8-7 win over Florida. Maddie Wingerter also had a perfect day from the plate with three hits, including a double, to keep West Chatham alive.
Not all close games went West Chatham’s way during the tournament, though. West Chatham lost its world series opener to Prince George on a walk off single which put the team at risk of elimination immediately.
Prior to the world series, West Chatham won the North Carolina Dixie Softball State Tournament for the Ponytails X-Play division earlier in July. That was West Chatham’s second 12U state title in three years with the 12U team earning a trip to the world series in 2022.
Against South Brunswick, the defending state champions, in the championship round, West Chatham had to climb itself out of a deep hole.
West Chatham beat South Brunswick earlier in the tournament, 11-3, but when they met again in the final round, South Brunswick got its revenge in a 15-0 rout.
Down 5-0 to South Brunswick in the fifth inning of the winner-take-all game, West Chatham pulled off a late-game rally and sealed the win after Covington hit a go-ahead double.
Piper Josey led the way for West Chatham in the state tournament, batting a .627 average with 10 RBIs and six stolen bases. Beck and Allen were a force on the mound as Beck threw 12 strikeouts and finished with a 0.95 earned run average, and Allen struck out 18 batters.