Sliders win Northwest Region championship

MEEKER I The Meeker Sliders 8-10-year-old softball team brought home the championship.
This group of 10 girls traveled to Aspen last Saturday to compete in a tournament for the Northwest Region. The Meeker team first faced off against Parachute, which had beat the Sliders in the beginning of the season. The Sliders brought their bats and pounded Parachute 17-0, pushing them into a match against Basalt.
Basalt came out as blazing as the heat and, while playing back-to-back games, took a toll on the girls with Basalt going ahead 5-0. The Sliders scored three runs and held the more experienced Basalt team. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Meeker came on, scoring three runs to put the Sliders ahead.
In the top of the fifth, the Basalt team was able to battle back, scoring three runs and turning the last at-bat for the Sliders into a do-or-die situation. The Meeker team not only tied the game but scored the winning run with two outs, advancing the girls to the championship game.
With only a 10-minute break between games, the girls once again took the field. Tired and wearing down, they still came out hitting and fielding. The Sliders won the championship 6-3 to bring home the title.
With nine of the girls only being 9 and one “veteran” player of three years who is 10 years old, the team, coached by Rick Dodds and Janae Shelton, has been together for two years.
“I said in the beginning of the year these girls could win it if they played like they know how, and they did,” said coach Dodds.
“The girls did it all today. All our girls hit the ball, ran the bases with skill, plays were executed and the outfield didn’t let anything get passed them. Everything we have tried to teach them for two years came together. It was so fun to watch them play real softball,” said coach Shelton.
Coaches Dodds and Shelton would like to thank Jenifer George for helping out and all the parents and grandparents for helping with the girls on Saturday with water, ice, food and support to keep pushing them forward.