Run ends for trio of Windermere Little League teams

Three local teams did some serious traveling last weekend, with two teams competing in state tournaments and one going all the way to Tennessee.

By Steven Ryzewski
| 3:50 p.m. July 26, 2017

Sports

At its closest, the action was 150 miles away.

At its farthest, it was north of 700 miles.

Regardless, it was a busy and exciting weekend of baseball and softball for three teams from Windermere Little League.

Both the league’s Little League Softball (ages 10-12) All-Stars and its Juniors (ages 13-14) All-Stars made the trips to the southwest coast of Florida for their respective state tournaments.

There, in Fort Myers, Windermere’s Little League Softball team played hard but ultimately was defeated in each of the three games it played in pool play. Included in those losses was a 5-1 loss in the first game of pool play to Fort Myers American — the eventual state champion.

As for the Juniors, they traveled to Sarasota. There, the local boys won once and were defeated twice. In an ironic twist, their first game — and first loss — also came against Fort Myers, which also went on to win the Juniors state championship. Windermere’s victory came by way of a 16-3 rout of Callahan.

Both teams finish their runs with district and section championships to their credit.

Windermere Mayor Gary Bruhn helped send off the team to Tennessee in style. Courtesy photo

Then, of course, there was the team that traveled across a number of state lines — Windermere’s Minors (ages 8-10) Softball All-Stars. Representing the state of Florida, the local girls traveled to Clarksville, Tennessee, for the Tournament of State Champions. Competing against state champions from states including Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama, among others, the local girls played hard and placed fourth, winning twice but later losing to North Carolina, 4-1.

With those three teams each being eliminated, the summer Little League season is officially finished in West and Southwest Orange County. In addition to the three teams from Windermere that won district championships, there were four teams from Dr. Phillips Little League that did so: DPLL’s 9-year-old, 10-year-old, 11-year-old and its 12-year-old All-Stars teams all won district championships this summer. The 10-year-olds also won their Section 5 Tournament and came within a game of advancing to the state championship.

Contact Steven Ryzewski at [email protected].