The District 7 Majors representative -- Pac West -- did a good job representing the area in fastpitch, having fun winning two games before losing two in the All Stars Little League State Tournament held at the Walla Walla Pacific Complex starting Friday, July 11 and going a full week for those that played in the championship.

It was expected for them to maybe win one game of that kind while there in sweet onion country in the southeast corner of Washington State. But to win two games was more than the goal for manager Tom Kelly. In that sense, they were truly champions and making history for their area team division.

Kelly noted that winning two games was more than he could remember having ever happened in recent memory for a District 7 all star team. And winning ‘two’ was certainly not what’s happened anytime lately with his charter, Pac West.

"We won one game when I was manager of the 9-10s at state," he said. "So winning one game at Majors, that was my goal."

The pitcher that won that first one for Kelly and this team also came in during the second inning for her team, South Highline American district championship game (that Kelly managed) and did great.

"Nicole pitched great," said Kelly.

The first game was a close 3-2 win over Battle Ground. Jacobson, who came on in relief in the district championship game -- allowing three runs in five innings of work there, was in there against Battle Ground. Against the district champs from Battle Ground, Jacobson was in there and keeping her team in it against top caliber competition.

"Nicole struck out six and she went the full six innings," said Kelly of one of the younger players, 11, on the team for the Pac West District 7 all stars that combined players from South Highline National, South Highline American and Pac West for this tournament. Jacobson had not turned 11 yet when she pitched the district championship, to note.

Kelly noted that "stealing and sliding" won games at state.

The second game July 12 at state in far, far away Walla Walla, was a good one for Pac West, too -- a 5-4 win -- with Taylor Gower going the distance (six innings) in that one, matching Jacobson's feat.

She doubled the strikeouts of the first game by amassing 13.

The biggest play of the game of many good hurls and defensive work out there surely was the game-winning run that was not scored with a RBI hit but instead was scored by someone most familiar to Kelly going for a steal of the toughest base out there -- home.

"My daughter, Jordan, stole home for the winning run," he said.

Close play?

"Yes, it was an umpire call," he said.

The next two games were not quite as good results but hopefully good experiences nonetheless for this group of all stars that will be playing together likely in other all star Little League tournaments of this nature in the future. Later on, the majority of these young ladies should be keeping the good traditions of fastpitch going on at traditional area school powers like Mount Rainier and Kennedy. Both made the postseason. MR lost in districts and Kennedy won state for 3A.

Game three for Pac West was a loss to the closest district to them, Steel Lake in District 10. Pac West was 10-runned, 10-0, in that one on July 13. That was a winner's bracket quarterfinal game. If Pac West had won, they would have been in the winner's bracket final with only one more after that to be crowned state champs. But that would not be the case as the Steel Lake loss sent Pac West into the loser's bracket to play. There they played Sammamish and lost, 15-2, July 15.

During this state experience, the girls had an off day from play, July 14, and Kelly and parents and fans of Pac West all went to nearby Milton-Freewater to have fun in the sun, and the water, in the water slides.

"The girls had a blast," said Kelly. "It was neat to be able to go do that."

The whole tournament was experience after experience of fun it sounds like.

"The grandpa of one of the players noted to me that he had never seen his granddaughter have so much fun," said Kelly.