Homeplate 2009

In the last six years, the District III host team in the Senior League Softball World Series has been represented by Laurel, and, this year, in their third consecutive trip, they came the closest they ever have to nabbing the international championship. But it was the USA Southwest team, West Ouachita Little League of Calhoun, La., that came through with the 3-2 nail-biter to secure the title.

The USA Southwest team from Louisiana defeated host team District III from Laurel, Del., 3-2, on Saturday, Aug. 15, in a back-and-forth match-up where scoring came off both stolen bases and an out-of-the-park homerun. After dramatically taking a 2-1 lead early in the game, Laurel -- undefeated to that point in their 2009 Series appearances -- fell short under a comeback onslaught from Southwest.

For many of the girls who come from around the country and across the globe to play in the Senior League Softball World Series at Roxana, it’s the sport and the competition that’s exciting. As an added bonus, many make new friends, and some get to experience a new country and culture.

Jillian Busfield knocked in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth inning, and Lauren Anderson plated two more with a two-out double to give USA Central (South Bend, Ind.) a 3-0 win over defending-champion Latin America (Maunabo, P.R.) in the opening game for both teams of the Senior League Softball World Series in Roxana on Sunday, Aug. 9.

The path to the Senior League Softball World Series is often a long and trying one for the teams that must win their regions outright in order to reach the series. For that reason, the District III host team – Laurel, this year – which receives its slot in the series solely by winning the district championship, is not always met with the same respect that goes to those who hoe the longer road. But they proved themselves on Sunday, when they took down the USA East team from Haverstraw, N.Y., 2-1 in the first game of the series.

Grace Thaxton and Kara Anderson combined for a no-hitter, and Southwest (Calhoun, La.) notched two early runs to beat Asia Pacific (Makati City, P.I.) 2-0 in the opening game for both teams in the Senior League Softball World Series in Roxana on Sunday, Aug. 9.

Opening day continued with a powerful debut from the Southeast team out of Damascus, Va., which dished up a 17-5 win over Pool B rivals from Kaiserslautern Military Community (KMC) in Ramstein, Germany.

In a two-and-a-half-hour battle under the lights, the defending Senior League Softball World Champions from Latin America started their turn-around against EMEA, after dropping their opener to the Central team out of South Bend, Ind. The ASOFEM Little League team out of Puerto Rico demonstrated why they were the best in the world last year, thanks to strong pitching from Nemesis Vega, who helped seal a 4-1 win on Monday.

Tuesday evening, the USA Central team from South Bend, Ind., became the first team in the tournament to pick up a 2-0 record, as they continued their international domination, stepping out, 1-0, over EMEA for their second consecutive shutout. As of Wednesday morning, they were the only team in the tournament to dish up a loss to the defending World Series champions of Latin America.

Latin America turned things around heading into the heart of the week. Despite the USA West team coming out 3-2 over the Southeast, the defending champions assembled an onslaught of hits and powerful pitching to shut out the Montana team, 12-0.

The Southwest team from Calhoun, La., got a strong pitching performance from Grace Thaxton and some timely hitting to top the East squad 2-1 at the Senior League Softball World Series on Tuesday, Aug. 11.

Despite being a scorcher, Day 2 was all about how the West won. The Southeast team from Damascus, Va., was able to pick up a come-from-behind 17-5 win against EMEA the day before but couldn’t fend off the USA West, falling 3-2, under the hot August sun.

“Get in the game, ump!”