Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

BENSON – It took a lot of skill, mixed in with a few anxious moments, for 12 young girls to pull off something they only dreamed of doing…..winning a state championship.

The Ahoskie All-Stars did exactly that last week in Benson where they captured the 10-and-under title at the annual Tar Heel League State Softball Tournament.

Riding great pitching and timely hitting, the local girls won their first two games with back-to-back shutouts of Cleveland (7-0) and Williamston (6-0) on Thursday and Friday (July 18 and 19), respectively.

Those victories allowed Ahoskie to gain a spot in Saturday morning’s winner’s bracket finals of this double-elimination tournament. There, Ahoskie dropped a 1-0 loss vs. Western Harnett in a pitcher’s duel.

That loss forced Ahoskie to the loser’s bracket and having to play again on Saturday. There, with their backs against the wall, Ahoskie blanked Wilkes County, 6-0.

That win advanced Ahoskie to the state championship series on Sunday. There they faced the formidable task of having to win back-to-back games vs. Western Harnett, who was undefeated at this stage of the tournament and had yet to allow their opponents to score.

Ahoskie won game one, 3-1, setting up a winner-take-all game two. There, Ahoskie earned the state title with a hard-fought 3-2 win.

That effort was identical to their District 7 title as Ahoskie defeated a strong Cashie team twice in the championship series of that tournament held the last week of June in Windsor.

The Ahoskie 10U All-Stars are Avery McGee, Macey Farmer, Leslie Jernigan, Allison Burby, Annsleigh Revelle, Allyson Vaughan, Abby Cale, Cally Piland, Casey Piland, Mary Welch Gallop, Colleen Jones and Eva Davis.

The team is coached by Michael Vaughan, Michael Kellett, Mark McGee, and Thomas Jernigan.

The Ahoskie All-Stars were selected from all the teams participating in the 10U division of the Ahoskie Recreation Department’s Softball League that got underway in late April of this year.

In the District 7 Tournament, Ahoskie lost their very first game, but then reeled off four straight wins, all by shutout: 8-0 vs. Roanoke Valley, 10-0 vs. Camden, 14-0 vs. Perquimans, and 8-0 vs. Currituck. That advanced them to the championship series vs. Cashie, who they swept (2-1 and 2-0).