The Kent Little League 9-10 All-Stars suffered two losses in the Washington State Little League tournament last week, losing 6-4 against Marysville on July 18 and 15-1 against Mercer Island on July 19.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Kent placed third overall, which pleased manager Kynan Patterson.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Between all-star selections on June 1 and winning the District 10 tournament on June 22, Patterson said the boys have a lot to be proud of. Despite the losses, Patterson put the defeats in perspective, noting that many of the other all star teams have a few years behind them, while Kent is relatively new.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
“These guys just didn’t give up,” he said. “Even in the face of adversity they continued to play hard together.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The team maintained a positive attitude regardless of what happened.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
“When things didn’t go well, the dugout was still a healthy place,” Patterson said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
It’s a lot easier to learn from your mistakes with that mindset, said Patterson.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Solid pitching performances from Ty Collins and Jacob Yang prevented Marysville from establishing too much of a lead, while Jalin Church helped offensively, only going out once during the entire tournament.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Kent Little League will host a season in the fall to keep the kids playing and give them some extra practice, but the formal season starts in mid-February. Registration for fall ball is open until Aug. 16, and District 10 boundaries (available on www.littleleaguewa.org\/boundary-maps<\/a>) apply for the season.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n