During their previous trip to a softball world series, Nunaka Valley Little League finished the 2009 Little League championship tournament with a record of 1 and 3. The 13 and 14 year old softball players from Anchorage, many of whom played for that 2009 squad, have already equalled that victory total.
Nunaka Valley, representing not only Alaska but the entire west region, opened play in the Junior League Softball World Series in Kirkland, Washington with a 5-3 victory over Bridge City, Texas, the southwest regional champion. Nunaka Valley did most of its damage in the fourth inning when it scored three runs. Sydney Smith and Gabrielle Meyerson each drove in a run during the rally and finished with two hits apiece.
Smith and Heather Breslin shared pitching duties for Nunaka Valley, which allowed 12 hits but held off a Bridge City rally in the seventh. The team from Texas trailed 5-1 into its final at bat, and brought the tying run to the plate before coming up short.
Nunaka Valley moves to 1 and 0 in the tournament and will face east regional champion Greensburg, Pennsylvania in its second of four pool play games on Tuesday.
