Emily Hodges has a lot of Blair Youth Softball Association (BYSA) history behind her.
The eldest member of the grades 7-12 O'Flaherty Services softball team played during her elementary school days and came back out to compete in Modified games and tournaments again as a high-schooler.
It's a fun level of competition.
“If you make a mistake, no one yells at you or anything,” Hodges said.
Her squad was one of three to lock-up a BYSA Modifieds Tournament title Thursday at the Youth Sports Complex. Her teenage squad topped A Plush Lawns 9-3 in the championship matchup.
Hodges' teammate, Addie Oestreich, felt O'Flaherty Services won thanks to how they treated one another. There was a lot of encouragement out on the diamond throughout.
“We were sticking to it,” she said. “We were all strong and we all picked each other up when we had some letdowns.”
It likely wasn't a surprise to Hodges, who said that was a season-long attitude the grades 7-12 champions carried with them.
“Even if we were down by over 10, we still stayed positive and we tried to have fun,” she said. “We played better when we did that.”
Arlington, Eye Associates win, too
Two more Modified softball teams won BYSA tournament titles Thursday.
The grades 2-3 Arlington team earned their championship with a 7-2 victory against NP Dodge Real Estate, while Blair Eye Associates topped Edward Jones 5-0 during the grades 4-6 tourney final. Both teams squealed and jumped up-and-down after the final out.
Arlington, notably, gave coach Jake German a water bottle bath after they received their medals. The BYSA fields took on a lot more water during the week, though. The June 23 tournament start was rained out, ultimately pushing the finals back one day. The weather affected play June 24, too, but Thursday's games were contested under sunny skies until the sun set.
