PORTLAND – As one of the wild card teams entering district and state action, The Dalles 10U Little League team made believers out of a lot of people. With a group of seven 10-year olds and six 9-year olds, and only three players with previous all-star experience, The Dalles captured a District 5 title and wound up with a 2-2 record at the Oregon State Championships for fourth place honors.
Avery Schwartz went 5 for 5 with three runs scored, Nolan Cates allowed one run in three innings of relief with four strikeouts in The Dalles’ 9-5 triumph Saturday in the 10U District 5 Little League championship played in Redmond.
Regardless of outcome, The Dalles’ 10U Little League All Star head coach Michael Cates was proud with how far his team had come over the past month in preparation for the District 5 Tournament.
The Dalles 10U All Star head coach Michael Cates fields a roster of seven 10-year olds and six nine-year olds for the start of District 5 Little League play.
In a back-and-forth battle of auto companies, it was Fix Auto that struck early and often, but Hank’s Auto had the last response. Down by a 9-8 margin in the top of the sixth inning, Hank’s Auto scored five runs to take the lead, and reliever Derek Goulart wiggled out of a bases-loaded jam with a strikeout to give his team a 13-9 comeback victory Saturday in The Dalles Little League Minors championship action at Kramer Field.
With three minutes and 26 seconds left in regulation, Nolan Cates landed the knockout blow, hitting the end zone on a 30-yard touchdown run to seal a 24-16 triumph in a third and fourth grade youth football championship game played Saturday in White Salmon.
