tournament championships

By Tim Clinton

There are shutouts and no-hitters, then there are perfect games, really perfect games and really, really perfect games.

Sunny Dorhofer of the South Highline National Little League Juniors flirted with a really, really perfect game, then still had a perfect game before she wound up with "only" the no-hitter and a shutout.

Dorhofer struck out every Renton batter she faced through two outs in the fourth inning before the string of 11 strikeouts to start the game ended on a ground out to second base.

Dorhofer kept the perfect game through a ground out to shortstop to start off the fifth inning.

She then lost it on a walk to the next batter, struck out the next, then walked the fourth before ending the game played at Valley Ridge on her 13th strikeout.

"Dad (manager Darren Dorhofer) told me to throw all change-ups the last inning, so that's why the strikeouts were not as consistent," said Sunny Dorhofer, a normally fast throwing pitcher who improved her record to 9-0 in helping the team wind up undefeated at 11-0.

The Nationals ended up with a 13-0 victory over Renton to claim the championship of the age 13-14 Juniors Tournament of Champions, where regular season championship teams compete in single-elimination action. Once the tournament ends all-star teams are selected for the District 7 tournaments.

From there, teams battle to reach the state tournaments, the regional tournaments and ultimately a national World Series tournament.

"We've been together three years," said manager Dorhofer. "We've been undefeated three years, winning the T.O.C."

After Sunny Dorhofer struck out the side in the top of the first, the Nationals rallied for nine runs.

An inside the park home run by Dakota Bain was the big blow, driving in two runs. The rest of the rally included six walks, an error and two singles.

Bain led off with a single and Tina Bierig singled home two.

The Nationals added one more in the second with the help of five walks and they capped off their scoring with three in the third. Sunny Dorhofer doubled in that inning. Bain had the only other hit on a single and she came around on a stolen base and an error.

Joe Bain is the assistant coach for manager Dorhofer, while the players include Dakota Bain, Amanda Goucher, Taylor Fillmore, Maddy Dorhofer, Sunny Dorhofer, Erin Melcalfe, Tristin Young, Porter Wells, Taylor Richardson and Tina Bierig.

Nationals 14, Pac West 13

South Highline National played Pac West in a wild game Thursday, June 12 before bagging the title in the Minors tournament. The game was played on the same Valley Ridge field as the Juniors game.

A two-run triple by the Nationals' Carrera Geer in the third inning was the big blow, and Orion Schadel doubled in a five-run second inning.

Geer singled in Schadel and scored herself in the second.

The Nationals posted an 11-2 record during the regular season.