Royal Palm 8U Softball All-Stars Capture State Championship

The 8U Royal Palm Beach All-Stars celebrate their big victory.

The 8U Royal Palm Beach Softball All-Stars had a championship-filled summer. From June 26 to June 30, the 14 young softball players, their five coaches, and their parents and siblings were at the Southside Sports Complex in Lake City to compete in the Babe Ruth League 8U Florida State Championships. A total of nine teams competed. It was a five-day experience they will never forget.

While in Lake City, the squad from Royal Palm Beach played five games and won all of them, racking up a combined score of 97-30. In the championship finale, Royal Palm Beach defeated the Jax Beach Thunder, 22-4. Over those five games, Royal Palm Beach’s team batting average was an astounding .780.

In fact, six of Royal Palm Beach’s players batted over .800: Layla Blanco (.941 with 12 RBIs); Addison Poyner (.875 with 14 RBIs and three home runs); Carolynn Bumgardner (.894 with 10 RBIs and two home runs); Annika Boden (.812 and 12 RBIs); Bella Pena (.824 with eight RBIs and one home run); and Sophia Harshman (.824 and nine RBIs).

“The team came together and played their best softball at the state tournament,” head coach Steven Poyner said.

As impressive as the offense was, the defense was just as great.

“We had very few errors and gave the other teams very few extra bases,” Poyner said. “Bella Pena at catcher had a few amazing catches on foul balls. On one foul ball, she dove out to catch it to make a third out. We had many plays where the shortstop (Carolynn “Bear” Bumgardner) and second baseman (Raelynn Duntz) worked together to get lead runners at second base and prevent runners from getting into scoring position. Ryleigh “Sticks” Harrelson had a great tournament in left field. Our pitcher, Emma Adams, and our first baseman, Addy Poyner, combined for a lot of outs, as well.”

While the team from Royal Palm Beach had a championship-level performance in June, the foundation for the team’s success started months ago.

“We started working in December, and the girls really put in a lot of time and hard work into improving,” Poyner said. “I couldn’t be prouder of the girls and the work they put in to improve and have fun, but also very proud of the time the coaches put in — all volunteers — to accomplish this amazing feat. My assistant coaches were Bobby Boden, Brian Bumgardner, Joe Clements and Marcus Harrelson. I couldn’t ask for a better group of coaches, players and parents.”

The members of the 8U Royal Palm Beach Softball All-Stars are Raelynn Duntz, Raelyn Basinger, Ryleigh Harrelson, Layla Blanco, Emma Adams, Sophia Harshman, Addison Poyner, Bella Pena, Jasmine Mansaram, Belle Clements, Annika Boden, Carolynn Bumgardner, Aria Warren and Riley Sheerr.

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