Little League All-Star softball teams won’t have to travel far to compete for a state championship next week.

Making a state tournament held in your proverbial backyard is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for players in our area.

But that is the case for qualifying teams in Kentucky Little League District 6, as this year’s event will be held at the Russell-Flatwoods Little League facilities on Mayme Street in Flatwoods. Both tournaments are scheduled to run from July 5 to July 10.

Brackets can be found at kentuckystatelittleleague.com.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s pretty awesome,” tournament director Chad Scott said. “We have really nice facilities here to host. We’ve done a lot of work to upgrade the facilities. We installed a new chain-link fence all the way around. We put in AC units in the concession stand and we upgraded that area as well. The facility is clean and it just takes a lot of man-hours.”

A slew of volunteers have been working tirelessly to make sure Russell-Flatwoods Little League is in top-notch shape to host this event.

“These volunteers are putting in a lot of hours,” Scott said. “This year’s board has worked extremely hard and long hours. They deserve a ton of credit. They all worked well together and provided a great experience this season.”

Scott said that when the tournament gets underway, Chad Clark will be handling day-to-day duties and overseeing the event.

The site will host both the 10U and the 12U softball tournaments this year.

Two area champions will be taking the field in the event, which kicks off Saturday. The 12U District 6 champs are the Carter County All-Stars, while the 10U victors are the Ashland All-Stars.

Runner-ups in the district will also compete, including the host team, Russell-Flatwoods, in the 10U tournament.

“We have a team in it, so that’ll be nice,” Scott said. “Our softball program has gone up drastically. We got runner-up in the district, so they got an automatic bid since we’re hosting it. It’s a huge deal to these kids.”

ASHLAND DOMINATESThe Ashland 10U team handled its business throughout the district tournament, outscoring opponents 37-2 across all four games en route to punching a ticket to the state tournament.

“They came together really well,” Ashland coach Brad Gillum said. “All those kids are ball players. They have good softball IQs. Credit to the parents as well for getting their kids in the right places and having them prepared.”

A big key to Ashland’s success was pitcher Patton Gillum. The hurler recorded 38 strikeouts without giving up a single hit across 15 innings thrown.

“She works really hard,” Gillum said. “That’s my daughter and we’ve been pitching for some time, and she just works really hard. She’s gotten pretty good at her craft. She got herself out of bad jams and is a solid little ballplayer.”

Ashland flexed its offensive muscle from the get-go, taking down the East Carter team, 6-1, after a big fourth-inning splurge that accounted for all of Ashland’s runs.

Lisanna Strader highlighted the inning with a two-run home run to cap off the scoring spree.

Strader’s homer was preceded by a quartet of RBIs from Brynn Surgalski, Emma Cannoy, Adalynn Mellert, and Khloe Freeman.

Ashland built on that momentum in the second game versus Russell-Flatwoods, cruising to an 11-1 win in three and a half innings.

Cannoy recorded a three-run homer to put the game’s first runs on the board, and the team didn’t look back from there.

Another highlight of the game included Lilyana Pick batting in a pair in the third frame.

In the semifinal matchup, Ashland continued its dominance with a 10-0 shutout in five innings over Stan Spence.

Cannoy again homered in the contest, this one a two-run long ball in the first frame. Gillum recorded a triple in the win.

There was no slowing down in the championship game. Ashland defeated Russell-Flatwoods in a 10-0, four-inning victory.

Gillum and Scarlett Kersey both batted in three runs apiece during the win.

“We got runner-up last year at the state tournament and we’re hoping we can make another run,” Gillum said. “But we’re just always focusing on player development and being ready for that next at-bat and being ready for that next opportunity.”

The Ashland team is excited to get another chance to play in the state tournament and to play the tournament here at home.

“I imagine it’ll be super advantageous for us, hopefully we can keep them out of the pool on game days,” Gillum said with a laugh. “But they’ll get to sleep in their own beds and won’t have to mess with their daily routines.”

Ashland plays its first-round game vs. Shelby County on Saturday at noon. Russell-Flatwoods will play North Laurel directly before that matchup at 10 a.m.

CARTER COMBATS COMPETITIONThe journey to the 12U district title was far from a cake walk for Carter County, as the team battled stiff competition and often found itself playing from behind along the way.

“We’re excited about this win,” Carter County coach Jason Carroll said. “The girls won the district last year, too. This year, it might not have been as expected. But we knew we had a good group. They went out and competed and played hard.”

As with Ashland’s 10U, part of the success for Carter County lies in the arm of the pitcher. The team depended on Ava Ramey’s throwing skills throughout the district tournament.

“We’ve relied on her a lot in the districts,” Carroll said. “She pitched in all three games in the district at some point and we’ll continue to rely on her as we move forward to State.”

Backing up Ramey in the tournament was Makayla Berry and Autumn Dyke who will wait to be called on if needed in the state tournament.

In the first game of the district tournament, Carter County found itself trailing 6-3 to Morehead after four innings. Then, a fifth-inning rally flipped the script and paved the way to an 8-7 victory for Carter County.

The four-run rally in the fifth was kicked off by Averie Whitt, who scored on a wild pitch while Addison Carroll was at bat. On the next pitch, Carroll hit a grounder to shortstop that scored a second run.

Dyke then nailed a two-run RBI double before Carroll stole home to cap off the scoring.

In the semifinal matchup against Lewis County, Carter County again found itself in for a battle.

Carter County was tied through three stanzas, but by the fifth found itself trailing 6-5.

In the final frame, Carter County dug in for three runs to secure a spot in the finals with an 8-6 victory.

Caroll and Brae Sparks recorded doubles in the win. Kyra Elkins also scored on a dropped third strike play in the fourth.

Strengthened by back-to-back grind-out wins, Carter County would not be denied the district title and prevented Morehead from getting close in the 12-2 win in four innings.

Ramey and Whitt each had a pair of RBIs. Sophia Kouns and Cardi Gollihue both scored on passed balls in the same at-bat in the bottom of the third.

“Two of our three wins were comeback wins,” Carroll said. “We were able to scrap back and claw ahead in the end. That championship was the hottest game of the week. Due to the heat index, we took a 30-minute break after the third inning. I was a little concerned how that would affect us, but the girls responded.”

Much like Ashland, Carter County is excited not only for the chance to compete for a state title, but to do so in such close proximity to home.

“It’s very exciting,” Carroll said. “Last year was in Marion County, which is a pretty good drive for us. It’s neat to have the state tournament in your own neck of the woods. I know our fans are excited. Hopefully, we can get a crowd there to cheer them on. I know the girls are looking forward to it.”

Carter County will play at the same time as Ashland on Saturday, at noon.