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PGSL 8U Gold All-Star team wins district title

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Editor’s note: This story was updated to show that the 2004 14U PGSL All-Star team had their picture and the players’ names put on the snack shack for winning a state championship.

Printed on the snack shack at Aubrey Park are the names of the players that were on the 2004 14-and-under Poway Girls Softball League All-Star team. Those names are up there because that team captured the North San Diego District championship and then followed it up with a state title.

Now there is a chance for another group of names to be on the snack shack.

The 2016 8U Gold PGSL All-Star team captured the district title, beating North Shore 6-2 on June 26 to earn a spot in the state championship tournament in Palmdale, which runs Friday - Sunday.

“During a practice one day I took the girls to the snack shack and I showed them the names of the girls from the last championship team,” 8U PGSL All-Star coach Sonny McGowan said. “I told them that if they win their names can be on the snack shack. They were pretty excited about it.”

Soon their names could be alongside the 2004 14U squad, but first there is a state tournament to try to win. McGowan knows the challenge ahead will be tough, but he and the team is looking forward to it.

“Our goal was to win district,” he said. “We did that; so everything else we do now is the gravy on top. There are going to be a lot of tough teams that have deep pitching out there. We are just going to go out there and do our best.”

Doing their best has helped them win two tournament titles and finish second in two others out of six played. Pitcher Mya McGowan, who is also one of the top hitters on the team, was lights out in the district tournament. She tossed a complete game in the championship.

“She is one of the top pitchers in the county,” said her father Sonny. “She throws hard and can locate her pitches.”

Payton Rohrer, McGowan, Sophia Burmeister and Ryan Purczynski have been the leading cast members offensively. Burmeister provides the pop, as she has belted three home runs. But Sonny says everyone on the team can bunt and they like to play small ball.

“Our top three hitters are our big hitters,” he said. “But everybody bunts, all the way down the lineup.”

The district tournament featured nine teams from the North County. PGSL scored 12 runs in two of its four games. The team, which features five returning all-stars and seven newcomers, was 22-5 leading up to a tournament it played in this past weekend in Escondido.

The 8U Gold team is not the only all-star squad from PGSL to advance to the state championships. The 14U team took third place in its district tournament and will also compete at state.

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