Last year the Winslow Little League Senior All-Stars ended their season as the League Senior Softball Arizona State Champions but that is where their journey would end due to COVID restrictions which allowed for no regional play or World Series. But in 2022 these girls are looking to take home the World Series championship.
Manager Brian Wilcox commented that these girls work and play hard, which was evident watching them wash cars and selling Navajo Tacos order to raise the $10,000 that will be needed for expenses to get the team to Missoula a goal they met.
Coach Kaylee Salazar remembers what it was like to be a player at Regionals as she was a member of the 2003 Winslow/Arizona Championship team who were the first team from Winslow Little League Softball to go to Regionals and now as a coach and share this experience with her daughter was rewarding.
Team members include Cassie Tsosie, Aiden Dickson, Peyton Baker, Angela Salazar, Ariana Mendoza, Liayna Brown, Jewel Ben, Brooklyn Petterson, Lorelai Sander, Kendra Ybarra, Ara Lenard, Kyah Wilcox, Manager Brian Wilcox and coaches Kaylee Salazar and Jorge Sander.
The Senior League is comprised of 15- and 16-year-olds but to comprise a team small towns and leagues like the Winslow All-Stars also include 13-14-year-old Junior Leaguers to have a complete roster.
With seven girls playing their way back onto Winslow’s Senior All-Star team along with five new All-Stars joining them they headed to Avondale Friendship Park to defend their title. On Sunday, July 11, the Winslow Senior All-Star Softball team took on the Blythe Senior All-Star team where they would jumpstart the game in the first inning with a 9-0 Winslow lead. Blythe would score two runs in the third inning but in the fourth inning would score three runs and at the end of the fifth inning the Winslow All-Star’s would again claim the title of Senior League State Champions.
On Friday, July 22, the Arizona/Winslow All-Stars started their championship dreams with a 19-10 win over the Montana All-Stars. The second game of the day had them going up against the Southern California All-Stars and falling to them 12-1, Southern California is currently the only undefeated team.
On Saturday, July 23, the Winslow All-Stars faced the Hawaii All-Stars where they came up short losing 7-3. In their second game of the day, they played the All-Stars of Northern California where they defeated them in four and half innings with the final score of 25-1.
On Sunday, July 24, the team dominated the Washington All-Stars with an 11-1 victory, then beat the No. 6 seed Montana 9-5. They played Hawaii on Tuesday in the quarter finals, with the scores not available as of press time.
