Sammamish softball finishes second

The Sammamish Little League 11- and 12-year-old Major softball team finished second in the state tournament last Friday, falling 5-2 to Stilly Valley in Walla Walla.

The District 9 champions needed to win Friday to force a winner-take-all championship with Stilly Valley on Saturday. Stilly Valley was refreshed, however, playing on four days of rest. Sammamish, which lost 4-1 to Stilly Valley in its tournament opener, was playing its sixth game in seven days.

Sammamish recovered after its opening loss to Stilly Valley on July 12 to earn four straight wins. They beat Bainbridge Island, 9-2; South Highline/Pacwest, 15-2; Sedro-Woolley, 11-0 and Steel Lake, 6-1. Stilly Valley defeated Northeast Seattle, Sedro-Woolley and Steel Lake, along with its two wins over Sammamish for its second straight state championship.

Baton twirler places at national event

Sammamish resident Emily Reyer, 13, finished among the best in the country last week, competing in the 2008 U.S. National Baton Twirling Championships at Daytona Beach, Fla.

Reyer captured fourth in the two-baton and seventh in dance twirl. She also qualified for the 2009 international competition in the three-baton and compulsories.

In addition, Reyer captured a couple of titles with her team, Encore. The eight-girl group, based out of Sacramento, Calif., won national championships in the AAA U.S. Pre-Trial and U.S. National Junior classifications. Last year they won the juvenile division.

The 2009 international baton championships takes place next summer in Sydney, Australia.