By Kendall Patterson
Editor
With a record of 9-1, the Chester County Belles were able to take home the gold after they were declared 2021 Belles World Series Champions.
The night before the championship, Chester County won a close game against North Carolina (6-5), but lost to Louisiana 12-5.
Being a double-elimination tournament though, Chester County was still in it.
During the day of the championship, they advanced past North Carolina to be able to get a rematch against Louisiana for the Championship title and won (9-5).
Head Coach Casey Martin explained how the girls played better and did what they had to do to defeat Louisiana to win it all.
“Coming out of the first game with a narrow win (against North Carolina) we brought a lot of good energy into the championship. We started off hitting better than we did in the first game against LA. Our defense was making plays we missed the first game. So we jumped off to a good start,” he said. “In the first few innings we had put up four runs and held them to none. We caught a deep hit pop fly that was big and a double play that was huge for our momentum! We continued to put runs up every inning and our defense shut a few innings down completely. Then, they called the out we were all waiting on.”
With some of the Belles going to a World Series once and others going up to three times, the team felt good about their chances of winning it all.
“Going into the post season, we had several girls on the team who had been to the World Series at least once and some as many a 3 times before, so when you have those kind of players going into tournament play it helps you feel very optimistic… But also very cautious about not being over confident,” he said.
Players Lexi Harwell and Mykayla Martin were glad that they were able to win the championship after all that time.
“It feels good to be World Series Champions,” Harwell said. “We been working at it for four years.”
“It was exciting, because we won after putting all the hard work into it,” Mykayla said.
Ivy Knight mentioned how they were so successful due to their team’s chemistry and camaraderie.
“We bonded really good on and off the field. There was no drama,” she said.
Casey further explained how great their bond is, how great they are as players and people and how it all created an awesome group of players, parents and coaches.
“These girls are a great group of kids to just be around! They have great attitudes and are dedicated 100 percent, and the parents are just as great. Everyone involved was all in all the time and super supportive for whatever was best for the team,” he said. “Some of these girls have played together since they were five. Sometimes you wonder if they can communicate without talking! All the girls have played with or against one another for years, and they all seem to feed off one another well.”
Kymber Martin experienced her first World Series though.
“It was unique, because usually the first time you go, you don’t usually win it,” Kymber said.
Casey was just happy to be able help them along the way and coach them to victory.
“They proudly represent Chester County very well! It was awesome to get to experience this with these girls.”
Casey Martin thanked the community for all they did for the Belles’ season and World Series trip.
“As a coach, a dad and a board member at our park, I would really like to give a special thanks to the community,” he said. “It is unbelievably impressive how well our businesses, individuals, and local government support our teams. That support makes things like this possible. I have learned that doesn’t happen everywhere. So thank you a ton for the support it is appreciated more than you could ever imagine.”
