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This moment had been a long time coming. The Prince Edward-Farmville Youth Athletics (PEFYA) All-Stars had been in state championship softball games before. In fact, this same group had been runners-up in the Ponytails division when they were younger and runners up a second time in the Belles division. But now they were determined things would change this time around. And they were 100% right. 

In a double-elimination tournament, PEFYA dominated their competition. The Prince Edward-Farmville team went undefeated, scoring an average of 13 runs per game. And that total likely would have been higher, but one of the wins was by forfeit, due to Powhatan attempting an illegal substitution. Things got started last Friday, as PEFYA beat Dinwiddie 15-2. The next morning, while dealing with a heat index near triple digits, the Debs suited up against tournament host Amherst and won there too, 14-5. The last game of the evening on Saturday ended with the forfeit win, sending PEFYA into Sunday’s semi-final against Halifax. The Debs handled their business there as well, winning 11-9.

And then, on Monday night, the girls secured a spot in the World Series, winning the Virginia Debs division title against Powhatan. 

“They’ve been building and working toward this for a while now,” said PEFYA assistant coach Jeff Sargent. “The group of girls that’s playing, they’ve been playing together for several years. They had fun the whole time, they made it work.” 

PEFYA faced challenges along the way 

Some of the challenges they faced along the way in this tournament makes that undefeated record even more impressive. 

First off, they were a player short the entire time, as one member had to leave the team unexpectedly about two weeks ago. That left the Debs with 11 players. Now in softball, you have 12 players on the team and all 12 players bat. Players have to play for a certain number of games in order to qualify for an All-Star roster, so they couldn’t just go out and replace the team member who had to leave. In situations like this, the opposing team is given a choice. They can play straight up, 12 vs. 11, or take their best 11 and play your best 11. 

“(But) that never happens,” Sargent said. “Because who’s going to tell that one player she has to sit out?” 

So instead, most go with the third option. That 12th roster spot becomes an automatic out every time it comes time to bat. 

“And that’s what we had to do every game,” Sargent said. “Every time the 12th spot came up, it was an automatic out, so we went into some innings with one out before we even stepped up to the plate.” 

Also, it’s worth mentioning that this is a very young team, but that was a decision made on the team’s part. Now the Debs division is ages 16 to 19. Any younger players have to get permission to come up. 

“We have four 16-year-olds and the rest of the team is younger,” Sargent said. “They wanted to stay together. So in order to stay together, the four girls who were 16 couldn’t play in the Belles division anymore, so the rest of the team moved up to the older level.” 

In other words, a group mainly consisting of 14 and 15-year-olds went into the higher age bracket and didn’t just win, they dominated most every game. But now comes a new challenge, in more ways than one. 

The World Series looms 

As state champions, the team now advances to the World Series, held this year in Alexandria, Louisiana. They have to arrive on site by Friday, July 19, with games starting against an unknown opponent that Saturday. But first, they have to raise the money to get there. 

“We have to pay for the hotels, pay for food while we’re down there,” Sargent said. “We’re also trying to get those parents that are driving gas cards.” 

And there’s another expense eating into the budget. As per the World Series rules, the All-Stars for each state have to get state uniforms. So basically the team has to buy an entire new set of “Virginia State” uniforms and have them ready before the end of next week. Virginia contributes $3,000, as part of the reward for winning the tournament. But Sargent estimates it’ll take about $15,000 more to make it all work. 

To do that, the team has a gofundme set up, asking residents to donate. Currently, they have $1,395 of their $15,000 goal. If you want to help, you can visit gofundme.com. Just search for the “Support 2024 Debs State Champions Journey to World Series”. Or you can just click right here. 

Overall, Sargent said he believes everything they’ve dealt with so far is helping the girls get ready for the World Series. 

“After the weekend we just had, I feel like that helps prepare us for what we’ll face in Louisiana,” Sargent said.